How Often Should You Take CBD for It To Be Effective?

Finding the optimal dose of CBD is a journey that is highly personal and unique to each and every individual.

“How much CBD should I take?” and “What method of consumption is best for me?” are usually the first two questions that one asks after deciding they want to try CBD.

Something to keep in mind is that “effective” in this case will mean different things to different people. Everybody has their own reasons for wanting to include CBD in their regime and what one person might consider “effective” another might disagree, according to the results they feel.

The truth is that CBD affects each person differently. This makes it extremely hard to give a one-size-fits-all answer to our questions. So instead of trying to do that, we’re going to examine a few more thought provoking questions to help you decide how often you should be taking your CBD for it to be effective.

What Does Effective Mean To You?

People have many reasons for wanting to try CBD.

Some want to see if it helps them cope with the loads of stress anxiety they feel. Others use it in the hopes that it will relieve their joint pain. Many use it as a sleep-aid. And then there’s a large group of consumers who are aware of all the nutrients and antioxidants that come with CBD and declare that their reason for keeping it on hand.

Whatever the reason you decide to try CBD, make sure you have an expectation of what you’d like the CBD to help you with. This way, you can compare the results and effectiveness to your expectations, and judge for yourself.

This step is subjective and there’s no right or wrong expectation to have. What one may consider to feel effective within their body could feel like nothing at all to someone else.

The Manner in Which You Consume CBD Matters

When learning how often you should take CBD for it to be effective for you, let’s go over the different ways you can choose from as far as methods of consumption.

There are 4 main methods of consuming CBD and each method will likely differ in terms of how long it takes to feel the effects of CBD.

Inhalation - This method is going to be the fastest way to deliver the effects of CBD to your body. This is because when the smoke is inhaled, it takes no time at all to be absorbed by the blood stream and travel throughout the body. Typically felt within minutes, this is a super popular way to get your CBD for the day.
Ingestion - Eating the CBD with your food or drink will take slightly longer to be effective than smoking would. Because the liver and digestive system need to process and breakdown the CBD first, the results don’t happen as quickly. This is a great option for those who want to consume CBD without causing smoke damage to their lungs.
Sublingually - This popular method of consumption just takes a few well-placed CBD tincture drops right underneath the tongue. By bypassing the need to be broken down by the liver and switching from your mucous membranes quickly to your bloodstream¹, this method tends to be faster acting than the ingestion method, but slower acting than the inhalation method. This is great for those who find they need to use CBD in a discreet manner.
Topically - This method is different from the other three because rather than entering the body orally, CBD in this case is absorbed by the skin¹. The CBD then attaches to only the local receptors which only treat the area of the skin that’s been touched by the topical. This manner of CBD consumption is most ideal for folks who need to treat localized pain on their body.

If you’re someone who’s just starting out with CBD, make sure you take some time to figure out which method of consumption will be best for you and your specific needs.

The Dosage of Your CBD Intake Matters

While this might seem like an obvious point to many, it still needs to be made. After you’ve taken the time to determine the specific way you’d like to take your CBD, the next step is to determine your dosage.

It’s important to know how much CBD you’re taking—especially when you’re on a mission to track its effectiveness. When you’re tracking your dosage, you can then easily compare it to the results you feel. And then increase or decrease it however you see fit.

Something to beware of if you’re going to become a regular user of CBD is the idea that it’s possible for your body to build up a tolerance to CBD. This is when your body is so used to the same amount of CBD that it starts to require larger doses to feel the same effects². When this happens, it’s usually a good idea to reset your schedule by either taking a break, or microdosing.

Microdosing is a term used to describe the act of taking small, regular amounts of CBD on the same schedule every day. This is perfect for beginners who want to track their intake, as well as for more experienced users who want to reset their system and shake up their tolerance.

What Can Go Wrong With CBD?

Most of the general population will have a good experience with CBD. It’s generally well tolerated by the body and it is rare to hear of individuals experiencing negative side effects. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t any at all.

According to the Mayo Clinic³, the risks involved in taking too much CBD include:

Dry mouth
Diarrhea
Reduced appetite
Drowsiness
Fatigue
Bad reactions with some medications

Even though there’s a good probability that you won’t experience these negative side effects, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Double checking with your family physician beforehand might spare you a bad reaction you could have never predicted on your own.

Final Thoughts

The entire point of CBD consumption is to see it’s benefits manifested in your own body. When you’re new to the CBD scene, it can be overwhelming and perhaps even a little intimidating to get started. You are not alone in wondering how often one should take CBD for it to be effective.

Our hope is that this article has answered your questions about ways to track and manage a CBD regime that works for you. It’s true, it may take some finessing and trial/error in the beginning, but taking the time-out to understand how CBD works best with your lifestyle is worth it.

Sources

Weedmaps
Neurogan
Mayo Clinic