In this article we’ll specifically explore 4 reasons CBD is the better choice over melatonin when choosing a sleep supplement. If you’d like to read more about how CBD can help with certain conditions that affect sleep (sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or insomnia) please see this article.
A couple of questions we get asked a lot are “Which is better to help me sleep…CBD or melatonin?” and “When I take melatonin I have terrible nightmares and/or wake up groggy the next morning…is CBD a better choice?”
If you’re one of the thousands of Americans who has trouble sleeping, you know that insomnia can suck the joy out of your life. Even worse, if you have already tried non-medicinal options (cutting caffeine, staying away from screens, exercising regularly, etc.) and are still struggling with getting to sleep, you might be thinking about trying CBD or melatonin. In the wake of the FDA’s “black box” warning about insomnia medicines such as Ambien and Lunesta, which may be linked to serious injuries and death related to sleep walking, you may be looking for a more natural solution. Here we’ll explore the differences between CBD and melatonin and why we feel CBD is the better option when it comes to getting a decent night’s sleep.
Why is Sleep Important?
Poor sleep can greatly affect your day-to-day health. The process of sleep allows your body to regenerate while also helping to boost immunity, balance your hormones, manage your weight and even prevent aging. Adequate sleep has also been shown to prevent neurodegenerative disease and certain cancers. If you wake up on a regular basis feeling tired it could be the sign of a deeper problem, and if you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep there is likely an underlying health issue to take into consideration as well.
With all that’s going on in the world over the past couple of years it’s understandable that your sleep is likely suffering. The added stress and anxiety from uncertainty about the future doesn’t help either. This means you are probably either not getting enough sleep or not getting restful sleep.
Before you reach for that melatonin to knock you out before bed, we have a better and safer long-term solution for you: CBD oil.
But First, What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone made by a part of the brain called the pineal gland. Your body naturally produces melatonin and this production should be highest at night so that you feel sleepy. It functions to synchronize your biological rhythms and regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin works opposite to the stress hormone cortisol and is stimulated by darkness.
Cortisol should be highest in the morning and is stimulated by light so that you can be alert during the day. It should also be lowest at night so you can wind down before bed. Things like traveling to different time zones, working the night shift, or even a high-stress lifestyle can throw this delicate balance off and result in sleep issues.
In the next few sections, we explain why CBD oil is a better choice for sleep than melatonin.
1. CBD Oil is Non-Addictive and Non-Habit Forming
Melatonin is not supposed to be addictive or habit-forming. That said, if you look on the label of any product containing melatonin you will see a warning stating that you are not supposed to use it for longer than 6 weeks. This is because it can drastically alter your hormone levels and even sabotage your sleep in the future.
For this reason, melatonin should be an option only for short-term and temporary use, for example:
- Jet lag: A dose of melatonin can help train your body to adjust to a new time zone by promoting sleep at a different bedtime.
- Insomnia: Melatonin can act as a counterbalance to occasional bouts of insomnia if you’re trying to encourage your body to wind down.
- Doctor-prescribed protocol: Melatonin has been used as a treatment for sleep disorders including disrupted circadian rhythm cases where patients are misaligned with their natural sleep cycle.
Those occasions aside, it should definitely not be used over the long-term, meaning it will not be a good choice for those working the night shift or living a high-stress lifestyle.
This is where CBD oil shines. The great thing about CBD oil is that it works to bring your body back into balance naturally. (we will discuss more below) It can also safely be used on a daily basis and over a long period of time for those with chronic sleep issues. This is because it is non-addictive and comes with almost no side effects. It also does much more than just help with sleep, which we will also discuss further below.
2. CBD Oil Helps to Bring Your Body Back into Balance, Melatonin Does Not
Taking melatonin should really only be looked at as a temporary solution. Why is that? Because melatonin works well on the symptoms at a given moment, but it actually robs you of your ability to sleep well if used regularly. It also doesn’t work to solve the reasons why you are not sleeping well. There could be a number of different factors affecting your sleep, including increased stress and anxiety. Melatonin does nothing to help in this regard and can actually throw your hormone balance off in the long-term.
CBD oil works on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to naturally bring your body back into balance. As a result, it helps to address any underlying health issues like stress and anxiety, which are often the reason for poor sleep and insomnia. CBD oil also works to reduce any pain or inflammation you may be experiencing, helping you to be more comfortable in bed so you can fall asleep faster. In addition, melatonin will make you feel sleepy at whatever point you take it during the day. CBD oil works to improve hormonal balance in general so your cortisol and melatonin levels can naturally regulate themselves.
3. CBD Oil Offers Other Health Benefits While Melatonin Can Actually Damage Your Health
As we mentioned earlier, CBD can do much more for you than just help with sleep. The reason it is so effective is that it works on many unresolved health issues that you may not even be aware of. For example, you may not feel stressed out, but subconsciously you are. The mind can be a tricky beast! CBD is incredibly effective at helping to lower stress and anxiety and this is actually one of the main reasons our customers begin taking CBD in the first place. Melatonin is really more of a one-hit-wonder. It is excellent at treating the symptoms instantly and knocking you out before bed, but this comes with a serious price tag by changing the natural rhythms of your body and sabotaging sleep long-term.
In addition, CBD is extremely beneficial to those dealing with chronic health and autoimmunity issues. Anything to do with pain and inflammation can be helped by using CBD oil to help promote healing from within. These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. Due to the ability to moderate hormonal levels, CBD is also great for those dealing with any unpleasant menstruation or menopause symptoms, and recently has been found to curb the inflammation of the neural tissue characteristic of dementia. It serves as a neuroprotectant, shielding neurons from damage and even helping eliminate toxic proteins that cause the damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease in particular.
4. CBD Oil is Very Safe to Use While Melatonin Can Result in Major Side Effects
Perhaps one of the best things about CBD is that there is no upper limit to how much you can take because there are very little side effects. This means that you can easily take CBD at work, while driving, running errands, watching the kids, etc. On the other hand, melatonin comes with a heavy price tag. It can be very difficult to properly dose melatonin. If you take too much the side effects can be dramatic and linger, negatively affecting you the entire next day. Unpleasant symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness in the morning and during the day when you should be alert. Further, it can change natural hormone levels and even damage your ability to sleep well in the long-term.
In addition, if you look at the label on any product containing melatonin you will see that you should not take it within at least 8 hours of operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery. For this reason extremely accurate dosing and timing is necessary in order to prevent carryover into the next morning. With CBD oil this is not even a concern.
All of our Anti CBD products are third-party lab tested and guaranteed to be completely THC-free so there are no psychoactive effects and they are perfectly safe if you work in a profession where regular or random drug testing is a potential concern. Yes, it can take a little bit of time to find the correct dose for you, but once you do everything is smooth sailing. We have a handy dosage guide available and are always happy to work with you personally to determine a proper starting dose that works specifically for you and your symptoms.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, CBD oil is a far superior (and safer) supplement to melatonin when it comes to improving your sleep. It is much more versatile and offers additional health benefits not present in melatonin so you can feel free to use it liberally and with peace of mind. CBD oil is safe for both daily and long-term use, unlike melatonin which should only be used short-term and comes with significant negative consequences if not used with care.
PLEASE NOTE
The contents of this blog are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis and/or medical advice and treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare professional. As with any product, please consult your care provider if you have any concerns prior to use.
