Do you suffer from sleeplessness? Hempoil might be the solution for your problem.
Hemp oil has been used for decades as a natural alternative to man-made medicines. If you suffer from a lack of sleep, have developed unhealthy sleeping habits or are experiencing insomnia, hemp oil might be a healthy, natural cure you would want to look into.
Hemp is a common plant found in much of the northern hemisphere that has been used for millennia by civilizations. Hemp was mostly used as an industrial material (Similarly to cotton for example.) to create clothes, shoes, paper and bags. Hemp is part of the Cannabis Sativa plant family. The Cannabis plant has many strains, and goes under many names. Among them: Cannabis, Marijuana/Marihuana, Weed, Hemp, or Pot. It is important to note that the substance (which reduces sleeplessness) further presented in this article is found only in small quantities in direct ‘Hemp oil’, for this reason, special high dosages should be used. These hemp derived oils are appropriately named after their chemical; such as CBD oil.
“Around 1 in 3 people have at least mild
sleephealthfoundation.org
insomnia.”
Breaking down Hemp:
There are 2 prominent chemicals in cannabis which are the reason for its popularity.
| THC | tetrahydrocannabinol | Phytochemical which is responsible for the psychoactive effect, causing the ‘stoned’ feeling. |
| CBD | cannabidiol | Naturally occuring Cannabinoid responsible for the relaxing feeling one gets when taken. |
“CBD does not cause a high.”
To help with sleeplesness we are only interested in CBD.
To learn more about hemp, check out our article: “What is Hemp Oil?”
First things first, we need to understand what causes your sleeplessness if you wish to tackle the root.
Understanding sleeplessness and what causes it.
Not being able to fall asleep, having restless nights will cause you to wake up groggy and tired.
Truth be told, there are many things which can cause you to have sleepless nights. Just to name a few:
Category A:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Recent traumatic experiences (Death, break-ups etc.)
- Bad sleeping environment (Too warm in your bedroom for example.)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Chronic pain (e.g. broken bones)
Category B:
- Allergies
- Hyperthyroidism
- Acid reflux
- Kidney disease
- Cancer
If you feel like you suffer from the symptoms seen above in category A, then oil derived from hemp might be able to improve your sleep. However, if you have any conditions as seen in category B, then hemp oil might not be the most optimal solution to your sleep problems.
Majority of symptoms in category A, are mental conditions which can be influenced and potentially reduced through cannabidoil (CBD).
How CBD helps reduce sleeplessness
There have been a number of scientific studies released which have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) can have a positive effect on sleep.
A study from 2010 showed through brain scans that CBD caused blood flow in the brain to change reducing social anxiety in people that suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder.
Another study from 2016 showed that CBD helped a young girl suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sleep better
A scientific paper from 2015 that analyzed other scientific literature found that CBD did show promising results in reducing many forms of anxiety including obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“… But How does CBD effect the brain, and cause these changes?”
Scientists have been working on understanding how exactly CBD interacts with our brain since the 1960’s. To oversimplify and summarize how CBD affects our brain we have to understand how our brain works. Our brain contains neurons, these neurons are constantly interacting with each other. Neurons transmit electrical impulses through each other by releasing neurotransmitters that are received by receptors. Cannabinoids (CBD) are able to bind to the neuroreceptors causing the firing of information between the neurons to be dampened. Therefore, CBD is able to reduce the activity of certain parts of the brain which are responsible for causing stress and anxiety.
How to consume CBD
CBD oil can be ingested in a variety of ways. There is not much difference between the methods of consumption and effect. Among the ways that CBD oil can be taken in include: capsules, vape, tincture (drops), creams, and edibles (such as gummies). However, the bioavailability of each source can vary, for instance, vaping might not yield the highest absorption rate of the substance. On the other hand, edibles, capsules and tinctures have a better bioavailability in comparison, but take more time to take effect. If you have a hard time swallowing capsules then the other methods might be more suitable for you. On the other hand, if you have a hard time stomaching certain flavours you might want to avoid using tinctures, as tinctures usually require you to keep a couple drops of the oil under your tongue for at least a minute. CBD oil’s do not have a great taste, in my experience, it tastes like a mixture of olive oil and what I would expect leaves to taste like.
“…How much CBD should I take?”
Simple CBD Dosage Guide
The amount of CBD you take in depends heavily from person to person. If you have never taken CBD before and you want to take this hemp oil for sleep I recommend the following:
- If you weigh less than 60kg / 130lbs:
- 11mg – 17mg (11mg being low end. 17mg being high end.)
- If you weigh less than 100kg/ 220lbs:
- 18mg – 28mg (18mg being low end. 28mg being high end.)
- If you weigh more than 100kg/ 220lbs:
- 23mg – 45mg (23mg being low end. 45mg being high end.)
If you do not feel an effect, you may want to increase your dosage.
Counter-intuitively however, there has been a study that has shown that taking small CBD dosages actually helps you stay awake. The study concludes that you should take at least between 160-600mg of CBD for sleep benefits . There are people that require dosages of over 1000mg to feel an effect. Start small and try around until you find what works for you.
*If you use a CBD product that does not specify the CBD mg, but rather the percentage (%), just remember that 1 drop of CBD oil = 600mg. Meaning that if you’re using a CBD tincture with a strength of 3% it would contain approximately 18mg of CBD per drop (600*0.03). Furthermore, if your CBD tincture had a strength of 5% this would naturally contain 30mg of CBD per drop (600*0.05).
Concluding remarks
Direct ‘hemp oil’ (derived from hemp seed’s) itself contains an insignificant amount of sleep stimulating compounds. However, through refinery we can get a higher concentration of CBD. CBD oil can aid you in having a better nights sleep. As previously discussed there have been multiple scientific studies which show that CBD can aid sleep. Cannabidiol has the ability to dampen neuron activity, effectively reducing anxiety and stress. Moreover leading to a better and deeper nights sleep. It should be noted however that a certain dosage is required to give you a drowsy feeling, failing to reach this dosage might end up actually making you be more alert. If you wish to find out more about Hemp oil instead of CBD Oil click here.
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