Nearly one-third of Americans aren’t getting enough shut-eye, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But what if a natural supplement could help you fall asleep — and stay asleep?
That’s just one of the potential benefits of cannabidiol, or CBD. It’s something about which former TV host and current entrepreneur Montel Williams is raising awareness.
“I know unequivocally when I’ve missed taking my CBD pills for a day or two … my sleep is not as solid,” says Williams, who’s followed the CBD industry for 20 years.
Many ways to help
A review of preliminary research published in April 2017 in Current Psychiatry Reports suggests that cannabanoids, including CBD, may play a role in treating sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia, as well as nightmares in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder. Preliminary studies in mice also suggest CBD may help relieve anxiety and stress, according to an October 2015 review in Neurotherapeutics.
Those advances add to what Williams, who has launched his own line of CBD gel capsules, has experienced firsthand when using CBD to manage symptoms of pain and symptoms from multiple sclerosis.
With CBD oils, gummies and pills saturating the market, “it’s kind of like the Wild Wild West out here,” Williams says. The cleanest products, he explains, are made with hemp terpenes, which are plant chemicals. The CBD is extracted using carbon dioxide, cryo-ethonol or oxygen.
Getting started
Dosage is key, too. “You need to be saturating with 50-60 milligrams per day, so I would look for a product with larger doses in them,” he says. Doing this will help cannabinoids trigger your endocannabinoid system receptors, essentially helping you experience their full effects.
Above all, when looking for a CBD remedy, be sure to choose carefully. “A lot of people jumped into the marketplace trying to make money and not thinking about what it is they’re really selling,” he says, “so it behooves you as an individual to do the research and look at the product before taking it.”