How Do Cannabinoids Affect Sleep?

The vast majority of quality CBD consumers find its relaxing and calming effects supportive of a good night’s sleep. They might even consider their favorite CBD product a sleep aid, without actually making them ‘sleepy.’ Yes, the two are not mutually exclusive.

Getting a great night’s sleep is paramount, to not only our sense of physical well-being but our emotional and mental states as well. With all of our modern demands and distractions, even scrolling through our phones before getting off to sleep goes counter to having our most satisfying morning. Ask any Doctor.

Being relaxed and having a general sense of well-being is a great place to start when your head hits the pillow and frankly, the right, quality CBD product can help with that. 

Unfortunately, many feel that sleep is almost a waste of time. That we have to do, do, do and go, go, go. Really though, sleep is when our body rebuilds, your subconscious processes the day, and without it, we’re mere shells of our best selves. Respect your sleep — your needs are different than everyone else's (including your partner’s). 

The sense of release/relief from the day’s demands and general anxiety of perceived expectations is incredibly important. Many people can get stuck in the ‘monkey mind’ state of replaying conversations, countering perceived affronts, and/or even planning the next day. What good is that? Especially when you’ll probably wake up with the exact answers you needed anyway. It’s funny how that works isn’t it?  

None of that is really very healthy, rarely produces workable results, and has nothing to do with living in the ‘Now.’ Especially when the Now is all about sleep.

So if you’ve had a full day, handled your business, exercised, ate well, enjoyed generally positive interactions with your fellow humans, and are lucky enough to savor a broad-spectrum, sparkling CBD beverage sometime in the latter part of the day — the chances are, you’ll snuggle right in and sleep super-well once it’s time. 

What Cannabinoids Help You Sleep?

When it comes to the subject of sleep and cannabinoids, CBN is the acronym that usually makes it quite quickly to the surface. It stands for ‘Cannabinol…’ 

“Cannabinol is a mildly psychoactive cannabinoid that binds to the cannabinoid receptors with more selectivity for CB2 over CB1 found in trace amounts from Cannabis. CBN is mostly found in cannabis that is aged and stored, and is derived from the plant's main psychoactive chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol.” Wikipedia

And…

 “CBN has shown to have sedative properties that could relieve conditions like insomnia.” WebMD

 The thing is, it’s generally considered that the cannabinoids work best together, the way nature intended them. Isolates are great to answer scientific questions and aid in the search for answers and possible cures to age-old problems, but always consider the power of the ‘entourage effect.’ 

 Note: The entourage effect is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts, or in this case, the cannabinoids. 

That’s the reasoning behind ‘broad spectrum’ products and it makes perfect sense.

Really, there’s so much going on between the individual and the variants found within this plant and its derivatives it’s tough to give clear answers to clear questions. This is especially true because these effects, though often documented as ‘scientifically repeatable’ will be slightly different for each individual and this makes them subjective. 

Can Cannabinoids Cause Insomnia?

In some individuals, maybe. For the vast majority of people, no. 

If you’re ingesting a quality CBD product at night and you can’t get to sleep, then chances are something else is going on. The best approach to a situation like this is to make sure you’re not stacking even more anxiety on top of what’s already making you toss and turn. Give yourself a break, you can’t control everything.   

So, if you’ve had a full day as described above and you’re suffering from insomnia, just relax with some deep breathing exercises, or whatever meditation practice you use (even counting sheep could be considered a form of meditative work), and most likely you’ll soundly drift off. 

Tip: Some people swear by removing almost, if not all of the electronics from their bedrooms. Frankly, that sounds like a great idea. 

In closing; as one might suspect, these are huge and important topics. There’s a lot of theory mixed with science and baked in the mystery of history. 

Ask yourself why the human brain has cannabinoid receptors? Yes, the body itself can produce cannabinoids, but it just doesn’t seem to be the whole story. That question alone is tough to explain away. (You can bring that one up at your next dinner party, as you all enjoy your Bimble sparkling CBD beverages.)

The one fact we are sure of is: We now have access to high-quality and quite tasty fizzy CBD drinks that offer us something very special — naturally occurring compounds that some would argue our bodies were made to not only receive, but to utilize and enjoy.