Don’t Make These Mistakes When Using CBD Oil to Cure Insomnia

It can be incredibly frustrating to feel tired but be unable to fall asleep or—even more annoying—stay asleep the entire night. While there are many sleep aids available, CBD oil has been providing relief to people suffering from anxiety-induced insomnia. Before you start experimenting with this natural remedy, avoid making these three common mistakes to ensure your experience with this supplement helps rather than hurts you.

1. Not Checking for Drug Interactions First

CBD (cannabidiol) oil is derived from hemp, which is closely related to the cannabis plant that produces marijuana. Although CBD doesn't cause intoxication like marijuana does, it is psychoactive, meaning it does affect the central nervous system and has an impact on brain function.

Because of this, it's critical to check with your doctor to verify it won't negatively interact with any other medication you're currently taking. While CBD is generally safe to use, it can change the way your body processes certain types of drugs, increasing or decreasing how long it takes your body to metabolize them. For instance, CBD can lower the rate at which Concerta—a medicine prescribed to treat ADHD—is metabolized, resulting in too little of the drug in the body at the necessary time.

As you can imagine, this can lead to unwanted outcomes, such as an increased risk of overdose and side effects. Thus, tell your healthcare provider you plan to use CBD oil so the doctor can make adjustments to your medication to account for any change the supplement may have on your body.

2. Combining CBD with Other Sleep Aids

People react to CBD oil in different ways. If you don't get the exact results you want, you may be tempted to combine it with other ingestible sleep aids to boost its effectiveness. This is not a good idea. Just like CBD oil can interact negatively with other prescription drugs, it can also react badly with other substances (natural or otherwise) that help induce sleep or compound their effect in an unhealthy way.

For instance, the popular sleep aid Ambien is a sedative that slows down brain activity to help a person fall asleep. Likewise, CBD oil also has a sedation effect on the body. Combining the two can result in harmful side effects, such as dangerously slowed breathing or a significantly lowered heart rate.

It's best to only use one type of sleep aid at a time unless you know for certain the medication won't interfere with each other. You should even be careful when combining CBD oil with natural remedies for relaxation (e.g. lavender oil or valerian root). Conduct research using trustworthy websites and healthcare professionals to ensure you won't be doing more harm than good by mixing medications and supplements.

3. Ignoring Your Body's Response

CBD oil is pretty safe to take, but even this substance can cause side effects. Though uncommon, people have reported adverse outcomes after using CBD oil such as becoming irritable, developing fatigue and diarrhea, and experiencing changes in appetite and weight. Additionally, instead of being relaxing, CBD oil had the opposite effect and caused some people to experience increased energy and sleeplessness.

It's important to pay attention to how your body responds to the drug. Not everyone is going to have the same response to the drug, and experiencing negative side effects may mean your body is processing CBD oil differently. While this may indicate you need to adjust the dose you're taking, it could equally mean CBD oil just isn't for you. Err on the side of caution. It's better to switch to something that doesn't produce side effects rather than risk your health.

For more information about CBD oil or to purchase a bottle to try, contact a local seller.


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