Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a derivative of the cannabis family. Many people use this product for pain management, insomnia, anxiety relief, and focus. There are several ways you can use the product, from vaping to edibles to topicals.
Methods of Using CBD
Your method of CBD use will impact how quickly it gets into your bloodstream. Depending on your method, your dosage can be expected to last for 2 to 4 hours, though the product can stay in your system for days. Dosage methods include
- topicals, such as creams for sore joints, sticks for scars, and lotions for inflammation
- edibles, such as gummies or capsules
- oils, which are placed under or across the tongue
- vaping pens, which are inhaled
Sublingual oils and vaping therapies impact your nervous system almost immediately. Topicals take a bit more time, and edibles must be digested for full impact.
How Does CBD Affect the Body?
Once in your bloodstream, CBD attaches itself to nerve receptors. If you struggle with chronic nerve pain or find that irritated nerves cause muscle spasms, CBD is believed to stop the transmission of the pain information.
Most commercial CBD products are harvested from the indica plant, which generally has a more calming effect than products harvested from the sativa plant. If you need pain relief but don’t want to deal with the drowsiness often associated with a full CBD dosage, you may have good luck microdosing. For example, a full dose of CBD from a vaping pen is 25 puffs. If nerve pain is a challenge for you, take two puffs and wait 10 to 15 minutes to track your body’s response.
How Much CBD Should You Take?
If you take CBD as a sleeping aid, most producers recommend a 25 mg dropper full under the tongue. This 25 mg dropper also includes carrier oil. To start, try out just one milligram of CBD for every ten pounds of body weight.
CBD dosages are highly personal. You may find that the 1 to 10 ratio works well, or you may need more. Consider keeping a journal to track your dosage and your response in 15 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours so you can create a dosage plan that works for you.
You may need to consider stacking your CBD if your pain is hard to get on top of. For example, you can take a sublingual dropper at bedtime to fall asleep and an edible at the same time to help you stay asleep. You may want to microdose with a vaping pen to reduce muscle spasms and apply a CBD pain relief gel directly at the site of a sore muscle or joint.
Few people build up a tolerance for CBD. Once you know what you need, your maintenance process should be fairly easy. Again, tracking is key. If the dosage that used to work is no longer working, it may be time to revisit the condition with your doctor.