There’s nothing like starting a new day after a night of quality rest. But if that scenario feels like a distant memory, you’re not alone. From struggling to wind down and fall asleep, to waking up in the middle of the night , sleep concerns are at an all-time high. While a good night’s rest certainly makes for a more present and energized day, lack of quality sleep goes beyond just how we feel. Research shows just how integral sleep is to our overall well-being. Here, we explain several ways sleep benefits your quality of life, and how adding CBD to your routine could support your efforts to get better Zs.  

 

How Good Sleep Benefits Your Quality of Life

 

1. It boosts your immune system

Keeping your body’s defenses high is a priority now more than ever. Getting a solid night’s rest is up there with immune-boosters like vitamin C and echinacea.* According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), sufficient sleep is linked to the body’s production of cytokines, a type of protein that targets infection and swelling, effectively creating an immune response.

 

2. It improves your brain function and creativity

If you’ve ever found yourself glugging down cold brew to simply form a full sentence in the morning, you know full well that good rest goes hand-in-hand with cognitive function. Specifically your ability to focus, pay attention, problem-solve, synthesize new ideas, as well as be creative and innovative synthesize new ideas. You’ll also be less forgetful. That’s because memory consolidation takes place during sleep through the strengthening of the neural connections that form our memories, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  

 

3. It bolsters your mood

Toddlers aren’t the only ones who get cranky when they miss out on nap time. Recent research published in JMIR Mental Health found that sleep quality had a significant effect on participants’ next-day mood.

 

4. It can improve your stress response – and boost your ability to experience joy

The more stressed you are, the tougher it can be to fall asleep. As a result of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) releasing hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Which raises the heart rate and throws the body into “fight-or-flight” mode. At the same time, missing out on sleep can lead to more stress. In other words, it’s a vicious cycle. But improved sleep can bolster your response to daily stressors. In a new study published in the American Psychological Association’s Health Psychology, researchers found that people who got more sleep than usual were able to derive more joy from positive experiences—like taking a walk or getting a hug—and then even maintain those positive emotions when they encountered something stressful. And researchers point out that people who have more positive experiences may also experience lowered stress response, which has been linked to long-term illness. 

 

How CBD factors in 

While good sleep benefits continue to be well-established, finding what works best for you to wind down and slip into a satisfying slumber can be challenging. Working with your Certified Wellness Coach on a CBD routine that works for you can help! CBD can be an amazing addition to your bedtime routine and support more restful nights! 

 

Our Member Education Team advises their clients to not be surprised if a Certified Wellness Coach encourages daytime CBD use for sleep issues, since they have found that if we can control your stress levels during the daytime, that often naturally leads to an easier bedtime. And if you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night feeling panicky, you have a couple of options, such as a Softgel after dinnertime which releases overnight in order to support your quality of rest. With this method, the hope is that you’ll wake up feeling calmer and refreshed after a slow, steady drip of CBD throughout the night.

 

The bottom line is that your personalized CBD routine could work to not only keep your stress levels down during the day but can also boost your body’s sleep cycle. In turn you’ll reap the good night’s sleep benefits and improve the quality of your rest—and, in turn, life. 

 

Learn more on how CBD helps with getting quality sleep on our YouTube page!