How much CBD to relax?

Intro to Dosing CBD for Relaxation

The first thing to know is that there’s no universal rule for how much CBD to take. This is because CBD affects 60 different molecular pathways in your body, which gives it a high degree of complexity in how it interacts with your brain. Because of this, it’s hard to state a definitive dosage that will work for everyone.

Note that most CBD manufacturers provide their own recommended dosages. These are not a hard, fast rule — they’re more to give new users a reference point for how much to start with.

Instead, it’s better to understand the different variables that come into play when dosing CBD.

Variables to Consider Before Dosing

Several variables affect how you’ll react to CBD:

• How potent is the CBD product?
• What is the bioavailability of the product? (More on this below)
• How sensitive are you normally to supplements and medicine?
• Have you tried CBD before?
• How much do you weigh?
• Do you have a fast/moderate/slow metabolism?
• How severe is your anxiety?
• Are you taking other medications?

Our bodies also change throughout our lives. With those changes comes different responses to cannabinoids, so keep in mind that your optimal dosage can change over time.

How to Find the Right Dosage to Help Relax

There are several steps you should take to find the proper dosage of CBD:

1. Choose the Right Form of CBD for You

There are plenty of ways to get CBD into your system. There are delicious CBD gummies, capsules, oils, vapes, topicals, and more.

If you’re looking for the best way to get CBD into your system, you might want to try CBD oil. This comes in bottles that you take using a dropper, holding the liquid under your tongue where the hypervascular surfaces in your mouth absorb it directly into your bloodstream.

However, if the taste of CBD oil is too much for you, you should consider other applications.

2. Consider the Bioavailability of the Product You Choose

Bioavailability — that term from the previous section — simply refers to how much of the substance makes it to your bloodstream.

CBD is a fat-soluble compound, which means it doesn’t mix terribly well with water. When you take it as a gummy, edible, or capsule, consider that much of the CBD will pass through your system without being absorbed.

Vaping and smoking CBD have higher availability than edibles and, along with sublingual oil, comprise the most effective ways to ingest CBD. Consider the following stats:

• Topical CBD: <1% bioavailability
• CBD edibles and capsules: 5-15% bioavailability
• CBD oil drops: 30% bioavailability
• CBD vapes: >50% bioavailability

That means if you take 10 mg of CBD through an oil tincture, it will give you up to 6 times as much CBD as an edible would.

Also, note that topical CBD isn’t useless, despite its <1% bioavailability rating. That just means that the CBD in topical products only reaches the skin’s cannabinoid receptors instead of the bloodstream.

3. Talk to Your Doctor

Your doctor is just about the only person who will be able to advise you on whether CBD will interfere with any other medications you’re on. It’s also important because your doctor may have another recommendation that could be better suited for you at this point in time.

4. Start Low and Work Your Way Up

When starting a medication, it’s always best to start small and increase gradually. This lets you monitor how your body reacts to CBD so that you can take the right amount. Use Flavor Fix’s dosing calculator to find the best starting dose for you.

Once you start on a small dose, gradually increase the amount you take until you’re in the sweet spot — noticeable effectiveness without unwanted side effects. The key here is to listen to your body.

Recommended Dosages for Anxiety

Now we started this article by saying there are no set rules or recommendations for how much CBD to take. That’s still true, but it’s also safe to say there are some generalizations that you may find useful. Below is information on how much CBD to take to help you relax and manage stress and sleep problems.

CBD for Relaxation

Being able to relax is so fundamental to our health that it ranks up there with sleep in terms of how it affects us long-term. Studies on using CBD to treat anxiety have been going on for some time.

One of the earliest studies pointed to starting with a dose of 40 mg of CBD in a sublingual application. This study focused on social anxiety. Other forms of anxiety, including more severe cases, could be effectively managed by dosages up to 300 mg.

CBD to Improve Sleep

If you’re trying to relax and lower your stress levels, very few things are as productive as getting a good night’s sleep. Therefore, if you’re trying to relax, it’s recommended you also use CBD to help regulate and improve sleep quality.

CBD at higher doses (between 25 and 175 mg daily) can induce sleepiness, and combined with other sleep hygiene, can help regulate your sleep cycle. Make sure to also avoid looking at backlit screens like computers and phones 1-2 hours before bed, turn off overhead lights, and stick to the same bedtime schedule each day.

Keep Track of How CBD Helps

If you’re trying to reduce your overall anxiety levels, keep a journal as you experiment with CBD. Take note of what dosage you take each day and how much it helps you stay relaxed — because nothing’s more important than your health, and that includes your mental health.