UK Edition
Can CBD oil give you a better night's sleep?
Insomnia Diaries is a column by Miranda Levy in which she shares her experiences of the chronic sleep problems she has experienced over the past decade and a half. It is published every Monday at 7am
I was flicking through a women’s health magazine the other day, and was pulled up short by an advert. It was for CBD (cannabidiol) oil, described on the page as "one of the main substances derived from hemp seed extracts". A little out of touch on the new wave of cannabis products, I was surprised that the authorities would allow such a ‘druggy’ product to be publicised in the mainstream media.
First of all, I wanted to find out what CBD actually was. A quick online search told me that CBD is a component of the cannabis plant which interacts with your endocannabinoid system, the bit that, in the words of one US website, "helps your body maintain a state of balance and stability, or homeostasis".
Various health benefits (more on this below) are claimed for CBD, including the relief of chronic pain and inflammation, but the assertion that really interested me was the following: "Some research and anecdotal evidence suggest that CBD can help you get a good night’s sleep."
Cannabis plants are made up of more than 100 different cannabinoids which act on receptors in the brain and have different effects. The best known are CBD and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is the psychoactive element of cannabis – or the chemical that gets you ‘stoned’. It is a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Last November, teenager Billy Caldwell hit the headlines after the government made a landmark decision to allow doctors to prescribe him cannabis oil containing both CBD and THC for his epilepsy. But the products you see advertised in health magazines, or on sale in certain shops, contain CBD only (with tiny traces of THC).
In 2017, a report by the World Health Organisation revealed that CBD could provide relief for a number of conditions including Alzheimer’s, MS, and cancer as well as pain, anxiety and depression. Suddenly, there was an explosion in CBD related products. It’s now estimated that 300,000 people in the UK use it – although there is no breakdown as to what they use it for.
The problem with researching this mysterious substance is that there is very little conventional scientific research into how it works, and why. I spoke to a friend who advises the Home Office on matters of medicinal cannabis. "One of the issues with CBD is the lack of proper studies around it," he said (he didn't wish to be named). "Apart from one company (GW Pharmaceuticals) Big Pharma are keeping away from CBD, because, as it grows naturally, they can’t patent it and manufacture it. And the government is nervous about giving it the ‘green light’ because of the association with part of cannabis which makes you high."
The laws around CBD are also hazy. There seems to be no accepted definition of what comprises an acceptable level of THC, the naughty substance that creeps in during the manufacturing process. Some sources say that, for the product to be legal, there should be no more than 0.2 per cent of THC. Others say 0.3 per cent. My Home Office source says that "any THC is illegal".
Legalities aside, it seems that CBD is online, in the shops, and here to stay. And there is a fair amount of evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, that it can be useful for people with sleep problems. For example, research published in a small American study this January showed that almost 80 per cent of subjects who took 25mg daily of CBD reported lower anxiety in the first month. Two thirds said that they slept better.
Some commentators suggest that CBD is particularly helpful when the insomnia is caused by external factors including pain or inflammation. This was certainly the experience of Dominic Day, a Saracens and former Welsh international rugby player, who started taking CBD (by vaping, initially) for a knee injury sustained in 2018. "I saw an online article about how CBD could help with pain, and thought I would give it a go," he says. "Within a couple of days, I noticed I was sleeping better. I woke up feeling refreshed and my recovery after training seemed faster." Day then got together with his teammate, ex England international George Kruis, and they stared a company called fourfiveCBD, selling products including an oil to spray under the tongue and an oil and wax balm.
Kruis and Day were initially targeting sports people, but now they’ve set their sights on a wider market. According to Day, the majority of customers are over 40 and there is pretty much a 50/50 gender split. "We’ve had a lot of feedback on social media," he says. "The first thing that many people report is an improvement in their sleep." (A note: fourfiveCBD very kindly sent me a package of cannabis balm and under-the-tongue spray, which arrived a week ago. I hadn’t noticed any difference in my sleep until last night, when I slept for six hours instead of my usual five. This could have been due to a couple of other factors, though. Will persevere.)
My Home Office friend had more to say on the sleep subject. "There is anecdotal evidence that recreational cannabis (ie. the drug that people smoke, which includes THC) can help people sleep better," he explains. "But there is no data that suggests CBD alone effects sleep patterns. The upside is that there are no dangers associated with CBD. It is well-tolerated and totally non-toxic."
So is CBD just an interestingly packaged placebo? Or, to be brutal, a con? The people of the UK don’t seem to think so. Dominic Day reports that sales of his products are increasing 15 per cent month on month. FourfiveCBD are opening two kiosks in outer London shopping centres, with plans to launch a further 15 within the year. The aim is to crack Boots or Superdrug, where shoppers can already buy Dragonfly CBD oil, which starts at £25. A quick Google reveals an enormous array of products, including creams, oils and gummy sweets. Market research commissioned by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (a government think tank) estimates that the CBD market could be worth £1bn a year by 2025.
Just last month, a group of farmers in Jersey were granted the first ever licence to harvest hemp flowers for cannabis oil. What’s new here is that these three men – three former Royal Marine commandos – are allowed to use the whole of the plant, as opposed to just the stems and the seeds.
Jersey Hemp’s David Ryan summed up the future of CDB medicine: ‘The market for CBD is growing rapidly. It’s becoming increasingly recognised for its nutritional benefits and for general wellbeing."
So search the net for CBD toothpaste, infused pillow cases and even the Cannabliss yoga classes which offer CBD-assisted guided meditation (you stick a patch on your belly). As for its efficacy, let’s sleep on it and see.