Hemp has long been known for its therapeutic effects, with sleep-related disorders being one of the most common reasons for self-medication with hemp. What many hemp lovers already know from experience, research is just beginning to catch up with. Science is just beginning to uncover some of the mechanisms by which hemp interacts with the human brain to promote restful sleep.
When it comes to sleep, there are several reasons why you might find yourself up at night, tirelessly counting one too many sheep — diet, anxiety and stress, poor habits and lifestyle changes, or even a severe underlying medical condition. Whatever the cause, it seems that more and more people are opting for natural alternatives in place of sleeping aids and other harmful, sedative drugs. If you’re curious about incorporating cannabinoids into your nighttime routine, in this article we share how they might be able to benefit you in achieving a blissful dormancy.
How Cannabinoids Promote Restful Sleep
Many people are ditching over-the-counter and prescription sleeping pills in favor of natural options to help them fall asleep and stay asleep, and CBD seems to fit the bill. Why?
Well, aside from the fact that it’s non-toxic and doesn’t have any addiction potential, hemp is virtually risk-free. For many people, the advantages of hemp as a sleep aid exceed the disadvantages, and even the side-effects are more tolerable than pharmaceutical intervention. Here are some of the ways that cannabinoids can help improve the state of sleepiness:
Encourages relaxation
You can basically think of hemp as nature’s chill pill. To put things bluntly: it makes you feel great and puts you in a good mood, especially after a long day when the grips of life seem so unremorseful.
Melts away late-night stresses
Certain cannabinoids in hemp are known for their unique anxiolytic effects. If often you experience restlessness from anxiety and stress at night, a puff or two of some green just might be what you need to take the edge off, leaving stress no chance of bogging down your mind once its bedtime.
Sedative effects cradle you to sleep
Hemp contains hundreds of natural compounds called cannabinoids. These compounds are responsible for influencing a number of functions in our body’s natural endocannabinoid system (ECS). Although some provide psychoactivity (THC), certain cannabinoids such as CBD and CBN have documented sedative properties said to encourage sleep.
Provides pain relief
Deep relaxation and a clear mind coupled with hemp are proven to provide pain-relieving effects, meaning that you’ll be able to get comfy and feel relaxed in bed. Hemp is a well-documented pain reliever and has been commonly used by consumers for this purpose.
To get the most of your time in bed, you need to know which the best cannabinoids are for sleeping. But with the sheer number of options on the market, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially if you are not an experienced hemp user. Hemp-derived products can come in a variety of sizes, effects, flavors, and uses – dried flower, concentrates, edibles, topicals, drinks…the list goes on and on.
Hemp contains hundreds of different chemical compounds, each of them synergistically contributing to its remedial benefits. Among these are terpenes, aromatic compounds that carry with them a slurry of their own therapeutic properties. They can be found in almost all plant life in nature; however, there are some plant varieties with a unique terpene profile known to promote a good night’s sleep.
What are Terpenes and Why Are They Important?
There have been more tan 200 different terpenes identified in nature to date. Having said that, there are a handful of terpenes that are rather prominent, each with their own unique set of effects. From this, we can conclude that terpenes may be useful if you have trouble sleeping.
What Not to Do When Using Cannabinoids For Sleep
Consuming cannabinoids as a sleep aid is pretty simple, and there aren’t too many ways to mess things up, but there is one crucial thing to consider: be careful with consuming certain cannabinoids before bed. When it comes to certain cannabinoids, some have been long been characterized to provide euphoric, uplifting, and energizing effects. While others have described to be sedative, providing deep relaxation.
The high from edibles can be more intense and last significantly longer than other hemp-infused products. Furthermore, edibles tend to have a delayed onset, which basically means that it’s relatively easier to consume too much before the effects are felt in the body.
A dose of cannabinoids such as CBD will allow you to rest peacefully without causing extreme sedation. Might we add that we love lighting up just as much as the next cannabinoid enthusiast, however, smoking is not the safest route of administration for medicinal hemp. That said, if you want to feel an energized mood in the morning, we also recommend eating edibles or using a vaporizer to enjoy your hemp.
Terpenes are able to provide a whole slew of benefits, especially for the troubled sleeper. However, we don’t recommend consuming products containing certain terpenes such as alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, or limonene. These terpenes are more energizing and will do everything but help you catch those much-needed Z’s.
Counting Less Sheep and Catching more Z’s
Further research is required to more clearly understand how terpenes may induce certain effects, particularly when in the presence of other compounds.
That said, reputable hemp companies have their products thoroughly tested by third-party labs to test a number of important things, including terpene content in order to give consumers a clearer idea of the type of effect they may be able to expect from the particular strain being consumed.
As cannabis legalization continues, the popularity of terpene testing will also continue to bolster, inevitably providing consumers with thorough terpene profiles of the hemp products and strains purchased.
If you’re new to the world of hemp and cannabinoids, it is essential to understand that the variety of cannabinoids and consumption methods will affect everyone differently, including sleeping patterns.
Always remember to speak with your primary health care provider to find what will work best for your sleep.