CBD effectively blocked anxiety-induced REM sleep suppression, but had little effect on disrupting NREM sleep. In conclusion, CBD can block anxiety-induced REM sleep disturbance through its anxiolytic effect, rather than through sleep regulation per se. There is no conclusive evidence on the effect of CBD on REM sleep. However, CBD is known to have been shown to be effective in improving the symptoms of behavioral sleep disorder with rapid eye movements.
Therefore, CBD could increase REM sleep. Future studies should address the effects of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle of patient populations, as well as on clinical trials with larger samples and the chronic use of different doses of CBD. REM sleep behavior disorder is often found in patients with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and involves symptoms such as aggressive movements and verbalization during sleep. As more research is done, CBD could benefit patients who have conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and anxiety.
Some research shows that the entourage effect, or the harmonized interaction between cannabis compounds such as CBD and THC, seems to carry over to sleep. In other words, CBD can help block mechanisms that alter REM sleep thanks to its anxiolytic properties. Sulak said he assures his patients that CBD is extraordinarily safe, so if it is not effective in low to moderate doses of 10 to 50 mg, it is safe to try CBD at higher doses of 100 to 200 mg. Sulak explained that CBD could be reducing symptoms such as anxiety, allowing a person to relax so that its natural mechanism of sleep may prevail.
He found that CBD improved the symptoms of behavioral sleep disorder (RBD) REM, a disorder in which a person realizes their dreams. Despite the progress made in studying the benefits of CBD, researchers agree that more research is needed to understand how CBD affects the overall architecture of sleep. Despite these limitations, this is the first controlled study to evaluate the effects of CBD on sleep architecture using polysomnography. While CBD appears to be safe on its own, consider consulting a medical professional before adding CBD or other cannabis products to your regimen.
To demonstrate Sulak's point of view, here is one of those published examples, in which a Colorado research team analyzed the outcomes of psychiatric patients who received CBD in a clinical setting to help with anxiety and sleep problems. However, as mentioned above, many researchers claim that CBD improves sleep because it combats the root causes of insomnia. Finally, it is essential to evaluate the effects of CBD on a larger sample and on people diagnosed with sleep disorders, in addition to healthy volunteers.
