How does CBD oil possibly help headaches?
Listen to the automated AI version of this article here:
Do you suffer from a lack of sleep? You’re not alone! Trouble sleeping is one of the top three reasons our patients come to us for help.
Sleep is essential for our health since many of our bodies’ processes are being healed and repaired when we get some shut-eye. When we don’t get enough sleep, this can lead to an increased risk of mental and physical health conditions.
Unfortunately, many life stressors can get in the way of getting a good night’s sleep. While typical treatment includes medications, more people are choosing natural alternatives to use, like CBD.
CBD Oil and Sleep
CBD oil is a type of CBD product which is a prescription medication in New Zealand through your GP or our clinic. CBD is a type of cannabinoid, or cannabis compound. and is extracted from the cannabis plant. CBD does not contain any THC (another cannabinoid which causes people to feel high) and is therefore a great possible therapeutic compound without the additional ‘high’.
CBD may help to promote restful sleep in several ways. It may possibly help ease the physical symptoms that prevent you from falling asleep, like chronic pain, and it may help to quieten your mind from the stress of everyday life by possibly decreasing anxiety and stress.
Here are some ways the CBD oil may help promote you sleep. These benefits are not proven but the evidence is promising to guide further research into this area.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain prevents us from feeling relaxed and comfortable, two of the most critical elements for falling asleep. Luckily, CBD has shown promising results in its interaction with pain output. CBD can achieve this by interacting with several receptors in the brain, decreasing pain and inflammation throughout the body (1).
For example, a commonly experienced chronic pain symptom are migraines. A recent review found cannabis and CBD as a promising method of relieving migraine pain while also reducing the frequency of migraine headaches (2).
While research is still in its early stages for CBD’s treatment of overall chronic pain, many researchers have shown CBD as having modest yet effective benefits. They found that CBD’s interaction was so strong in some cases that inflammation was lowered, improving sleep quality and duration (3).
Anxiety
It’s no secret that excess fear and worry make it harder to fall and stay asleep during the night. In a cruel stroke of luck, sleep deprivation can also worsen anxiety, leading to a negative cycle that is hard to get out of!
CBD use has been shown to possibly reduce several key elements of anxiety. These include lowering heart rates in rats with high-stress levels, while increasing serotonin levels (4). Serotonin, known as the ‘happy hormone’, can be affected by CBD, as CBD interacts with receptors in the central nervous system.
Anxiety and stress are often closely linked. A recent study investigated the use of CBD in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After eight weeks of treatment, 91% of patients experienced a decrease in PTSD symptoms after taking CBD orally. CBD was also shown to offer relief in some patients who had frequent nightmares due to PTSD (5).
Very encouraging results!
Insomnia
Insomnia is more common than you might think. While it typically affects older adults, children and teenagers can also experience it. In fact, after analysing the sleep habits of New Zealanders, 45% of the population reported experiencing insomnia symptoms at least once per week (6)!
Insomnia is often linked with high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol decreases sleep quality and promotes feelings of alertness. CBD may possibly help control cortisol levels by functioning as a sedative, limiting cortisol release (7).
Researchers recently found that people who take moderate amounts of CBD oil daily had lowered cortisol levels, which improved anxiety levels and sleep (8).
How Does CBD Possibly Help With Sleep?
Getting a good night’s sleep is influenced by many factors. While the obvious ones are caffeine and using technology late at night, others are more serious. Luckily, some of these may possibly be mitigated with CBD oil.
When sleep is affected long term, this can lead to insomnia, which causes the inability to fall and stay asleep. Many symptoms walk hand in hand with insomnia, including anxiety and stress, which can interrupt the body’s natural sleep cycle. In addition to this, other physical ailments, like chronic pain, can prevent you from even falling asleep in the first place!
While research on CBD and sleep is still in its early stages, some research suggests that CBD can lower anxiety, stress, and pain due to its relationship with the endocannabinoid system (9).
This system can influence our anxiety and stress levels and how well we respond to pain. CBD can interact with the receptors present in the endocannabinoid system to lower these symptoms (10).
How To Try & Use CBD Oil for Sleep
When starting any new addition to your daily health regime, it is good to talk to your doctor, and incorporating CBD oil is no different! They will be able to assess your sleep needs directly to determine whether CBD oil is a suitable product for you and the correct dosage for your body.
You can take CBD oil any time during the day, but you can also alter it depending on what time you want to sleep. CBD oil tinctures are generally fast-acting, especially when rubbed into your gums or applied directly under the tongue to encourage quick absorption into the bloodstream (11).
Because of this, an excellent time to take CBD oil for trying to help with sleep is around an hour before your usual bedtime. This allows the CBD to be absorbed effectively before your head hits the pillow!
CBD Side Effects
While most high-quality CBD products from reputable companies should not give any side effects, body composition may influence how the CBD is processed.
Commonly experienced side effects include dizziness, changes in appetite or bowel movements, and nausea (12). Talking to one of our experienced doctors or your GP about potential side effects or interactions with other medications before starting CBD is therefore essential.
The bottom line
Getting enough sleep is absolutely essential for our health. Luckily, numerous studies have shown CBD’s possible role in decreasing chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia. These are all significant factors that can affect our sleep quality. Although the evidence is not complete here, it is promising.
Because CBD can affect our bodies in various ways, talking to your doctor before using CBD is recommended for tailoring individual sleep preferences. They will be able to determine whether CBD is suitable for your sleep needs and the dosage required.
Book with one of our doctors today and get ready for a good night’s sleep!
Disclaimer – medicinal cannabis and CBD oil are unapproved medicines in NZ which means that there is no conclusive evidence for their effect, apart from Sativex. Many doctors do not routinely prescribe cannabis medicines. The above article was written for general educational purposes and does not intend to suggest that medicinal cannabis can be used to treat any health condition. Please consult with your healthcare provider.
Related Posts:
Dr. Waseem Alzaher
MBChB (Otago), BSc (Auckland) - As our tele-medicine doctor and author, Dr. Waseem keeps busy educating both patients and doctors about medicinal cannabis. He also consults with people from all over New Zealand, offering a listening ear and giving the most relevant advice.