Can’t sleep? Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder that prevents someone from getting an adequate amount of sleep. It can prevent you from falling asleep, make it difficult to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up early. Poor sleeping habits as well as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or stress can cause insomnia and while the short-term effects of insomnia aren’t pleasant, the long-term effects can be scary. Chronic insomnia is linked to increased risk in mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, hypertension, and even alcoholism.
How can the combination of CBD and melatonin help with insomnia? They have specific attributes that some studies have shown that work well in tandem.
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pineal gland and helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Increased melatonin levels at night and decreased melatonin levels in the morning play a role in your circadian rhythm by telling your body when it’s time to sleep.
Melatonin is generally taken before bed to help regulate your sleep schedule when you are getting irregular sleep, such as bouts of insomnia or jet lag. Side effects with regular use can be unpleasant and include: dizziness, headaches, stomach cramps, nausea, confusion, depression, irritability, anxiety, low blood-pressure, and tremors.
How does cannabidiol fit it in all this? Cannabidiol, CBD, is known to have a calming effect on people who take it. CBD interacts with the human endocannabinoid which regulates and controls many of our most critical bodily functions such as: learning and memory, emotional processing, sleep, temperature control, pain control, appetite, and inflammatory and immune responses. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a network of cellular receptors and chemical signals that run throughout our brain and bodies. Cannabinoid receptors in the brain which controls the activity levels of most other neurotransmitters, called CB1 receptors, help regulate your body by turning up or down the activity of the systems that need to be adjusted such as temperature or appetite.
CBD can be enjoyed as edibles, topicals, or smokables. Our personal and obvious favorite way to enjoy CBD is through CRÈME CBD Cigarettes. Sweet tips enhance the flavor of the cigarettes while the CBD is absorbed into your body much quicker than other methods, providing quicker and more consistent relief.
CBD is generally well-tolerated, however possible side-effects include dry-mouth, diarrhea, reduced appetite, drowsiness, and fatigue. We particularly like the last two “side-effects” for the purposes of relieving insomnia.
Recent studies suggest that the combination of these two may be as effective as synthetic hypnotic drugs traditionally used to treat insomnia. While melatonin works to restore biological clock functions through its antioxidative properties, CBD helps your body relax by reducing your chronic pain perception as well as provides some relief for anxiety.
Your sleep-wake cycle might be disrupted by stress, insomnia, or even the light you’re exposed to before you sleep. CBD helps your body relax and drown it all out so that it can listen to what your body is telling it. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
So what is the best way to take CBD and melatonin to help you sleep? Melatonin generally takes around 30 minutes to an hour to take effect. Depending on how you take your CBD, edibles can take as long as two hours while CBD cigarettes can be felt almost instantly. As you experiment with yourself and how your body reacts to them, you will be able to time it so the effects will kick in around the same time.
Melatonin is generally taken on a short-term basis to relieve temporary issues with sleep, and is a generally well-tolerated supplement. The Food and Drug Administration considers melatonin a dietary supplement so there are no official guidelines on dosage. Usually you determine dosage by your age, body weight, and personal sensitivity. We recommend starting with the lowest recommended dose and working your way up as you learn how your body reacts to it. Melatonin isn’t recommended as a long-term solution for sleep. Please consult your doctor or a medical professional to avoid any complications or potential side-effects.
For short-term relief from insomnia, the combination of melatonin and CBD has proven itself as a worthy solution. While melatonin isn’t meant to be a long-term solution, intermittent use to help relieve insomnia is well tolerated. CBD can be used daily, and as always, the quickest and perhaps most enjoyable way to enjoy CBD is through one of our CRÈME CBD cigarettes.
