Can Hemp Help with Insomnia?
When it comes to healthy living, the one thing many forget about is the importance sleep. In fact, getting the right amount of sleep is essential for your health and wellness. Factor's like work, digital devices, social pressure, a global health pandemic, and other stressors are just a few factors for losing sleep. When this repeats over time, it can become insomnia.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that makes it hard for individuals to fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake up without being able to go back to sleep. It can alter your mood, energy levels, and overall health. And unfortunately, insomnia is as a trend, is spreading like wildfire. Recent studies now show that 10-30% of the global population have poor sleep patterns that have lead, or are leading, to insomnia.
With prescription sleep medication having numerous adverse side effects, many people, including researchers and medical professionals have gravitated to hemp isolate as an aid to help with insomnia.
What causes insomnia?
There is no definitive cause for insomnia. Instead, there are multiple causes, some of which can occur all at once. Some of those causes include work stress, financial difficulties, anxiety disorders, and even gastrointestinal disorders like heartburn can lead to insomnia.
Without the right amount of sleep (between 6-8 hours), our bodies begin to experience fatigue and can worsen other health conditions. It can create a continuous chain of cause-and-effect for insomnia. The results of insomnia going untreated can lead to depression, memory problems, and even strained relationships - at work and home. With the holistic movement making its way to the market, it’s also become another option for people who want to seek help for insomnia.
“Based on animal studies, it appears there is a direct impact from CBD on the sleep-wake cycle,” says Dr. Jeff Chen, the CEO, and co-founder of Radicle Science – one of the largest CBD research resources. They are the same medical team responsible for creating one of the largest CBD research studies for womens' healthcare. “Unfortunately, high human studies are lacking. However, CBD may be able to help with insomnia by improving other issues that are disturbing sleep, such as pain and anxiety.”
When did patients start using hemp for insomnia?
The cannabis plant has been used for medicinal and recreational purposes for years – 6,000 to be exact. However, in the last decade, the benefits of CBD have grown in the public interest and have become a popular strategy for tackling a variety of health conditions, including insomnia. “The benefits of CBD for insomnia have been on display in the last few years, with research showing it to be both potent and safe, but this was not always the case,” says Robert Pagano, co-founder at Sleepline. “For thousands of years, people have been using hemp for sleep with no discernible negative side effects, with most early evidence coming from Chinese medicine.” There has even been evidence that cannabis, or hemp, was used in ancient Egypt.
Remedies like CBD combined with lavender oil were just a few methods used to promote a night of restful sleep. Today, many people continue to use folk remedies to help with insomnia, such as CBD creams, CBD roll-on’s, or CBD-infused tea.
Can hemp really help with insomnia?
The short, sweet and evolving answer is looking more and more like yes. With studies still ongoing, research on the potential use of hemp cannabinoids to help with insomnia has been nothing but positive and long-lasting. “Prescription sleep medications have a long list of adverse side effects,” says Dr. Chen. “In contrast, the human studies that are testing CBD in doses of more than 1000 mg daily (10-30x more than what consumers are typically using), and the CBD were generally well-tolerated and safe.”
To date, the most common uses of CBD are for chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, and insomnia. It's also shown that CBD doesn’t have any effects that would lead to potential dependency or risk of abuse. However, since cannabis is not federally legal, extensive research on the benefits of CBD and THC still needs to be done. Groups studies and more long-term research needs to be done for this healing plant can be approved by the FDA.
All and all, CBD has shown to have positive effects on a wide range of health issues. This is why CBD is the best option and can help with insomnia. Several forms of CBD, whether that’s oils, tinctures, edibles, capsules, or topical solutions are effective.
Yet, it’s always important to do your research and talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any form of CBD. “We do know that certain populations should avoid CBD: those with liver disease, heavy alcohol consumers, and pregnant or nursing women,” states Dr. Chen. It’s also advised for first-time users to check the warning labels of all current medications to see whether there is information on whether CBD should be avoided.
How Orenda can help with insomnia
Sleep is a big part of wellness. We have to come to terms with that getting the right amount of sleep is part of our overall health, and it’s vital to make sure we get the right amount of sleep. If you or someone you know have insomnia or any other kind of sleep disorder, we here at Orenda Botanicals can help you.
Our line of wellness products is organic, hemp-derived, and Canadian-made to help with all kinds of ailments, including headaches, stress, tension, and sleep. If you have difficulty having a restful night, try our Blue Trio bag for relief and rest with ingredients primarily made with Lavender, Chamomile, and Vetiver oil, and CBD oil.
Our products and ingredients were all carefully curated with this principle in mind: helping you live a healthier and happier life. For more information about CBD and our hemp-derived products, visit our website.