At Seed & Stone, we value the benefits of cannabis and incorporating wellness into our everyday life. There is a great deal of research on how cannabis can affect your wellness and a topic we want to share some information on is how to fix your sleep schedule and fall asleep faster since this is something that can be put on the back burner.

Sleep is an important part of everyday life since it affects our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It is essential to make time and effort into a proper sleep schedule to avoid any negative effects. If you are someone who faces problems maintaining a conventional sleep cycle due to sleeping disorders, jet lag, or just schedule changes in general, here’s some of the answers to why that might be happening and how you can prevent and lead a better lifestyle.

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Reset your body clock

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can be tricky, since not everyday looks exactly same for every person, but just waking up at the same time every single morning (even after having a late night) can help reset your sleeping schedule. Allow your body to adapt to a new circadian rhythm, which is affected by several factors including exposure to light. The body reacts to the signals from our environment and adjusts and resets every morning because of exposure to bright sunlight. So even if you tend to fall asleep later than you initially planned to, waking up at the same time every morning can put your body in a habit to be alert when the sun comes up and will gradually improve your sleep cycle as well.

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Avoid taking naps

If you are specifically having trouble falling asleep at night, that might be because of lack of routine activity during the day. It is usually easier to fall asleep when the body has been through some activities or even if the mind is tired. Having a set routine and work to do during the day can help you feel more accomplished and satisfied at the end of the day and you will feel ready to allow it to rest and recharge for the next. Other than that, some sort of workout or exercise- or even a long walk around the block can also help the body by producing more melatonin and make it more exhausted than it would in comparison to no physical activity. Make sure whenever you feel like taking a nap, its for less than 30 minutes since taking too long naps will hinder your sleep quality later at night and will result in disruption in your sleep cycle.

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Avoid eating right before bedtime

If you have a heavy high-fat meal right before sleeping, you might experience disruptions in your sleep since the food takes longer to digest, on the contrary, an early, light dinner will help you sleep on time and as planned. Having a balanced, healthy diet plays an important role in fixing your sleep schedule, you should aim to have your dinner at least 2-3 hours prior to your bedtime, accompanied with a little snack later in case you feel very hungry.

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Focus on relaxation

To experience a consistent and uninterrupted sleep schedule, a relaxed mind is essential. Often, it is trickier to fall asleep when you are under stress or experiencing anxiety. It is important that your mind is relaxed at the end of the day so that you have a complete relaxing sleep experience and wake up rejuvenated. CBD is a non-toxic alternative to traditional sleep aid that offers calming properties and helps maintain uninterrupted sleep. It is available in the forms of edibles such as gummy bears or cookies, vapes and tinctures that can be used by pouring a few drops to drinks. According to studies conducted by PMC labs, it was shown that “At the first monthly assessment after the start of CBD treatment, 79.2% (57/72) and 66.7% (48/72) of all patients experienced an improvement in anxiety and sleep”. For more information on CBD sleep enhancing properties and the whole research study, refer to the article linked below.

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Curate an appropriate sleep environment

According to an article by Sleep Health Solutions, using technology has a heavy impact on your circadian rhythm and has tendencies of disrupting a good sleep cycle. Gadgets tend to keep the mind awake and obstruct relaxing vibes, resulting in grogginess and irritability. Your surroundings establish how secure and relaxed you feel, which is why it is advised that you remove any devices that you have a little farther away from your room so that there are no distractions while you are trying to fall asleep. It is also helpful to put your phone on silent or DND so that there is no disturbance during the night and instead of using your phone to set an alarm for the next morning, using a traditional alarm clock could be more convenient.

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Sources:

Hosking, G. (2019, April 15). How CBD Helps Restore Your Natural Sleep Cycle. Retrieved August 2021, from modernnature.com: https://modernnature.com/blogs/articles/how-cbd-helps-restore-your-natural-sleep-cycle

National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (n.d.). Circadian Rhythms. Retrieved from www.nigms.nih.gov: https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms.aspx

Pacheco, D. (2020, September 25). Can You Change Your Circadian Rhythm? Retrieved from www.sleepfoundation.org: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm/can-you-change-your-circadian-rhythm

Rosenberg, C. (2018, September 6). How Technology Use Decreases Sleep Quality. Retrieved from www.sleephealthsolutionsohio.com: https://www.sleephealthsolutionsohio.com/blog/how-technology-use-decreases-sleep-quality/

Shannon, S., Lewis, N., Lee, H., & Hughes, S. (2019, January 7). Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series. the Permanente Journal, 23, 18-041. doi:10.7812/TPP/18-041

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