Are you searching for a safe, natural product to help you get more and deeper sleep? If so, you’ve probably seen many reports on CBD gummies' slumber-promoting power. These chewy, bite-sized snacks have become many people’s go-to remedy for sleep disorders.
But there are lots of other hemp-derived CBD products available for the sleep-deprived shopper, including oils, capsules, brownies, vape pens, and many more. What are the upsides and downsides of cannabidiol gummies in particular?
We asked the same question when we first developed our own line of CBD sleep products. Our research convinced us that responsibly manufactured edibles like our Deep Sleep gummies were a convenient and safe way for most users to get sleep relief.
However, we also found that some customers were better off with products like CBD oils. In this article, we’ll break down the pros and cons of CBD sleep gummies so you can find the right product to help you rest.
At a glance:
Why Use CBD For Sleep?
Before we get into the case for gummies, some readers may wonder why they should take CBD. What are the arguments for using hemp products instead of some other type of sleep support?
The topic is complex enough to deserve an article of its own — or maybe even a book — but here’s the brief version. Pros of CBD for sleep include:
- Gentle, natural relaxation with little risk of next-day drowsiness
- Improve sleep quality as well as a longer total sleep time
- Fewer side effects than conventional sleep medication
- Little to no risk of addiction or lasting harm
- Additional positive effects include mood improvement, pain relief, and decreased anxiety
Reasons you might want to avoid CBD include:
- Some CBD products also contain THC, which you may prefer to avoid
- Effects are mild and may not always work for severe insomnia
- Potential for adverse interactions with certain medications
CBD Gummies For Sleep: Pros and Cons
Assuming you do want to use CBD to help with your sleep troubles, what are the arguments for and against using gummies in particular?
Pros
Here are some of the main advantages CBD gummies offer over other kinds of CBD products:
Easy Dosing
Gummies offer standard, bite-sized doses of CBD, making it easy to know exactly how much you’re taking. That’s much more difficult when you’re smoking hemp flower or taking bites of a brownie. Even CBD oil drops may vary in size — and potency — depending on how hard you squeeze the dropper bulb.
CBD capsules or pills offer other options for easily understandable doses. But they’re not as easy to bite into halves or quarters when you want to modify the amount you’re ingesting.
Precision is essential because CBD’s effects may change depending on the dose. Early research suggests that tiny amounts may actually be stimulating, while higher doses have a sleep-promoting effect. Since different people have different levels of sensitivity to CBD, you may need to experiment to figure out the optimal dose to help you fall asleep.
Convenience
Popping a gummy in your mouth is the simplest way to get CBD into your system when you need a good night’s sleep. There’s no need for accessories like rolling papers, lighters, vaporizers, or dropper vials.
A tin or jar of gummies fits easily into your pocket if you want to take them with you when you’re traveling, and they won’t go stale after a few days like brownies or cookies.
CBD gummies are also discreet. The lack of smoke means you don’t have to worry about odors disturbing other people trying to get some shuteye. And even if you’re taking them in public, no one needs to know you’re doing anything more than eating candy.
Long-Lasting Effects
Cannabidiol moves through your system very differently depending on how you take it. Edible CBD doesn’t hit the bloodstream all at once — instead, it’s taken in slowly as you digest your food. As such, it remains in your system much longer if you take a CBD gummy than if you inhale smoke or absorb oil under your tongue.
That’s an advantage when trying to get a whole night of restful sleep. Edible CBD often has a palpable relaxing effect for six to eight hours, which could help stave off sleep disturbances until morning. In contrast, many users report that the effects of smoking CBD wear off after four hours or so.
Small amounts of cannabidiol can remain in your body for days or even weeks after you ingest it, especially if you’re taking CBD sleep gummies regularly. This resilience may provide positive effects you don’t notice at first, such as decreased inflammation, greater pain tolerance, and more resilience to stress — all of which can help you sleep better.
Pleasant Taste and Texture
Many people choose CBD gummies as their preferred sleep aid because these treats are fun to eat! They’re pleasantly chewy and typically infused with sweeteners and delicious fruit flavors to help them go down easy.
In contrast, CBD drops and tinctures often do little to mask the earthy and bitter flavor of hemp, and since they’re oil-based products, the aftertaste can linger for quite a while. That can be distracting and unpleasant when you’re trying to fall asleep.
Of course, tastes vary from person to person, and some brands may appeal to you more than others. If you want to learn more about your options, check out our list of the best CBD gummies for sleep.
No Lung Health Risks
The most traditional way to consume CBD and cannabis products is by smoking them, but that’s harsh on your respiratory system. Researchers are still uncertain exactly how harmful cannabis smoke is, but there’s mounting evidence that it can contribute to problems like bronchitis, chronic coughs, and possibly lung cancer.
Using a vaporizer might be safer, but the science isn’t yet resolved enough to say for sure.
You can avoid these risks entirely by taking CBD gummies. With no smoke or vapor, there’s no danger of damage to your lungs.
Cons
Though CBD gummies have become wildly popular in recent years, they do have some disadvantages. Below, we look at the main reasons you might prefer a different form factor for your CBD products.
Slower to Kick In
We mentioned above that CBD lasts longer when taken in oral form. There’s a flip side to that: it doesn’t take effect as quickly.
Studies show that inhalation is the most rapid method of absorbing CBD into the bloodstream, followed by oromucosal methods such as nasal sprays or sublingual drops. People who smoke cannabis often feel the effects in fewer than five minutes, while drops of CBD oil placed under the tongue may kick in after 15 minutes or so.
If you eat gummies, on the other hand, you may have to wait 45 to 90 minutes to start feeling relaxed and drowsy. This lag isn’t necessarily a problem if you plan ahead and take CBD for sleep at the start of your bedtime routine. However, if you need rapid insomnia relief, CBD gummies might not be your best option.
Lower Bioavailability/Potency
In addition to kicking in more slowly, edible CBD is absorbed less efficiently by the body. A fair amount gets destroyed in the process of digestion. Current evidence indicates that the bioavailability of inhaled CBD is between 11% and 45%, while it’s only about 6% for oral CBD.
This disparity doesn’t mean that CBD can’t be effective when taken orally; just that you might need more of it to get the same effects as you get from smoking.
A 2024 clinical trial reported that the doses typically found in CBD gummies can relieve sleep problems even when taken by mouth. Other studies have found that you can increase the bioavailability of CBD edibles by taking them on a full stomach.
Sugar Content
Although the pleasant taste is one of the benefits of CBD gummies, it usually comes from some form of sugar. Health-conscious users may not want to ingest extra sweets before bedtime, which isn’t a concern when you’re smoking cannabis or using CBD oil drops.
Some CBD gummy brands contain sugar-free sweeteners like stevia. Others use natural sugars like tapioca syrup, which may be preferable to high fructose corn syrup. Inspect the nutrition labels and ingredients in CBD gummies for sleep before you buy.
Potential For Accidental Ingestion By Children
CBD gummies look like colorful candies, which might appeal more to curious toddlers than oils, capsules, or dried hemp flower. Medical professionals have reported a dramatic spike in cases of young children accidentally eating cannabis edibles since they became more widely available.
Since the effects of CBD on developing brains aren’t well understood, it’s best to be as cautious as possible. Even in adults, eating too many CBD gummies at once can cause severe problems like vomiting, confusion, and respiratory depression. The effects are almost certain to be worse in small children.
Bottom line: if you use CBD products to help with poor sleep, keep them someplace you’re confident that no kids can access them.
Are CBD Sleep Gummies Safe?
Based on the best available scientific evidence and the World Health Organization’s judgment, CBD products are safe for most adult users at the amounts present in a typical serving. Case reports of overdoses usually involve people eating entire packages of CBD gummies at a time.
That goes for regular use as well as one-time ingestion. Some researchers have found evidence that taking as much as 1500 mg daily is likely safe. That’s more than 50 times the amount in a typical CBD gummy.
However, this doesn’t mean there are no risks at all. Because CBD can change the way liver enzymes break down chemicals, there’s a potential for adverse drug interactions with some medications. It’s always best to talk with a healthcare professional about CBD use if you’re on other medications.
You should also be careful about where you buy CBD gummies for sleep. Many manufacturers cut corners, making the dosages listed on their CBD products unreliable while allowing harmful contaminants such as heavy metals into their formulations.
Stick with companies that publish independent testing from third-party laboratories to ensure the purity and potency of their gummies.
Side Effects of CBD Gummies
Adverse effects from CBD are rare compared to those prevalent in users of other kinds of sleep medicine but not unheard of. The most commonly reported side effects include:
- Dry mouth
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue or drowsiness during the daytime
- Dizziness
- Low blood pressure
We have a more in-depth article on this topic if you’d like to know more about the safety profile and side effects of CBD.
Closing Thoughts
Taking CBD gummies for sleep disorders may have a few drawbacks, such as slow onset, reduced bioavailability, and the presence of added sugar. Yet most people who try them discover that the good points far outweigh the bad.
Hemp-infused gummies are convenient and make it easy to determine your dosage. They can give you a gentle feeling of relaxation and ease that stays with you all night long.
It’s always best to use CBD gummies that you can count on to be safe and effective. That’s why we recommend starting with our FOCL Deep Sleep gummies, the best CBD gummies for better sleep.
Independent ISO-certified laboratories test them to ensure they contain the purest possible ingredients, including a potent blend of soothing cannabinoids and helpful sleep aids like melatonin. We provide best-rated CBD sleep gummies free of melatonin and with melatonin.Â
