Tips for an improved nights sleep

CBD & SLEEP

Sleep can make or break your day, so why is it that according to studies 7-19% of adults aren’t getting an adequate amount of sleep per day. According to a study from the Centre of Cognitive Neuroscience, Singapore, adolescents require approximately 9 hours of sleep per night for optimal neurobehavioral function. Multiple successive nights of restricted sleep can impair many cognitive functions, including mood, memory encoding and vigilance.

In recent years remedies and ways to improve sleep have been sought after to not only boost the persons sleep but also in the hopes of improving their day to day lives. The big question is how can we improve our sleep?

Develop a strict sleep schedule:

Having a set structure for going to bed and waking up can have a massive impact on your sleep cycle. The less your sleep schedule shifts and fluctuates the more likely it is to be set and easier to improve upon. Changing your habits by no more than one hour no matter if its weekend or weekdays is the best way to do this.

Create a good sleeping environment

Having your bedroom free of noise and natural light are a great start but completely blacking it out or reducing blue light can also help you fall asleep quicker and more naturally as the light emitting from our mobile phones tends to keep us up at night.

Limit your naps during the day

Everyone loves a good nap, especially with the availability of being at home more often from working from home and recent lockdowns they are probably more popular than ever but limiting them to maximum 30 minutes can help you sleep at night. If you are tired early in the day and want a nap, a nice rule is to have a coffee and set a 15minute clock to wake you up.

Although caffeine has been used to offset tiredness we must be weary as it can contribute to over-anxiousness, if this becomes an issue consistently introducing CBD to your array of supplements could help, studies suggest CBD can reduce anxiety as a study demonstrated that taking CBD prior to anxiety-inducing events may help relieve some of the anxiety that is associated with anticipating a fearful event. Participants took CBD before a public-speaking event, where they reported feeling less anxiety and discomfort

Exercise

Exercising can help promote improved sleep cycles, although we must be careful that it is not too late in the day but tiring out the body through physical activity can be a good way to set ourselves up for bed later in the day. If the aches and pains of exercise put you off it, read our blog on CBD & Recovery to see how it can help.

Meditation

Meditation is a great way to prepare for sleep, find a quiet area to sit or lie down. Close your eyes and try breathing strictly through your nose, big deep slow breathes. The slow breathing will bring our heart rate down and relax the body to allow us to get right to sleep with a clear mind and relaxed body when we are ready for bed.

Journaling

Ever sat up all night worrying about what someone has said or what you have done?  Getting over the anxiety of the day passed can be tough, so journaling it can be a helpful way to vent our frustrations and empty our thoughts. This will let us float off to sleep calm and relaxed

CBD

Using CBD as a natural stimulator and regulator of the body’s internal state, CBD can contribute to improved sleep quality and duration, thereby maximising the body’s mental and physical output, whether you’re in work or during exercise.

One study focused on the use of CBD in 72 adults that demonstrated difficulties with either anxiety or sleep (47 with anxiety, with the remaining 25 with sleep problems). Of the 47 participants that struggled with anxiety, within the first month of using CBD anxiety scores decreased and remained at lower levels for the duration of the study. In addition, 67% of individuals demonstrated improved sleep scores in the first month.

Studies suggest an improvement in anxiety alone could significantly improve a person’s sleep cycle, an important factor that is typically overlooked when trying to solve the “sleep puzzle”. Stress and anxiety are generally the cause of inadequate rest in adults.

Studies suggest CBD can improve our sleep, however, to really maximise your sleep a regular sleep pattern is required, which includes going to sleep at the same time each evening, as well as avoiding activities close to bedtime that stimulate your brain. Add CBD to your sleep ritual for 30 days to hit your adequate 9 hours sleep.

CBD oil has also been shown to successfully treat insomnia and anxiety in children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 

But what is CBD? CBD is short for cannabidiol, one of more than 100 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant - a cannabinoid describes any compound found in the cannabis plant that interact with the cannabinoid receptors in the body,