There is a wide range of products available in health stores that are claimed to help you fall asleep, from lavender oil to magnesium supplements. Another supplement which has gained popularity recently for a variety of health reasons, is CBD oil. CBD oil has been claimed to help with a range of conditions from epilepsy to eczema, as well as aiding you to fall asleep. Henri Sant Cassia from CBD products maker CBD Virtue explained to Express.co.uk how CBD oil can help you to sleep well.
Research suggests CBD helps to reduce levels of anxiety and, in turn, improves the quality and quantity of sleep during the night
Henri Sant Cassia – CBD Virtue
According to Sant Cassia, CBD works with the body to “supplement and improve” the natural sleep cycle.
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body to support a structured sleep, and using CBD as a supplement can work with melatonin to contribute to a deeper night’s sleep.
CBD can also be used as a sleep aid for those suffering with sleep deficiency as a result of other medical issues including chronic pain, insomnia, PTSD and depression.
“Research suggests CBD helps to reduce levels of anxiety and, in turn, improves the quality and quantity of sleep during the night,” said Sant Cassia.
“Anxiety can be debilitating in many ways and particularly in preventing the ability to drop off to sleep and in extreme cases can cause insomnia.
“CBD works by stimulating the nervous system and regulating mood thus reducing anxious feelings.
“This regulation of anxiety in turn aids the ability to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern.”
Sant Cassia explains that when we sleep we pass though different sleep states, the most important being the REM phase. This is where we gain the most energy from our sleep.
CBD works with the body’s endocannabinoid system to regulate the sleeping pattern and in turn increase the amount of REM sleep we have each night.
“Chronic pain, as with anxiety, can be extremely debilitating in many ways and specifically affecting our ability to sleep,” said Sant Cassia.
“CBD helps to intercept pain signals in the body thus reducing pain and improving our natural ability to sleep at night.
“It works by affecting neurotransmitters and receptors thus reducing the amount of pain we feel, as well as relaxing muscle fibres.
“As such, CBD is proven to be effective in the management of pain from arthritis and muscle spasms.”
CBD oil is an oil made from cannabidiol, which is a chemical compound – known as a cannabinoid – found in the cannabis plant.
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Cannabidiol is non-psychoactive, unlike tetrahydrocannabinol – or THC – which is another cannabinoid of the cannabis plant.
THC is the psychoactive compound that is responsible for the ‘high’ people feel when taking cannabis.
CBD, meanwhile, has no psychoactive properties and is thought to be responsible for the medicinal benefits associated with cannabis.
Speak to your doctor first if you have trouble sleeping and if you are considering taking CBD oil.
The NHS warns against buying CBD oil online, as products sold and bought over the internet from unreputable sources may be illegal to possess or supply. They may not necessarily be safe to use and may contain THC.
The health body also advises that CBD oils sold in health stores are not guaranteed to be of good quality and tend to only contain very small amounts of CBD – making their effects unclear.
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