One of the main questions that arise when you consider incorporating CBD into your daily routine is: are some parts of the day better for consuming CBD than others?
This is a perfectly reasonable question, because the time of day when you take cannabidiol is highly important, and it greatly depends on what type of benefit you expect from CBD.
People take CBD for a number of different reasons. Increasing energy levels, improving sleep, easing the pain caused by various medical disorders or rejuvenating the body after a hard workout are only some of them.
In all these cases, when taking CBD oil, users expect that it will bring them health benefits (more energy, better sleep, less pain and so forth).
So, will taking CBD at a particular time of day maximize all these beneficial properties?
Although the question might seem simple, the answer is unfortunately complicated: it depends.
To understand everything correctly, we need to cover several aspects that affect the time of day when someone should be taking CBD.
How to Determine Optimal CBD Timing?
First and foremost it’s important to remember that CBD affects different people somewhat differently.
There is no one unique time that will suit all users. Here are a couple of things that you should consider when determining the ideal time for a dose of cannabidiol.
- Effects that CBD has on your body / reasons for taking CBD in the first place
- Form of CBD product
- Your daily routine
Many people feel relaxed and calm after taking CBD. A scientific review from 2020, which analyzed several studies concerning the role of CBD for different anxiety disorders (social anxiety disorder, anxiety-induced insomnia and PTSD) concluded that cannabidiol can be beneficial in managing symptoms of anxiety.
If you are experiencing social anxiety, the best time for a cannabidiol dose is a couple of hours (or minutes, dependent on the form of a CBD product) before the occasion when you expect to feel anxious begins.
On the other hand, people who suffer from general anxiety disorder (GAD) usually take a dose of CBD first thing in the morning, to feel calm and ready for the upcoming day.
Also, these users generally consume several doses throughout the day, repeating their dosage after the effects of the previous one begin to fade out.
Since CBD brings tranquility to most users and helps them to calm their body and mind, many of them are using it to improve sleep. In this case, taking a dose just before bedtime is a smart choice.
Contrarily, there are some people who feel pretty energized when they take CBD.
For these users the optimal time for taking CBD products could be in the morning, after lunch when our energy is usually running low, or prior to a workout.
For people who occasionally suffer from physical pain, for instance, migraines or pain caused by an injury, there’s really no need to look for an optimal CBD timing.
These users should consume CBD whenever they feel unwanted symptoms. But, for those who suffer from chronic pain, picking the right time and making it a part of their daily regimen is highly important.
When you calculate the optimal time to take CBD, always take the form of a CBD product into consideration.
Different ways of taking CBD have a different onset of effects, which is the period of time it takes CBD to start working in our bodies.
Different products also have a different duration of effects.
When you take capsules or edibles, the first effects will begin within a few hours (usually 60~90 minutes), and the effects last up to 6 hours.
If you are using sublingual CBD oils, you will feel the effects almost instantaneously (usually 5~15 minutes).
But, the effect of CBD oil lasts considerably shorter compared to the aforementioned forms of CBD.
The same goes for CBD topicals, which are generally used to treat sore muscles. Topicals are applied locally on a specific section of the skin, and they bring relief quite rapidly.
You should also keep in mind another important aspect: the concentration of CBD in a single dose.
The potency of a specific product can also affect how quickly you will feel the effects, and of course how powerful these effects will be.
All in all, figuring out how to consume CBD that suits your personal needs definitely requires some dedication and experimentation, and a lot of fine tuning.
