Insomnia and chronic fatigue

Effects of CBD

In this blog article, we would like to discuss the studies on the potential effects of CBD on sleep problems and symptoms of chronic fatigue.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid from the female hemp (cannabis). Alongside tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it is one of 113 known cannabinoids in the cannabis plant and accounts for up to 40 % of the plant extract. In contrast to THC, CBD is one of the components/active ingredients that does not alter consciousness and does not trigger a so-called "high".

Recently, there has been an increase in scientific publications providing preclinical and clinical evidence for the benefits of CBD in some neuropsychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, anxiety and schizophrenia. There is also evidence of a calming effect of CBD on the central nervous system, sleep quality, insomnia and fatigue.

Much of this preclinical and clinical data comes from studies with relatively small sample sizes and may therefore lead to bias in the evaluation. Overall, the results as a whole suggest a positive-effective therapeutic role for cannabinoids in the treatment of some sleep disorders.

Application in humans

In January 2019, the first slightly larger case series was conducted in a psychiatric hospital, which included the clinical use of CBD for sleep and anxiety disorders as an adjunct to usual care. This study included monthly documentation of sleep quality and anxiety in 103 individuals, with the final number of adult participants being 72. [1]

Anxiety scores decreased in 57 patients within the first month, representing 79.2% of all participants. The measured sleep values improved in 48 patients (66.7 % of participants) within the first month. These values already provide valuable information on the improvement in sleep quality as well as sleep in general.

Another aspect of sleep disorders is the release of cortisol during anxiety, especially if it is difficult or impossible to fall asleep or if you often lie awake in bed for long periods at night. The reason for this is the sustained production of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. As soon as the release of these hormones does not fall as usual at bedtime, the body remains in a general state of high alertness and thus prevents us from falling asleep. Too much cortisol therefore disrupts sleep.

For this reason, tests were also carried out to determine how typical anxieties change when CBD is consumed immediately. In this procedure, the test subjects had to speak in front of a group and take a certain (quite high) amount of CBD (100, 300mg or 900mg) before the performance. [2]

With a dose of 300mg CBD, subjective anxiety decreased significantly compared to the placebo group in the post-speech phase of the protocol. However, the same was not true for a lower (100 mg) or higher (900 mg) dose of the active ingredient.

Insomnia as a widespread problem

Insomnia and chronic fatigue have become a widespread problem in the population, which unfortunately also has health consequences. Given the limited therapeutic options and side effects of available pharmacological agents, the investigation of additional therapeutic agents in the field of CBD and medicinal cannabis is justified.

Because of their calming effect, cannabinoids have been used as sleep aids since time immemorial. [3] However, their applicability is usually limited due to the lack of evaluation of the dose-dependent effect.

Our sleep consists of five major sleep phases that we go through several times per night. During sleep, our entire body regenerates both mentally and physically. During the night and in the morning, our brain unconsciously processes all the things we have experienced and learned during the day and stores the most important information in our long-term memory. Accordingly, sleep disorders or lack of sleep interrupt this process and prevent us from being vital and full of energy in our everyday lives. In animal studies, the use of CBD has been shown to increase the total sleep percentage at medium to high doses [4].

In humans, it is believed that the circadian rhythms of sleep are less pronounced after the administration of THC and CBD. A scientific study by Farabi et al. examined the effects of dronabinol (dronabinol is the main psychoactive constituent in enantiomeric form, trans-THC form found in cannabis) on quantitative sleep measurements and found an improvement in sleep apnea and increased alertness. [5]

What can be said in conclusion?

The recent trend towards the legalization of cannabinoid-containing products and medical cannabis has an obvious link to the increasingly scientific evidence of its sleep-inducing and anxiety-reducing effects.

It is reasonable to assume that more studies will follow, investigating its potential therapeutic role in the treatment of some common sleep disorders such as sleep-related breathing disorders, insomnia and restless legs syndrome. However, research into CBD for various sleep disorders is still in its infancy and will continue to grow over the coming years. This blog article is intended to show you the most important findings of the current studies and their applicability and we look forward to your visit to our online store.

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