When Should You Take CBD Gummies for Sleep?

Sleep gummies are an attractive option for nearly any adult struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep. Some are made with the same pharmaceuticals as conventional OTC sleep aids, others with melatonin, CBD or a range of botanical alternatives. With so many products available, it can be hard to figure out which gummy is right for you, and when to take it to optimize your sleep gummy experience. 

Understanding How CBD Affects Sleep

During sleep, your brain releases a surge of hormones that support multiple aspects of overall health and well-being – cognitive function, immune system support, emotional regulation, and more. Studies have shown that insufficient sleep can lead to increased instances of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity¹, and even an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.² But while we all know getting enough sleep is important to feeling our best, actually falling asleep and staying asleep are harder to do. According to data in the CDC’s 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, 36.8% of US adults report not getting enough sleep.³

CBD (cannabidiol), the dominant cannabinoid in natural hemp flower extract, shows significant potential for addressing multiple concerns impacting sleep duration and quality. In December 2019 customer survey, 88% of CBD users reported that CBD helped with mild or temporary anxiety, and 89% of CBD users reported that CBD helped calm their mind. Not surprisingly, 89% of CBD users in the same study reported that CBD helped them sleep better. But how does it do that?

What Happens in the Body When You Take CBD?

We know that CBD interacts with the body’s Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which helps keep many different bodily functions in balance, or homeostasis.  Your ECS is a complex regulatory system with three main components: its messengers (anandamide & 2-AG), its receptors (CB1 & CB2), and the metabolic enzymes that break down the ECS messengers once their purpose is fulfilled (fatty acid amide hydrolase & monoacylglycerol lipase). As the largest regulatory system in the human body, ECS signaling is involved in nearly every crucial function – everything from stress responses and emotional regulation to metabolic function and the perception of pleasure and pain.⁴

Evidence of CBD for Sleep Support

Research into CBD and sleep is still in its infancy, and there’s much we have yet to learn about the exact methods by which CBD affects sleep quality and sleep duration. However, several studies have shown CBD may hold promise for improving sleep⁵ and for REM sleep behavior disorder⁶. A 2021 CBDistillery study backed this up, with study participants who took CBD with CBN reporting sleeping an hour longer each night on average. In another CBDistillery conducted in 2023, 88% of participants achieved more nights of quality sleep when using CBD gummies with CBN and THC than when they didn’t take them.

How CBD Gummies Work Compared to Other Forms

If you’re curious about trying CBD for sleep, there are many different forms you can try. Some people take oil tinctures or softgels. But many people prefer CBD gummies, which give you a precise, pre-measured amount of CBD in every gummy. Unlike softgels, they have multiple delicious flavors to choose from, and they're more portable (and less messy) than tinctures. Plus, CBDistillery’s CBD gummies use only 100% clean ingredients – no corn syrup or artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or preservatives, and no animal-derived ingredients, making them 100% vegan.

Timing Based on Your Sleep Goals

Most adults (18-64) need 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep to greet the morning feeling rested and refreshed. Although you might feel that your body has adapted to running on less, only about one percent of our population needs fewer than six hours of sleep.⁷ If you need eight hours of rest for optimal well-being but are only sleeping six, you're accumulating 14 hours of sleep debt each week. Once you're ready to experience the sleep-promoting potential of CBD gummies, consider working backwards: think about what time you’ll need to wake up, and then count eight hours back to find your target bedtime. Since most people feel the effects of their CBD gummies an hour or two after taking them, add another hour or two before that to find the ideal timing to take your gummy. If you’re new to CBD, remember to start low and go slow, waiting at least two hours for your gummy to take full effect before taking another serving.

Tips to Fall Asleep Faster and Stay Asleep Longer

Don’t underestimate the importance of a consistent bedtime (and bedtime routine)! Keeping a consistent sleep schedule makes it easier for your body to fall asleep, and following the same routine each night signals your body that it’s time to start winding down. Dimming the lights and avoiding phone, tablet and television screens can help you start to shift to sleep mode as well.

For Irregular Sleep Schedules

But what if you’re traveling to a different time zone, or your job involves sometimes working different shifts? Most experts advise shifting your sleep schedule by an hour at a time (going to bed an hour earlier or later than normal the first night, then two hours earlier or later the second night). If you can, plan ahead; adjusting your typical bedtime before your trip starts or your work shift changes, even a little bit, means less adjustment after. Don’t forget to adjust what time you take your CBD sleep gummy to match your adjusted bedtime!

Factors That Influence the Right Time for You

It’s important to remember that while many people find CBD helpful in achieving their sleep goals, everyone’s body is different. There are multiple factors that can affect how long it takes a single dose of CBD to take effect in your body, and how long you need to take CBD consistently before seeing the benefits to your ECS that come with regular, consistent use.  

Body Weight and Metabolism

CBD is a lipophilic substance, meaning it's attracted to, and stored in, fat. If you have a higher ratio of fat to muscle, it could take longer for the effects of CBD to impact your sleep than someone with a lower ratio of fat to muscle, depending on how much of each serving is stored in your adipose tissues. Age, genetics, lack of sleep, and other factors impacting metabolic function can also influence your results.⁸

Individual CBD Sensitivity 

Every person's endocannabinoid system is unique. Someone with a higher number of ECS receptors, for example, could notice the effects of CBD sooner than someone with fewer ECS receptors. If you have a lot of unresolved stress, your elevated cortisol levels could also influence your results. The stress hormone cortisol contributes to the downregulation of the ECS receptor CB1, which could temporarily reduce your sensitivity to CBD.⁹

Mistakes to Avoid

While CBD can be helpful in addressing sleep issues (9 out of 10 CBD users report sleeping better with CBD, based on a December 2019 CBDistillery customer survey), avoiding certain mistakes will help you get the best effects from your sleep gummies.

Taking CBD Gummies Too Late

For most of us, our wake-up time is pretty fixed (at least if we want to be on time for work). That’s why it’s so important to work out your ideal bedtime and give your gummies plenty of time to take effect beforehand. Taking your CBD gummies after your ideal bedtime could help with some sleep quality issues, like racing thoughts, but it won’t help you get more hours of sleep if your alarm is still going off at the same time!

Not Tracking Results

You’ve heard to start low and go slow. To make it easier, consider keeping a sleep journal, giving you a place to note what you’ve tried and how well it worked – or didn’t work. Having a convenient place to write down what serving size you tried and when you felt effects can make it easier to know when, and how much, to adjust your serving size or timing. A sleep journal can also help you keep track of which products you respond to best, and how other changes to your nighttime routine affect your sleep.

Choosing the Best CBD Gummies for Sleep Support

The best CBD gummies for sleep are made with naturally cultivated, U.S.-grown hemp flower extract and 100% clean ingredients. Purchasing only from reputable, industry-leading brands with products that are third-party tested ensures consistent product quality and consumer safety. If you can't find a certificate of analysis (COA), the document that verifies you're buying potent products screened for heavy metals and other potentially harmful contaminants, on a brand’s website, shop elsewhere. Don’t forget to check the batch number or date on the COA to make sure it matches the product you’re buying, and not one tested five years ago! A recent analysis of lab testing data reported in Forbes magazine found that 35% of CBD brands studied published test results for only 10% or less of their offerings, and only about 13% of brands carried out purity testing for at least 90% of their products.¹⁰ Each of CBDistillery’s gummies, tinctures, topicals and other CBD products are third-party lab-tested to ensure the highest quality and consistent serving sizes – giving you one less thing to stress about at night.

Regardless of the brand you choose, it's important to know that serving size suggestions are just that – suggestions. Regardless of potency, most products have similar instructions. Since the amount of CBD ideal for one person can be quite different than the serving size preferred by another, most experts recommend starting low and going slow. Consider starting with a small serving of CBD, 10-30mg, and then working your way up slowly until you find your ideal results.  

It can take anywhere from several hours to several weeks for your system to experience the full benefits of CBD. If your first partial serving doesn't provide the support you need, increase your serving sizes in small increments. But don't get too discouraged. Most CBDistillery® survey respondents report achieving favorable results within 7-14 days of consistent use. When you visit our website, you'll find an impressive selection of hemp-derived CBD gummies, including several sleep-specific formulations crafted by our expert botanists.

Sources:

1. Chattu V, Manzar D, et al. (2019) The Global Problem of Insufficient Sleep and Its Serious Public Health Implications. 7(1) Healthcare (Basel) 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7010001
2. Shokri-Kojori E, Wang GJ, Wiers CE, Demiral SB, Guo M, Kim SW, Lindgren E, Ramirez V, Zehra A, Freeman C, Miller G, Manza P, Srivastava T, De Santi S, Tomasi D, Benveniste H, Volkow ND. β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Apr 24;115(17):4483-4488. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1721694115. Epub 2018 Apr 9. PMID: 29632177; PMCID: PMC5924922.
3. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). FastStats: Sleep in Adults.https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-research/facts-stats/adults-sleep-facts-and-stats.html
4. Mouslech Z, Valla V. (2009) Endocannabinoid System: An Overview of Its Potential in Current Medical Practice. 30(2) Neuro Endocrinol Lett 153-79. PDF
5. Vaillancourt R, Gallagher S, Cameron JD, Dhalla R. Cannabis use in patients with insomnia and sleep disorders: Retrospective chart review. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2022 Apr 15;155(3):175-180. doi: 10.1177/17151635221089617. PMID: 35519083; PMCID: PMC9067069.
6. Babson KA, Sottile J, Morabito D. Cannabis, Cannabinoids, and Sleep: a Review of the Literature. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017 Apr;19(4):23. doi: 10.1007/s11920-017-0775-9. PMID: 28349316.
7. Short Sleepers: The 1 Percent of the Population Who Only Need 6 Hours of Sleep (2022) Chronobiology.
8. Child R, Tallon M. (2022) Cannabidiol (CBD) Dosing: Plasma Pharmacokinetics and Effects on Accumulation in Skeletal Muscle, Liver, and Adipose Tissue. 14(10) Nutrients 2101. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14102101
9. Morena M, Patel S, et al. (2015) Neurobiological Interactions Between Stress and the Endocannabinoid System. 41(1) Neuropsychopharm 80-102. doi: 10.1038/npp.2015.166. Epub 2015 Jun 12. PMID: 26068727; PMCID: PMC4677118
10. Harrington A. (2021) 25% of CBD Products Are Not Tested for Purity. Forbes.