Sleep-related problems affect 50 to 70 million Americans every year, according to the National Sleep Foundation. That means roughly one in every five Americans suffers sleeping issues each year.

This is a concerning metric when you consider just how vital sleep is for our health. Insufficient sleep can affect everything from cognitive function to cardiovascular health.

The most common form of sleep disorder is insomnia. There are a lot of reasons why someone may experience difficulty sleeping. It helps to rule things out by defining where the actual problem is. There are three main types of insomnia to be aware of — each with their own set of potential causes:

1. Onset Insomnia — This is the type of insomnia where you have a hard time falling asleep at night. This may be associated with racing thoughts or worry before bed.
2. Sleep Maintenance Insomnia — This form of insomnia involves waking up at some point in the early hours of the morning. You may wake up several times throughout the night, or just once but find it nearly impossible to fall back asleep.
3. Non-Restorative sleep — People often overlook this form of insomnia. It involves sleeping throughout the night, but waking unrefreshed — as if you haven’t slept at all. You may not experience apparent insomnia like the others mentioned above, but for some reason, you’re not entering a deep restorative sleep during the night. This form of insomnia is the hardest to diagnose and usually requires sleep analysis at a medical center to understand the cause.

No matter what the cause, sleep issues can impact many different parts of the body. The most obvious is the brain, where sleep deprivation can result in “brain fog”, irritability, poor decision making, difficulty concentrating, and lapses in memory. Sleep deprivation can also affect other areas of the body — such as the heart, muscles, immune system, and digestive organs.

There are a few different ways CBD can be used to support a good night’s sleep.

1. CBD May Alleviate Anxiety

We did another article on the effects of CBD for anxiety that describes how this works in more detail. In a nutshell, CBD works through the GABA receptors in the brain. GABA is used to slow down neurological activity to help us prepare for sleep. One of the most common concomitant symptoms associated with insomnia is anxiety. You may have experienced this familiar scenario — you’re lying in bed, tired and ready to go to sleep, when suddenly you can’t help but feel a wave of anxiety wash over you. You may feel worried, anxious, or uneasy — making it almost impossible to fall asleep.

Anxiety disorders are a primary cause of a wide range of sleep abnormalities and disorders, including the most severe one — insomnia.

A three-month study published in the January Issue of the Permanente Journal examined the health records of 72 patients who were administered CBD for anxiety and poor sleep. The trial showed that anxiety levels in both groups significantly declined after their CBD treatment. For those with sleep problems, the researchers reported improvements in their sleeping habits in the first month of the trial.

2. CBD Supports Deep Sleep

This effect is most important for people who can’t stay asleep (maintenance insomnia) or wake feeling unrefreshed.

Deep sleep is a critical component of a good night of sleep. If we only remain in light sleep for the entire night, it’s easy to wake up at the drop of a pin. Sometimes when we wake up from this state, it can be very difficult to fall back asleep again.

Research suggests that CBD oil increases the duration of the “deep sleep” phase — that stage when we regenerate — while reducing REM sleep (the stage responsible for dreaming).

People who dreamlessly achieve better-quality sleep; their memory improves, and symptoms of depression may start to back away. Consequently, using CBD oil for sleep may lead to a natural improvement in the overall quality of your sleeping habits.

3. CBD May Alleviate Pain

Another common cause of sleeping issues comes from another symptom altogether — pain.

Chronic pain is common, affecting millions of Americans every year.

Depending on the source and severity of pain, it may be enough to keep us up at night. If only there was something reported to alleviate various forms of pain and inflammation.

Fortunately, pain reduction is one of the most common applications of CBD. Read our article on the best CBD oil for pain to learn more about how this works and which CBD oils are best suited for the job.

How Much CBD Should I Take To Help With Sleep?

Dosing CBD oil for sleep is a tricky job because low and high doses of this supplement can produce different effects.

For example, low doses of CBD oil tend to promote alertness, while larger doses tend to be more sedative.

However, this dose will vary a lot from one person to another. The best way to find the best dose for your body is to do some simple trial and error — and remain patient until you find a dose that works.

The process is simple:

1. Start with a much lower dose than you think you need (most people start with 1 or 2 mg equivalents of CBD)
2. Every day increase the dose by 2 mg until you begin feeling the effects
3. Keep playing around with the dose in small increments until you find one that works reliably for you

The more you use CBD, the better you’ll begin to understand how it affects you directly. If you experience any side effects, simply lower the dose to the last time where there were no side effects or take CBD along with some food for future doses.