MELATONIN vs. CBD Honey: Which One Is Better for Sleep?
With Only 1 Teaspoon of This Honey Per Night
By Beezy Beez Honey
October 22, 2002 - 4 Minute Read
CBD and melatonin supplements have become insanely popular these days. People use both substances to support sleep, but it’s important to learn more about them to understand how to use them effectively.
In this article, we share everything there is to know about the benefits and risks of taking CBD Honey and melatonin for sleep.
CBD Honey and Melatonin: An Overview
CBD Honey is a major non-intoxicating cannabinoid in cannabis plants. It doesn’t get you high, but it offers a plethora of health benefits, including relief from pain, stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.
While CBD Honey isn’t a sleeping pill on its own, it can support healthy sleep cycles through its interaction with the human endocannabinoid system (ECS).
Low doses of CBD Honey promote alertness, while high doses may induce deep relaxation and make you sleepy.
CBD Honey may also improve sleep by easing the symptoms of pain and anxiety — two common triggers of sleep deprivation.
Melatonin is a natural chemical produced in your body. It’s called a sleep hormone because it plays a vital role in regulating the natural biological rhythms, including sleep cycles.
Human studies suggest that both melatonin and CBD Honey can contribute to a more restorative sleep — although they use completely different mechanisms to achieve their goals. Where melatonin creates a "bandaid" effect when potentially helping you fall asleep, CBD Honey stimulates your own natural and deep sleep.
How Does Melatonin Work for Sleep?
Melatonin levels are dependent on the timing of when you go to bed rather than on keeping us asleep for the whole night. In other words, melatonin may signal your body that it’s time to fall asleep, hence its role in the circadian rhythm.
Although melatonin can be secreted in lymphocytes, platelets, gastrointestinal tract, skin, eyes, and bone marrow, it’s primarily regulated by the pineal gland. When your brain function is optimized, melatonin levels should significantly increase right before you go to sleep.
However, a few common obstacles may disrupt melatonin production in the body. The major problem is exposure to artificial light. We evolved to live according to the natural daily rhythm, with the big burst of melatonin occurring shortly after sunset, making you feel sleepy.
For instance, when the sun sets at 8:00 PM, your body will want you to shut your eyes by 11:00 PM.
It’s difficult to maintain healthy sleep cycles in winter since the early sunset (7 or 8 PM). Most people don’t go to bed that early, and since melatonin effects diminish after 2-3 hours, it’s easy to disrupt your natural sleep-wake cycle.
Artificial light further deteriorates your melatonin balance. Even a brief exposure to blue wavelengths at around 9 or 10 PM may disrupt the time of natural melatonin release by a few hours.
How Does CBD Honey Work for Sleep?
Current research on using CBD Honey for sleep has brought mixed results, but that’s mostly the quality of those studies to blame.
What we know so far is that low doses of CBD Honey may reduce tiredness, relieve stress, and improve focus. When your brain is productive during the day, it should have no problems slowing down in the evening. On the other hand, if you were slacking for the whole day, you may experience problems falling asleep as your brain will get activated out of ‘boredom'.
High doses of CBD Honey can increase GABA levels, slowing down the nervous system. They also help reduce blood pressure, enabling you to breathe slowly. This, in turn, may result in less time needed to fall asleep, in a natural way.
Although no significant effects were observed when it comes to the effects of CBD Honey on non-REM sleep, studies point to CBD Honey extracts as the potential remedy for REM sleep disorders, such as abrupt body movements, tremors, and aggressive vocalization. The REM stage is the phase where you have dreams and experience rapid eye movement. Allowing you to experience a deep and restful sleep.
While not directly related to sleep, CBD’s analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-anxiety effects can help you achieve deeper rest if you suffer from a chronic health condition involving these symptoms.
Why You Shouldn’t Use Melatonin as a Long-term Solution
Melatonin is a decent sleep aid, but it shouldn’t be used long-term. A few nights or a few weeks of supplementation may help you regulate your inner clock. When it comes to long-term use, a consultation with a doctor will help you figure out whether or not it’s a good idea.
Why isn’t melatonin a good long-term solution? Most of the time, your body doesn’t need assistance in producing this hormone. However, night shifts, late-night use of electronic devices, jetlags, and other stressful situations may cause melatonin disruption.
Melatonin supplementation can effectively bring your circadian rhythm back to normal shape, but long-term use may result in a rebound of wakefulness as your body gets used to that extra supply.
That’s why melatonin works best as an occasional supplement to regulate disruptions in sleep cycles.
CBD Honey Serving Size and Use for Sleep
There’s no one-size-fits-all serving size for CBD Honey, and individuals may present different reactions to different amounts of CBD.
The studies investigating the sedating properties of CBD have tested dosages between 25–300 mg. However, most of the time, the serving size included 1 teaspoon of Full Spectrum CBD Honey.
A common serving size of CBD in adults is 25–30 mg. With serious sleep problems, your optimal serving size may range anywhere from 40–160 mg. The efficacy of your serving size depends on the underlying cause of your sleep deprivation. The optimal serving size will be different for pain, anxiety, and depression.
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