If natural sleep supplements are increasingly being used, they must be working.
CBD is becoming more and more popular as a sleep aid, and melatonin use in the US has increased by over 400% in the past 20 years.
And they do indeed work — there is scientific and anecdotal evidence to suggest that both melatonin and CBD can help with sleep disorders.
However, they help in very different ways. Melatonin is better for sleep disorders that involve melatonin deficiency, while CBD is useful for supporting sleep in pretty much every situation.
Neither melatonin or CBD is necessarily better — it all depends on your situation. In this article, we’ll cover the benefits of both and help you discover which is right for you.
How CBD Helps With Sleep
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of more than 100 naturally-occurring cannabinoids in the hemp plant. While THC has historically been the cannabinoid of choice, CBD is now also very popular because it has a wide range of benefits — including for sleep.
It’s a great option for a few reasons. CBD is all-natural and, based on what we know so far, completely safe to take. It isn’t addictive, and it doesn’t typically have negative side effects.
Research has shown CBD to have beneficial effects for anxiety, depression, inflammation, and pain, all of which are common roadblocks to drifting off to sleep and staying asleep.
Many people find that CBD decreases the time it takes to fall asleep. In particular, our customers have noted that CBD improves the quality of their sleep.
Science has demonstrated this, too.
One study, done on 25 adults who took CBD over a three-month period, showed vastly improved “sleep scores” among the participants.
Ironically, CBD doesn’t induce sleepiness or drowsiness on its own — its benefits for sleep are a result of its favorable effects in other, related, areas of health.
As a result of CBD’s benefits for sleep, it’s often used as a supplement to Ambien, and of course, melatonin.
The Science Behind CBD and Sleep
So, CBD is beneficial for sleep — but how does it work?
CBD renders its benefits by interacting with your Endocannabinoid System (ECS), a transmitter system in your body that’s responsible for regulating a laundry list of vital functions, chief among them being sleep, inflammatory response, and emotional processing.
Your ECS typically functions well on its own, but during times of bodily stress (which have a variety of causes), it can become compromised and unable to do its job well.
In these situations, taking outside cannabinoids such as CBD can help your ECS function better — and thus, keep your vital functions, including those related to sleep, more balanced.
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How Melatonin Helps With Sleep
Melatonin is a hormone produced by your brain in response to darkness, and it directly regulates your circadian rhythms (or your “body clock”).
Due to a variety of factors, including disease, age, and light exposure, melatonin production can become compromised. In this case, many take man-made melatonin supplements, which can help mitigate melatonin deficiency.
Melatonin supplements have also proven to be useful for jet lag, delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, and some children’s sleep disorders.
However, apart from these specific use cases, there isn’t much evidence to show that melatonin can help with sleep issues that stem from pain, inflammation, anxiety, or stress.
Science suggests that occasional, short-term use of melatonin is safe, but we don’t have enough information on its long-term effects to know if it’s safe to use on a regular basis in the long run.
The Science Behind Melatonin and Sleep
Melatonin is naturally produced by the pineal gland in your brain in response to darkness. It synchronizes the sleep-wake cycle and tells your body that it’s time to rest.
When you’re exposed to light, melatonin production decreases in preparation for you waking up. This is why some people have trouble falling asleep with lights on.
Things you consume, such as caffeine or alcohol, can also inhibit melatonin production.
However, long-term melatonin deficiency isn’t typically due to light disturbances or food consumption — it’s typically due to disease, age, and other factors. In these situations, melatonin supplementation can be helpful to achieve better sleep.
CBD vs. Melatonin for Sleep: Which is Right for You?
So, how do you choose between CBD and melatonin?
CBD is the better option if your sleep problems are related to factors such as stress or pain, as it’s been scientifically shown to render benefits in these scenarios. It’s also a low-risk option, as it has fewer potential risks than melatonin does (more on this in a minute).
On the other hand, if you’re dealing with sleep problems caused by melatonin deficiency then melatonin is the better option. It has a more direct impact on sleep, and there’s more science behind it.
However, it does pose risks for elderly people, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those with allergies — if you fall into any of these categories, CBD is likely the safer option.
CBD vs. Melatonin: A Visual Representation
Here’s a chart that summarizes what you need to know to choose between CBD or melatonin:
CBD vs. Melatonin: The Downsides
Though they are both natural supplements, CBD and melatonin have downsides and side effects.
Downsides to CBD
Potential side effects associated with CBD include dry mouth, diarrhea, reduced appetite, drowsiness, and fatigue. However, in most cases, you won’t experience adverse effects as long as you stick to the recommended dosage — 20mg each night to begin with.
If you’re a heart patient, it’s also important to know that CBD interacts with blood thinners and various other heart medications. CBD can alter liver function, causing these types of drugs to build up and potentially result in liver injury.
The best advice here is to speak to your doctor before using CBD to ensure that it’s a safe option for you.
Downsides to Melatonin
Melatonin may not be helpful for your sleep problems unless they’re caused by melatonin deficiency — it stands to reason that if you aren’t melatonin deficient, adding more melatonin to the mix wouldn’t do much.
Therefore, if you aren’t dealing with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) or taking melatonin for jet lag, it may not work for sleep support.
Additionally, melatonin has adverse side effects such as headache, nausea, dizziness, and daytime drowsiness.
Melatonin also has potential drug interactions with heart medications, immunosuppressants, diabetes medicine, birth control medicine, and seizure medicine.
How to Stay Safe with CBD & Melatonin
CBD and melatonin definitely have their benefits, but as you’ve just learned, it’s not all sunshine and roses.
To be clear, they aren’t, in themselves harmful; they just have interactions with your body that can be harmful under the wrong circumstances.
The best way to ensure that you’re being safe in your CBD or melatonin consumption is to consult with your doctor before taking either. Find out if you can take them, and if so, how much you should be taking.
Can You Take CBD and Melatonin Together?
Mixing CBD and melatonin is safe from a medical perspective, given you don’t take any medications that either supplement interacts with.
However, doing so can increase the side effects of both CBD and melatonin. This shouldn’t be an issue if you start with the right dosage sizes, but it’s important to be aware of.
Interaction Between CBD and Melatonin
Taking CBD and melatonin together is safe. But not only is it safe: it can be beneficial, depending on why you’re taking them.
Melatonin can bring fast relief for sleep problems that occur as a result of melatonin deficiency, while CBD can tackle the indirect barriers to sleep such as stress and anxiety.
CBD and melatonin have slightly different means to the same end. This means taking them together can be pretty powerful!
Learn About Natural Ways CBD’s Sleep Gummies and Tinctures
If you’re looking for high-quality CBD products for sleep support, Natural Ways CBD has you covered.
We offer CBD-infused gummies, tinctures, drinks, gel capsules, and more — and our products are backed by hundreds of reviews from customers just like you. We even carry several different types of CBD:
- Full-Spectrum CBD (which contains terpenes and other cannabinoids, including a bit of THC) for the deepest relaxation
- Broad-Spectrum CBD (Full spectrum CBD, but with no THC) if you have to undergo regular drug testing
- CBD Isolate if you just want CBD, with no other cannabinoids and terpenes
All of our products are made with American-grown hemp and are 3rd-party lab-tested to verify potency and efficacy. If you’re interested, check out our online store. Or, if you’re local to the Houston, TX area, check out one of our six brick-and-mortar locations.
We can’t wait to have you as part of the Natural Ways family!
Takeaway: Should You Use CBD or Melatonin for Sleep?
Melatonin is tried-and-true from a scientific perspective — especially for conditions like jet lag. CBD, on the other hand, doesn’t have as much research backing it. There’s still more to learn.
However, preliminary research and anecdotal evidence suggest CBD is beneficial for a variety of things, including sleep.
Both options are safe — it all comes down to your specific situation and which product will be most beneficial to you.
CBD vs. Melatonin: Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions we commonly get asked about CBD and melatonin.
Is CBD better for sleep than melatonin?
Not necessarily — if you’re dealing with a condition such as delayed sleep-wake phase disorder or jet lag, for which melatonin has documented benefits, melatonin is the better option.
However, if you’re having sleep issues as a result of tangentially related conditions, such as stress or pain, CBD likely has more benefits than melatonin for you.
CBD is by no means a treatment for these conditions, but it has been shown to support mental and physical wellness in the face of them.
Does CBD work like melatonin?
Like melatonin, CBD can support sleep, but it takes a different “approach” to doing so — it helps address common barriers to sleep, rather than directly inducing drowsiness.
Is CBD good for sleeping better?
Yes! Research has shown that CBD has positive effects on anxiety, inflammation, stress, and more, all of which are common causes of sleep problems.
Does CBD make you high or sleepy?
CBD has not been shown to cause drowsiness in normal doses, though drowsiness is a side effect that may occur if you take too much.
As for the “high” part, no — CBD is not psychoactive, unlike cannabinoids such as THC and HHC.
