Is an overactive mind keeping you awake at night? Do your joints hurt from a long work week? Are you feeling overwhelmed or exhausted? For these reasons and many more, people are turning to CBD for relaxation. But exactly how much CBD should you take to relax? What is the right CBD dosage for you? What kind of CBD product would be best for your relaxation?
Keep reading to discover the answers to these questions and questions you didn’t even know you had.
“How Much CBD Should I Take to Relax?”
Before we get into CBD dosage it’s important to understand how CBD works in the body, why there are different types of CBD, and the different ways of using CBD products. CBD is a popular option for those who want to experience the benefits from the cannabis plant but may not have access to medical cannabis.
How Much CBD to Take to Relax: The Endocannabinoid System
Cannabidiol, or CBD, interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system, or ECS. The ECS is present throughout the body, including within the central nervous system and the immune system. This system is responsible for maintaining homeostasis within the body and is responsible for regulating many different functions in the body, such as sleep, mood, and pain. CBD does not cause an intoxicating effect like THC does, but many people have found it to have an impact on the mind and body’s ability to relax.
How Much CBD is Enough to Relax: Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum, Isolate
When considering how much CBD to take to relax, it’s important to know that different types of CBD can vary in effectiveness. CBD products are made from one of three different types of hemp extract: full spectrum, broad spectrum, or CBD isolate. Keep reading to see which one you may want to try out!
Full Spectrum CBD
Full spectrum CBD is made using the entirety of the hemp extract. This means that the product will contain trace amounts of any naturally occurring cannabinoids present in the extract, such as CBG, CBN, or CBC, as well as amino acids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Full spectrum CBD products also contain trace amounts of THC. There will be no more than 0.3% THC within a full spectrum CBD product, which isn’t enough to cause the feeling of being high, but any amount of THC does have the potential to show up when taking a drug test.
Broad Spectrum CBD
Broad spectrum CBD is made using the majority of the extract, but goes through an additional process called chromatography to remove the THC, resulting in a THC-free product that still contains the naturally occurring cannabinoids, amino acids, terpenes, and flavonoids. This option is popular with people who want the benefits of the full extract but are subject to regular drug testing.
CBD Isolate
CBD isolate products contain only CBD and no other naturally occurring components of the hemp plant. This option is often used by people who want pure CBD without any other added ingredients, or people who want to see how CBD on its own affects them without the additional plant components.
When using CBD to relax, many people find the full spectrum or broad spectrum CBD options to be more effective than CBD isolate. This could be due to full spectrum and broad spectrum CBD products containing additional components of the hemp plant.
Research suggests that the more parts of the hemp extract that you have working together, the better the CBD product could potentially work. This is called the entourage effect. CBD isolate does not produce the entourage effect, as it has no additional components of the hemp plant within it.
How Much CBD to Relax Smoking: Sublingual, Ingestion, Inhalation, Topical
In addition to the type of extract used to create your product, the way you take it will also be a key factor in the overall effectiveness of the CBD product you choose. Different methods of consuming CBD will lead to different time frames of activation and longevity of effects. Keep reading to find out which method you may want to try!
Sublingual
CBD oil tinctures are a product that many people use sublingually. To use a tincture sublingually, you will measure out how much CBD oil you would like to take and put it under your tongue. Once under your tongue, you’ll want to hold the oil in place for 30 to 90 seconds which will give the CBD time to absorb through the tiny blood vessels under your tongue. When taken sublingually, people usually find that the CBD oil begins working in 15 to 30 minutes, and continues working for anywhere between 4 and 6 hours.
Why Use Sublingual Products
Due to the quick absorption and activation when using the sublingual approach, many people will use CBD oil this way when they want to alleviate symptoms faster than they could with an ingestible CBD product. This leads to people using CBD sublingually for things like headaches, cancer related pain, multiple sclerosis, and sudden onset anxiety.
For sublingual use, we offer a variety of different CBD oils and tinctures. We have our 17% green oil, 25% gold oil, full spectrum tinctures, broad spectrum tinctures, and even a variety of CBD isolate tinctures.
Ingestion
There are a few different types of CBD products made for ingestion. When ingesting a CBD edible or mixing a water soluble CBD tincture into a beverage, many people find that it can take a while for the CBD to take effect. This method of consumption typically results in an onset activation time of anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Although it can take longer for CBD to take effect when taken this way, many people find that when it does take effect it tends to last longer, between 8 and 10 hours, when compared to the 4 to 6 hours a sublingual product lasts.
Why Use Ingestible Products
Because ingesting CBD tends to last longer than a sublingual product, many people will use CBD edibles for things like sleep disorders, stress, generalized anxiety disorder, and pain relief, or anything else that they may desire longer lasting effects for.
For ingestible products, we have a wide range of options available. We offer water soluble CBD tinctures that can be mixed with a beverage, such as water, juice, coffee, and tea, as well as CBD coffees and CBD teas themselves. We even carry CBD water and CBD sparkling waters, the latter of which is fortified with vitamins A, B5, B6, and B12, as well as magnesium, zinc, calcium, and potassium. We also have CBD gummies and CBD chocolate bars, as well as CBD capsules that will work similar to an edible product.
Inhalation
Using an inhalable form of CBD is a popular choice for people wanting immediate relief. This is due to the near immediate effects when inhaled. Most people find that when inhaling CBD products that it takes effect almost immediately, usually within a few minutes, up to ten or fifteen minutes. While it is the fastest acting method, one downside is that it is also the fastest to wear off, usually within a few hours. This results in needing to use CBD products more frequently to maintain the effects.
Why Use Inhalation Products
Due to the nearly immediate effects that most people see with an inhaled CBD product, we often see people using these products for anxiety attacks and faster acting pain relief. Some customers choose to combine an inhaled form of CBD with an edible form of CBD. This can result in getting the immediate effects from inhaled CBD while waiting for the effects from an edible product to kick in.
There are a few different ways that you can inhale CBD. We offer hemp flower, CBD e-liquids, CBD distillate vape cartridges, and even concentrates like slab and shatter. It’s important to note that our hemp flower does include trace amounts of THC, 0.3% or less, and any amount of THC does have the potential to show up on a drug test.
CBD Topical
With all of the other methods of consumption, CBD is able to enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the entire body. CBD topicals work a little differently. When used topically, CBD is unable to break the blood-skin barrier and will only work where it is applied. Most people will massage CBD topicals onto the skin after a shower and feel the effects within approximately 15 minutes. The length of time one application will last varies from person to person. Some people reapply every 4 to 6 hours, but I’ve also met some people that only have to apply it every few days. You can’t use too much CBD topically, so people really like to experiment with this kind of application.
Why Use CBD Topical Products
People are using topical CBD for a wide range of reasons. Arthritis, sore muscles, restless legs, and even skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and shingles have people turning to CBD.
There are also different types of pain that topicals aren’t always effective for, such as nerve pain or nerve damage. While some people find topicals to be effective for these types of pain, some people do not and will instead use a sublingual or ingestible product. That’s why it’s important to remember that what works best for one person may not be as effective for another, as we all have unique and individual endocannabinoid systems.
We offer a variety of topicals for relaxation. For all over application, many people enjoy the CBD bath bombs, CBD bath soak, and CBD patches. For more on the spot application, we have CBD salve, CBD lotion, CBD deodorant, a CBD roll on, and CBD lip balm.
“How Much CBD Should You Take to Relax?”
It’s very important to be aware of any potential risks when considering incorporating CBD into your routine. The amount of CBD you should take will depend on a few different factors. Here we get into CBD dosages and well as risks associated with the use of CBD products.
How Much CBD Does it Take to Relax Muscles
CBD dosing works on a bell curve, and there are many misconceptions regarding accurate CBD dosing. The “correct dose” can vary from person to person. Here we get further into the details and individual factors of the best CBD dosage.
Dosing Bell Curve
CBD dosing also works on what is called a bell curve. This means that as people increase their CBD dose they tend to see increased potential benefits, but if increased too far then people actually start to see a decrease in benefits. Because of this most people will “start low and go slow,” usually starting with a low dose between 5 mg and 10 mg and gradually increasing their dose over time. We typically see people taking their starting dosage for about two weeks before deciding if they want to increase their dose, and the CBD dose is usually increased by 2.5 mg at a time until they achieve their desired effect. We see most people using a dose of 10 mg to 15 mg as a dose for general wellness and anywhere from 10 mg to 50 mg, sometimes even more, for chronic or severe ailments. It can take some experimentation to find the ideal dosage for you.
Dosing Misconceptions
There seems to be a common misconception regarding how to calculate CBD dosage. I have found multiple websites that state you should take x amount of milligrams depending on your weight range or that you should take x amount of milligrams per pound that you weigh. These websites usually have a dosage calculator or a CBD dosage chart that they claim will show you the dose needed to experience the benefits of CBD. As explained above, there is no one-size-fits-all dosing structure for CBD so these resources stating there is should be taken with a grain of salt.
How Much CBD to Relax Muscles
It’s important to remember that everybody’s body chemistry is different and many individual factors come into play when determining CBD oil dosage to take to relax. Here we get into information regarding potential medication interactions, as well as CBD’s effects on the liver in high doses.
Medication Interactions
Approximately 60% of clinically prescribed medications are metabolized by the same liver enzyme that CBD is metabolized by, CYP3A4, so CBD has the potential to affect how those medications are received by the body. CBD is known to interact with anti-epileptic drugs, antidepressants, opioids, and central nervous system depressant drugs, such as warfarin, blood thinners, organ transplant medications, and acetaminophen.
CBD is also known to interact with corticosteroids, like hydrocortisone and prednisolone. When taking other medications or over-the-counter supplements, it’s always best to consult your primary care physician so that they can let you know of any potential interactions and monitor any changes that may occur.
Hepatotoxicity
CBD has also been shown to cause liver damage in high doses. Epidiolex is the first and only FDA approved medication containing CBD used to treat seizures. The “initial target dose” given in clinical trials is 5 mg of CBD per kilogram of body weight, and the “maximum dose recommended for human maintenance” is 20 mg of CBD per kilogram of body weight. For a 150 pound human, this would be equivalent to an initial target dose of 340 mg and a maximum recommended human maintenance dose of 1,360 mg.
A study on liver hepatotoxicity was conducted using similar doses in mice and concluded that doses this high have potential to cause liver injury. This further shows that CBD usage at such high doses isn't always the best course of action. It’s important to discuss taking CBD with a doctor or medical provider beforehand if you have any concerns or preexisting liver conditions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no one-size-fits-all dosing structure and the amount of CBD oil needed to relax can vary depending on a number of different factors. Starting low and slowly increasing CBD oil dosage over time tends to produce the best results for most people.
If you have any concerns regarding possible medicine or substance interactions, it’s best to consult your doctor before taking CBD.
If you have any questions or need help figuring out which method may work best for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can reach us at 1-844-GO-CBD-NOW (462-2366) and we’ll be happy to place your order and answer any questions you may have. If phone calls aren’t your thing, come see us or chat with us online!
