Both melatonin and CBD are often touted for their ability to help people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer; with minimal side effects or safety concerns. For optimal effect, you may wonder if it’s safe and effective to combine the two sleep aids. And while it’s usually best to leave the combining of products to professionals like pharmacists and reputable manufacturers, you may find that using pre-existing products that contain both CBD and melatonin can help you enjoy even greater therapeutic benefits—including more restful sleep.
6 Benefits of Taking CBD and Melatonin
- Natural
- Available Over the Counter
- Easier to Fall Asleep
- Helps You Stay Asleep
- Reduces Anxiety
- Corrects Circadian Rhythm
Healthy sleep quality is absolutely essential to our optimal health and well-being, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one third of Americans get less sleep than the recommended seven-hour minimum. But getting a natural sleep aid with high safety and efficacy may be easier than you think. Both CBD oil and melatonin have long been recognized for their abilities to help people fall asleep, stay asleep longer, and enjoy more restful, restorative sleep. And while for some people it might seem like a no-brainer to use products that combine the two, others may feel a bit of hesitation about combining supplements. But rest assured – as long as you’re using a product from a knowledgeable, reputable manufacturer that contains both CBD oil and melatonin, you should observe increased benefits with no negative side effects from your sleep aid.
As always, when adding a supplement to your health and wellness routine, it’s a good idea to talk with your doctor or pharmacist about potential benefits, side effects, and interactions with any other medications you may already be taking. You want to make sure you’re aware of any potential melatonin or CBD oil drug interactions.
Can You Take CBD with Melatonin?
There is a body of research to indicate that CBD oil and melatonin work synergistically to help people get better sleep, and they are considered safe to take together as a sleep aid. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, produced by the pineal gland, that tells the body it is time to sleep. CBD also shows documented benefits that can translate to better sleep. However, the benefits of using the two active ingredients together seems greater than using either one on its own.
The beauty of the synergy between CBD oil and melatonin is that the strength of each complements the other. But the way the two mix together is important. They need to be used in combination using exact ratios to get the greatest therapeutic effect. You can’t randomly mix together a CBD product and a melatonin product and expect to get good results. The concentration of both, along with the combination of additional cannabinoid compounds in the CBD oil, must be measured and dosed precisely to get the desired result. That’s why it’s best to use a product manufactured with both melatonin and CBD oil.
Melatonin affects the sleep wake cycle via regulation of both the melatonin 1a and melatonin 1b receptors—which are the main melatonin receptors in the human body. And while melatonin plays a vital role in regulating the sleep wake cycle, it will not necessarily put you to sleep effectively. Instead, the hormone’s main job is alerting the brain that it’s time to fall asleep. This is where CBD oil comes in as a sleep aid.
CBD is one of more than 100 powerful cannabinoid compounds naturally found within the cannabis sativa or hemp plant. And while melatonin may signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep, CBD oil can help your brain activate the right neurotransmitters that help you stay asleep. This makes them a potent combination that helps you fall asleep and stay that way for a night of restful sleep.
Both the MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors and the CB-1 and CB-2 CBD receptors that influence restful sleep are part of a category called G-protein-coupled receptors. They share a similar structure, process, and mechanism of action—which may explain why CBD oil and melatonin complement each other so well.
You can find CBD oil and melatonin hybrid products in many forms, including oils, tinctures, and gummy or CBD capsule forms. One of the most effective ways of using a sleep aid containing melatonin and CBD is to place a few drops of an oil or tincture under your tongue—this allows the active chemical compounds to bypass the digestive system and almost immediately be absorbed into your bloodstream. Many people who use a CBD/melatonin combo product this way report quickly falling into a light sleep, followed by moving into a deep REM cycle within an hour of using the product.
6 Benefits of Taking CBD and Melatonin
Let’s take a closer look at some of the chief benefits you may experience when using a product that combines CBD oil and melatonin.
1. Natural
Both CBD and melatonin are naturally occurring, meaning they exist independently in nature and are not formulated in a lab. By using a natural ingredient, like melatonin or CBD, rather than a pharmaceutically engineered sleep aid, you can avoid potential negative side effects, like excessive daytime sleepiness, sleepwalking, and even long-term dependency, which are often associated with prescription medication.
Neither CBD nor melatonin have been shown to have these side effects. And while certainly additional research is needed, all current indications are that CBD oil and melatonin are safe to take together since they interact with the body in different ways.
2. Available Over the Counter
Both CBD oil and a melatonin supplement are easily purchased without a prescription, making them much easier and quicker to access than pharmaceutical sleep medications, which are only available with a doctor’s prescription. Once you’ve spoken with your physician and decided to add a CBD sleep aid to your health and wellness routine, you can easily find one that meets your needs.
3. Easier to Fall Asleep
Since the body naturally produces melatonin, supplementing with additional melatonin often helps with insomnia and other sleep issues. Melatonin levels naturally rise in lower levels of light, which is why it’s common for people to start to feel sleepy when it gets dark at night. However, melatonin production can decrease as we age, making it harder to fall asleep on our own. Melatonin production can also be hampered by environmental factors. In particular, melatonin production can be inhibited by exposure to artificial light, such as those from televisions, computers, tablets, and smartphones. This represents a powerful influence over our melatonin levels given the amount of time our population spends in front of devices. Insufficient melatonin production can result in insomnia or other sleep issues, but supplementing with additional melatonin can help make sure you actually feel sleepy when you go to bed at night.
Note that a melatonin supplement won’t instantly knock you out—it simply prepares your brain and body to rest. Our normal production of melatonin usually begins to rise a couple of hours before it’s time to sleep, and it begins to decrease once we’ve been asleep around six hours, which signals the body that it’s time to move toward wakefulness. Combining melatonin with the natural relaxing power of a CBD product can make it that much easier to fall asleep.
4. Helps You Stay Asleep
Many people have found that taking a melatonin supplement helps reduce the chances that they’ll wake up during the night. Additionally, a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that small doses of a CBD product increased total sleeping time for rats involved in the study, even during light periods of the day. CBD interacts with serotonin and GABA receptors in the brain, improving mood and decreasing anxiety, which leads to more restful sleep. And there’s early evidence to indicate that using CBD oil and melatonin together may be more effective at helping you stay asleep all night than using either product on its own.
5. Reduces Anxiety
CBD products have been shown to help reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, along with inducing a feeling of calm. Lowered stress levels and an overall sense of calm can aid in helping people relax, fall asleep faster and get more restful sleep throughout the night. When the nervous system relaxes, it can help your body and brain more readily enter the deepest and most restorative levels of quality sleep throughout the night.
6. Corrects Circadian Rhythm
One benefit associated with CBD is its ability to help people regulate their sleep wake cycle, also known as their circadian rhythm. Normally, a healthy circadian rhythm signals our bodies to be sleepy at night and alert during the day. If travel, stress, or other environmental factors cause the circadian rhythm to get interrupted or knocked off course, a CBD product often can help re-establish a healthy sleep wake cycle. In addition, because melatonin is the body’s key signal to the brain that it’s time to sleep or wake up, effective use of melatonin can help tremendously when it comes to regulating your circadian rhythm.
In the simplest of terms, a higher level of melatonin in the body signals that it’s time to sleep, while decreasing melatonin levels are a key signal to the body that it’s time to wake up. While melatonin engages with the melatonin 1a and 1b receptors, CBD interacts with CB-1 and CB-2 receptors, which help regulate both the immune system and the central nervous system. It’s through interaction with these receptors that CBD for sleep may also be able to influence and potentially help regulate the sleep wake cycle.
What is the Best Way to Mix CBD and Melatonin?
The best way to combine CBD and melatonin is to use an existing melatonin and CBD product from a manufacturer you know and trust. You should not try to combine a separate CBD product and melatonin supplement yourself at home. It’s important that each ingredient be blended in a proper ratio that allows it to complement the effects of the other. This is typically accomplished using high precision equipment, like those found in a laboratory.
For example, you might try Farmer and Chemist’s All Is Gel Melatonin Soft Gels. These CBD softgels combine 25 milligrams of CBD with one milligram of melatonin and offer a convenient, natural way to get quality sleep. Plus, you don’t have to worry about measuring dosages. The combination of CBD and melatonin can help both your mind and body relax and begin to move toward restfulness. In addition, these CBD softgels can help with pain relief and hold anti-inflammatory properties.
As always, when adding a supplement to your daily regimen, a good recommendation is to begin with the lowest possible dose and build gradually until you reach your desired level of therapeutic effect. When it comes to sleep aids, you want to find the dose that helps you fall asleep quickly, stay asleep longer, and experience the most restful sleep stages, while also making sure you avoid excessive daytime sleepiness or difficulty waking.
CBD and Melatonin Can Be the Key to a Restful Night of Sleep
Sleep problems are nothing to take lightly. They can lead to long-term, serious health conditions and should be addressed immediately. Using a product at night that combines CBD and melatonin can be an effective way to guarantee you’re getting high quality, restful sleep.
As always, it’s important to talk with a health professional when adding a CBD product to your wellness regimen. This is especially true if you’d like to combine CBD with melatonin, and even more crucial if you also take other medications on a regular basis. The pharmacists at Farmer & Chemist can be a tremendous resource. Our knowledgeable team can talk you through potential risks and benefits associated with CBD’s addition to your existing lifestyle, plus how CBD and melatonin combo products may help you improve your sleep quality.
Don’t put restful sleep off another night—check us out today and start experiencing the sleep benefits CBD products can provide!