Will CBD Really Help My Insomnia?

Everyone’s had one of those days where sleep does not want to cooperate. Sometimes because of too much coffee before bed, or simply because of too much eaten. Regardless of why it happened, a lack of sleep sucks. Now multiply that by 100, and then say hello to insomnia. Insomnia can derail a person's entire day and make it hard to perform even the very basic tasks of the day, like getting out of bed or making a meal. Shockingly though, about one-quarter of all adults in the UK suffer from insomnia-like symptoms. According to another study, about 14% of the population suffers from insomnia in any given country in Europe.

Normally, a single sleep cycle goes beyond spending time to remain quiet and close your eyes. The sleep cycle is regulated by different biological processes producing characteristic fluctuations in the brain waves, many repetitive cycles of eye movement, and many muscle tone patterns. The human body has also evolved over time to form a complex feedback system that controls our perception of sleep time and, at the same time, help us regulate the time of sleep. Depending on your type of schedule and lifestyle, your biological control of the sleep-wake system can become disrupted. Once disrupted, it becomes difficult to initiate sleep or maintain a quality sleep for an extended period of time.

To maintain an optimal biological functionality level, human adults need at least seven hours of sleep every day. Once this sleep time is significantly reduced, the disrupted sleep pattern increases the risk of developing different forms of sleep disorders. Sleep disorders are not widely reported in the population; however, they are very common in both children and adults. Based on population studies focused on sleep behaviors, insomnia, and obstructive sleep, apnea appears to be the most prevalent sleep disorder. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of insomnia often present with restlessness and physical inactivity. 

Adults finding it hard to sleep often report symptoms that suggest a declining cognitive function. Insomnia can also increase the risk of work-related accidents while negatively affecting a worker’s ability to successfully run shift work schedules. Restlessness and physical inactivity can eventually lead to discomfort and affect the overall function of the biological system in humans. As modern medicine keeps evolving, many clinical reviews and studies have been conducted to study the processes involved in sleep disorders. These studies have also experimented with many therapy methods designed to manage these disorders.

The medical focus on insomnia has steadily improved over the years, with many therapy plans and schedules designed for adequate management. These plans are also designed to target symptom control and with minimal or no medical supervision. On the bright side, a few inexpensive and effective solutions can be tried, which may potentially cure insomnia. NaturalWorks CBD may be one of those solutions. This article will dive into CBD and how it may potentially alleviate insomnia from individuals suffering from it.

A Normal Sleep Cycle

As humans, we have all been programmed to observe moments to help relieve the stress of a hectic day and keep the biological functions in a normal state. Approximately humans spend about one-third of their lifetime asleep. Although many people believe sleep is important for normal functioning, the process itself is more than just a daily basic need. Every cycle of a sleep episode consists of much complex interplay involving variations in brain waves, eye movement, and muscle tone patterns. A complete sleep cycle also involves a complex balance between the neurological mechanisms that control sleep-intuition and the waking process.  

Humans' normal sleep cycle is largely divided into two different phases –the non-rapid eye movements sleep phase and the rapid eye movement phase. These two phases of sleep overlap and occur in alternation through the sleeping process. Insomniacs and people with functional abnormalities in these phases are very likely to eventually present with multiple sleep disorders. These phases are also intricately linked with many organ systems in the body. Once these phases are faulty, discomfort sets in, causing different levels of inconvenience.

Normally, every sleep cycle starts from the non-rapid eye movement sleep phase and progresses in active alternation to the rapid eye movement sleep phase. The non-rapid eye movement sleep takes up about 75% of the total sleep cycle and is subdivided into four different stages. Each stage is characterized by variations in muscle tone and eye movement. In the first stage, the brain waves recorded are shifts steadily from a conscious state to a low voltage recording that signals mixed frequency. This takes place for about 7 minutes and can easily be easily interrupted by noise or sudden movements.  In the second stage, the non-rapid eye movement sleep phase lasts for about 25 minutes and is characterized by the central nervous system's pronounced stimulation.

During this stage, nervous stimulation causes a drop in heart rate and body temperature as the body goes into a state of deep sleep. The third and final stages of this phase are considered the deepest stages of sleep in humans. Lasting for about 4 minutes, these stages can occur in rapid succession and are characterized by slow waves and a high arousal threshold. While sleeping, it becomes increasingly difficult to wake people who are already in these stages. If sleep becomes suddenly disrupted during these stages, the waking individual might experience a transient state of confusion and mental fogginess. The rapid eye movement sleep phase is characterized by dreaming and altered breathing rate and can also last for many hours during a sleep cycle.

What Contributes to Insomnia and Bad Sleep?

According to the Sleep Foundation, insomnia is characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Insomnia comes in two forms, acute and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia usually occurs due to life circumstances like exams or a family member's sickness and tends to resolve itself after the circumstance, without any treatment. On the other hand, chronic insomnia is defined as disrupted sleep that occurs at least three nights per week.

Insomnia Risk Factors

There are many factors that contribute to insomnia and bad sleep patterns. According to the Mayo Clinic, insomnia can be caused by many factors, including:

1)  Mental health Disorders

People who have a confirmed diagnosis of mood disorders are also likely to find it hard to sleep. Mood disorders such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety have significantly contributed to sleep disorders. The worst cases of insomnia are reported in patients with a genetic predisposition to mental health disorders or those exposed to these disorders' risk factors earlier in life.  Environmental triggers, including abrupt changes in lifestyle patterns, can impair mental health and reduce sleep quality in affected individuals. The brain easily recognizes these triggers and proceeds to activate a series of biological responses to stress.  Mental health disorders remain one of the most important risk factors for insomnia and other sleep disorders.

2)      Medications

Many drugs can also interfere with an individual’s ability to sleep. Drugs are administered for many therapeutic purposes in patients. People who use drugs can also become exposed to the various side effects that come with the administration of these drugs. In many cases, these unwanted effects can be an abnormal response of the body to the drug or an extension of the drug’s pharmacology in the user. Alpha-blockers used in the management of high blood pressure and benign prostatic hyperplasia are particularly known to cause sleeplessness episodes in many patients. This class of drugs relaxes the muscles and keeps the small vessels open. A major side effect of alpha-blockers, including alfuzosin and prazosin, is a decrease in the time frame for rapid eye movement sleep.

Beta-blockers and corticosteroids have also been documented to be responsible for insomnia in many patients. Corticosteroids are used in the management of inflammation, allergic reaction, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. Beta-blockers, on the other hand, are used in the management of hypertension. Beta-blockers can cause insomnia by inhibiting the secretion of melatonin –a hormone responsible for the regulation of sleep and the body’s circadian clock. Corticosteroids, in large doses, can amplify the response of the adrenal gland to stress. This single action can keep the body awake, and the mind stimulated. Other medications that can cause insomnia include selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, and statins.  

3)  Physical pain

Physical pain causes discomfort and makes it hard to sleep for a long time. High-stress jobs increase the risk of muscle fatigue, tissue damage, and accidents that can lead to pain. Painful sensation makes a patient excessively alert and causes psychological stress that makes it difficult to maintain sleep. Most Cancer patients experience recurring episodes of generalized body pain as the cancer stage progresses with time. Depending on the severity and types of diseases, the intensity of associating pain can range from moderate to multiple sites, severe pain stimulations. In many cases, physical pain can be severe and resistant to conventional painkillers and opioids. This type of pain causes a level of discomfort that significantly reduces sleep time and quality.

4)      Caffeine

Increased consumption of caffeine has long been known to cause insomnia. Many medical studies have been conducted to understand the mechanism by why this product causes sleeplessness. Drinking a cup of coffee in the day might not be a problem; however, nighttime consumption of a large quantity of caffeine has been proven to significantly delay sleep onset.    The sleep-disruptive properties of caffeine have been proven to be dose-dependent. The more the quantity consumed, the higher the risk of sleeplessness. 

As a stimulant, caffeine blocks the sleep-inducing chemicals in the human body and keeps the user alert. On entering the stomach, caffeine exerts its stimulating effect within 15 minutes. This effect can also last for several hours. On average, the human body gets rid of caffeine slowly. This allows the product to maintain a high concentration in the bloodstream and exert more stimulatory effects. Although caffeine is linked with insomnia, it is important to note that a moderate caffeine intake constitutes no significant harm to the user. Other environmental factors such as an uncomfortable bed, inadequate darkness in the bedroom, loud noises, and stress can slow many people's insomnia.

What is CBD?

The acronym CBD stands for Cannabidiol. Cannabidiol is one of the main ingredients of hundreds of elements found in the cannabis Sativa plant –a plant considered as one of the oldest plants cultivated by man. The first documented use cases of Cannabidiol goes back to the ancient Chinese and has been used by many civilizations after them. One of the earliest records of cannabis use was by the civilization in Greece. Until the 1913 Balkan wars, cannabis use was popular among the locals and Greek soldiers regardless of its illegal status. The Greek population was notorious for the use of cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal and recreational purposes.

Arguably, cannabis is one of the most controversial natural products around, with different campaigns and policies regulating its cultivation, marketing, and use. Interest in the chemistry of natural products derived from animals and plants started in the early 18th century, with different chemists busy investigating these products for beneficial health and industrial uses. Currently, the components of cannabis, including CBD and THC, are under scientific screening for possible use in modern medicine.

CBD is not to be confused with THC, though. THC is a psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis that gives you the 'high' feeling. CBD does not get a 'high' but is instead used to treat pain, anxiety, and an array of mental health conditions. Also, the undesired effects of cannabis noticed in heavy users have been linked to THC's presence. Integrative healthcare providers currently focus on using CBD in a complementary or alternative therapeutic approach for many patients. 

Benefits of NaturalWorks CBD

The research about CBD is still young, but it appears to hold many promising benefits.

NaturalWorks CBD for Anxiety

Many people have trouble falling asleep due to anxiety. Our CBD appears to be able to reduce anxiety. One large-scale study found that taking one pill of CBD a day decreased anxiety and improved sleep scores within a month of taking, with only about 2% of patients having adverse reactions. It is thought that CBD affects various neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, which results in the calming of the central nervous system and the management of anxiety. Judging from research focused on how CBD interacts with the human body, it is safe to conclude that this natural product has many ways to affect the system. NaturalWorks CBD is specially formulated to offer relief for anxiety patients while improving their sleep quality. 

In large part, CBD affects the endocannabinoid system's components and influences the function of all the systems connected to these systems. The endocannabinoid signaling system is distributed in the limbic regions of the brain and expectedly contributes to the regulation of the processes involved in mood calibration, response to stress, neurotransmitter release, and emotional behavior. Different researches have revealed preliminary evidence suggesting that CBD promotes neurogenesis, improves cognition, and promotes sleep in anxiety patients. Reference research on CBD and sleep improvement in anxiety patients is the 2019 publication of The Permanente Journal. This study confirmed that CBD improves the sleep score and decreases the anxiety score in many patients.

NaturalWorks CBD for Pain

NaturalWorks CBD appears to also be able to help with pain management in patients with chronic pain. Some studies have found that CBD soothes chronic pain, which can also improve sleep. These studies offer confirmatory evidence supporting the earlier use of cannabis extracts to manage moderate to severe pain. In modern medicine, many health professionals now recommend CBD as an alternative or complementary approach for pain management. People with a consistently engaging in daily strenuous activities are at great risk of muscle fatigue, tissue damage, neuropathic pain, and inflammation.  

In 2008, the Journal of Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management published a review of a study on CBD's effect in the management of chronic pain. Research results suggest that CBD acts through multiple pathways to influence the mechanisms controlling pain sensation in human subjects. The pain-relieving effects are more pronounced when CBD is combined with opioids. In many cases, muscle fatigue and continued exertion can cause small microscopic tears in the muscles. There is much research evidence providing support to the theory that CBD also reduces tissue inflammation and enhances injury recovery. These actions are particularly beneficial in athletes with sleeping disorders.

Other Benefits of CBD

Additionally, in small doses, CBD has been found to discourage daytime sleepiness and stimulate alertness. CBD is also used as a clinical medication for epilepsy individuals, Parkinson's disease, and a variety of other psychiatric conditions.

How Can NaturalWorks CBD Help with Insomnia?

Our brand CBD targets some of the potential underlying causes of insomnia, specifically anxiety and pain. It appears that CBD is effective at decreasing anxiety and physical pain. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, about 10 percent of individuals who reported trying CBD said they used it to help them sleep, and the majority of those people said it worked. Taking NaturalWorks CBD oil close to sleeping time seems to yield the best results, although there is no known optimal dosage known as of yet. When taking CBD for insomnia, it is advisable that the user starts at a low dose. The quantity used at once can be increased steadily until the desired effect is achieved. A gradual increase in dose should be done under medical supervision.

The sleep-promoting effects of cannabis and its derivatives have long been noticed. These observations were made before the era of modern medicine. People who are exposed to cannabis were observed to present with decreased sleep onset latency, increased slow-wave sleep, and decreased waking after sleep onset. In 2017, the Journal of Psychopharmacology published the result of a study conducted on the sleep-promoting effect of medical cannabis. About one-third of the participant pool reportedly decreased their sleep medication use as medical cannabis significantly improved sleep quality and time. However, many researches provide evidence suggesting that CBD can also disrupt the sleep cycle in some people.

Since the science of cannabinoids is still developing, many aspects of the CBD functions in the body have remained unknown. To a large extent, the mechanism by which this natural product helps combat insomnia remains largely unknown. Animal studies have suggested that CBD acts through the endocannabinoid system to influence the internal circadian clock in biological systems. Other research results have different pathways through which cannabinoids can influence the sleep-intuition and sleep-wake system's calibration. The NaturalWork CBD is specially formulated to deliver CBD easily to the body system. Absorbed through the membranes, this product can offer different beneficial and therapeutic effects based on indication for use.

The Take-Away

It is clear that NaturalWorks CBD is an effective option to deal with anxiety and pain, which are two significant contributors to poor sleep and insomnia. Unfortunately, CBD has yet to be proven as a cure for diseases like cancer and diabetes. So, in a nutshell, yes, NaturalWorks CBD may help you sleep better.

Here are some key actionable takeaways from the article:

Take some of our CBD oil before bedtime. This may help you sleep better and potentially manage your insomnia. Try different doses -- there seems to be no medical consensus on the correct dosage. Experiment with yourself and see which dose gives you the desired effect.

Consult your doctor before trying CBD -- especially if you have chronic conditions or you plan to use it for the long-term.

References:

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• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25703248/
• https://www.st-va.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789136/#!po=0.476190
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