Will CBD be the answer to multiple sleep issues that affect millions if not billions of people?

Sleep is one of the most critical aspects of a healthy lifestyle, yet many people in America are struggling with a sleep disorder of some kind. This sleep deprivation can be potentially dangerous as it affects quality of life and may endanger lives, especially when considering the accidents caused by drowsy driving.

Thankfully, decades of scientific research is highlighting CBD’s many therapeutic sleep benefits. While more research is needed to consider CBD’s effects as concrete, its promising results and excellent safety profile are perfect reasons for sleep disorder patients to be excited about an alternative to traditional medication.

From treating insomnia to improving REM sleep, CBD is a safe and viable treatment for helping people get a good night’s rest.

Have you used CBD for a sleep disorder? What kind of results did you achieve? Share your story!

 

CBD Does Not Interfere With Sleep Architecture

A 2018 study by Brazilian scientists from the University of São Paulo, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina, and the Federal University of Paraná, tested CBD on the sleep-wake cycle in healthy volunteers.

Volunteers were split into two groups, one treated with 300 mg of CBD and the other received a placebo for one night. The next night, the groups switched their treatment. No significant differences were found; however, researchers note that their study is limited because they used only one dose for one night of treatment.

The study also discovered that CBD, unlike certain sleep medications like Restoril and Halcion, does not alter or change sleep architecture (the natural progression of sleep stages). Changing sleep architecture can lead to less deep sleep, cognitive dysfunction, and loss of effectiveness in treating insomnia.

Thus, this study indicates that CBD may be safe for long-term insomnia treatment.

CBD Can Treat REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

The Department of Neuroscience and Behavior at the University of São Paulo in Brazil found that CBD could improve REM sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson’s disease patients.

During REM sleep, people experience muscle atonia, an event where the muscles are paralyzed to prevent people from physically acting out their dreams. However, in a REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), muscle atonia is lost. RBD becomes more likely in neurological diseases where muscle function is lost, such as in Parkinson’s.

In this study, researchers found that CBD reduced the number of RBD episodes and had no side effects.

This effect of CBD suggests CBD could help regulate REM sleep in other disorders as well.

 

CBD Improves Sleep By Decreasing Anxiety

A case study led by Scott Shannon, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Fort Collins, demonstrated the effectiveness of CBD oil for insomnia and anxiety on a young girl with PTSD.

The patient could not sleep alone, was constantly anxious, and displayed behavioral outbursts. Medication could not provide benefits long term, so CBD oil was implemented. Once CBD was introduced, the patient’s anxiety significantly decreased, and her sleep steadily improved over a five-month period. She also began to sleep alone for the first time.

This study indicates that anxiety can severely disrupt sleeping patterns; however, CBD is a well-researched treatment for anxiety. As a result of its ability to reduce anxiety, CBD may also reduce anxiety-induced insomnia.