CBD is utilized for a variety of different benefits with one of the most popular applications being sleep. It is claimed by both users and customers that CBD helps those with sleep disorders such as insomnia to help fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
For some, this could potentially be a substance that has the ability to finally put an end to their poor sleep habits and help them to get their much-needed shut-eye. However, there may be one often overlooked aspect of the sleep process that needs to be addressed when talking about CBD. How does CBD affect the sleep experience? Does it affect my dreams and, if so, will I end up having nightmares that will still have an impact on my overall sleep?
This is an important question to ask and as such, we have created an article to tackle the subject. Let’s take a look at how CBD affects the dream cycle.
WHY WE DREAM
There are theories out there as to why we dream. Here are some of the ones that have gained the most popularity:
- Help you to sort through the information that you have learned during the day
- Help us to process our emotional state
- Random processes that occur in the brain but serve no real function in psychology. Instead, they are byproducts of the brain functioning during the night
- Continue your consciousness from waking day hours and simply become strange due to the lack of oncoming stimuli during the night
- Serve as a protective system that prepares you for challenges and threats
- Uncover some of your deepest desires that you are not manifesting in real life
- Help you to psychologically work things out in your head and make new connections between different parts of your life
Regardless of the real reasons behind dreaming, they are normal aspects of sleep that most people deal with when they go to bed. For this reason, it is important to keep them as pleasant and as comfortable as possible. Those who deal with unpleasant dreams or night terrors deal with the sleep deprivation and unwanted side effects that accompany them. This brings us to our next question.
CAN CBD EFFECT YOUR DREAMS?
Now that we have a little bit more feedback as to what dreams may be attempting to do when you fall asleep, we must see if CBD could potentially impact these dreams. Don't let them turn into something that could cause a new sleep issue. CBD does have some side effects but not reported on dreams. However, CBD has an impact that could serve as a useful tool for those who are already suffering from nightmares.
According to some, CBD actually eliminates most dreaming, if not all. When users take CBD, some have reported that they did not have any dreams at all or were not able to recall any dreams if they did experience them throughout the night. While some people enjoy their dreams, others may not have such great dreams, making CBD a possible help for those who have dream-related sleep issues.
In short, CBD is said to get rid of dreams almost entirely. Depending on your situation, this could be a benefit or a drawback of the substance. We will dive into the reasons behind this apparent effect in the next section.
CBD Helps With Sleeping Patterns?
CBD is said to throw dreams out of the sleeping process entirely. But why is this? According to researchers, CBD is said to affect sleep patterns in such a way that users experience more deep sleep and less REM sleep.
To give you a better idea as to the difference between the two, deep sleep is a stage of sleep that is designed to help the body recover from the activities during the day. In this stage of sleep, the body is focused solely on repairing itself and taking care of maintenance, leaving little of the other parts of the body active. In the REM sleep stage, the brain is more active and this is the time when we experience most of our dreams. We are able to properly recall them after we’ve woken up.
When using CBD, it has been said that the body will often spend less time in the REM stage and move quickly into the deep sleep stage. This allows the body to recover and preventing the user from dreaming as frequently as normal. This is why the substance is often recommended for those who are heavily sleep deprived so that they can rest and recover without having to deal without any potential nightmares or uncomfortable dreams during the process.
Best Way to Consume CBD for Sleep
The best part about using CBD for sleep is that you have much more time for the substance to take effect and you have less of a need for instant absorption, giving you the option of choosing almost any introduction method that is available for CBD. If you’re thinking about adding CBD to your nightly routine, here are some of the best CBD products you have at your disposal.
Tincture Oil
A CBD tincture oil is a type of oil that is administered orally. Most of these oils are meant to be taken sublingual, which means under the tongue. It could also be mixed along with your food or drinks to make them go down easier if you find that the taste of your chosen oil is not as pleasant as you would like.
Tincture oils are perfect for most users because they are quickly absorbed into the body to produce widespread benefits. They are easier to dose when compared to other products that are currently on the market.
There are manufacturers out there that produce tincture oils with added flavors to take some of the plant-based flavors away. In addition, it should be noted that using your tincture oils in your food or drink can make it harder for the body to absorb and increase the amount of time it takes for the CBD to take effect.
Edibles
When most people hear the term “edibles”, they think about the treats that have marijuana baked into them. While this is true, there are CBD edibles out there that use the same concept to deliver CBD throughout the body.
Edibles are arguably the most enjoyable CBD products currently available as most of them taste great. They also give you specific doses that help you take only a certain amount before bed.
The only downside to these products is that they will take a little longer to be absorbed into the body due to having to go through the digestive system. They cannot usually be broken down into lower doses unless the product already comes separated into smaller sections of one large dose.
Vaping or Smoking
Along with tincture oil drops, vaping your CBD is an extremely effective method. Vaping provides almost instant results and is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs. Although there is often a stigma around vaping, it is actually much safer than smoking as it does not rely on combustion to deliver the active ingredients.
When it comes to vaping there are two different kinds of methods that you can use. The first method relies on a device called a vaporizer, which uses CBD oils that are then heated to a point to where the active ingredients are released into a vapor. It is then inhaled through the mouthpiece of the device.
This method is very enjoyable as there are a variety of different flavors to choose from and operating a vaporizer is quite easy. If you are in need of much higher CBD doses, you could instead use CBD concentrates. This method is more complex but if you are needing to get higher concentrations of CBD, this is the way to go. If you are new to the vaping industry, use a simple vaporizer. If you are experienced and do need higher doses, you should probably choose concentrates instead.