CBD is becoming incredibly popular due to its bountiful health benefits. People use it for a range of conditions today like arthritis, anxiety or inflammation. It has a broad spectrum of uses, from stress to sleep, reducing anxiety, weight loss and more. But how long does it take to work and start delivering results? This will come down to a few key factors. Many of these will be unique to you and your physiology or metabolism. Let’s take a look at how CBD works, when you can expect results, what affects how long this takes and tips on using it. The biggest takeaway here is that getting it to work for you takes time. When starting you need to remain persistent to see true benefits like reduced inflammation and better recovery. It will take some discipline but the ongoing improvements in your health will be worth it. 

Its method of action with this system involves endocannabinoids, which are neurotransmitters. The endocannabinoid system is also neuro-modulatory. It works with the Central Nervous System (CNS) and responds to both endogenous and environmental factors. To answer how long it takes for CBD oil to work, you first need to know about its entry into the bloodstream. Once you take it and it enters your body, its action mechanism is different from many cannabinoids, as discussed above. Most of the compounds from hemp are highly bioavailable, meaning they can be readily absorbed by the body. This is due to hemp being a natural plant – unlike synthetic compounds the body can recognise and metabolize its chemicals with ease. 

Dosage and Frequency of Use

The time taken by CBD to enter the bloodstream is dependent on certain factors. These include Products with higher levels of cannabinoids that are more bioavailable. This factor comes down to the liver and other organs filtering out and discarding some of the compounds that are ingested with the oil. The more actual CBD molecules you ingest the higher the rate and probability of their successful uptake and usage by the ECS. You cannot expect high-quality effects from a cheap CBD product. Quality is the key to every benefit of CBD. 

Consistent high doses often intervene with the desired effects of CBD and may induce drowsiness. On the other hand, Another critical factor is the potency of the CBD product you are using.  High-quality hemp oils are manufactured through microencapsulation which converts the oil into smaller particles. This is done to increase the absorption rate. You will see very similar techniques used in a range of areas like health supplements leveraging ionization to reduce the compound particle size. Smaller size particles mean a larger surface area for the gut to digest and absorb them, improving bioavailability. They’re also typically quality assured, use CO2 extraction to increase purity and are derived from organic, high-quality medicinal hemp plants to maximize quality.

CBD oil may start working quickly, but your body may take a few weeks to truly begin to see results from its anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anxiolytic effects. You may experience the effects later than expected. So, before you jump to conclusions, give it some time. Always remember that it’s not a cure for any medical condition. It’s a supportive option to use for your health issues such as pain, anxiety, arthritis or weight loss. We’ve covered what it is, how it works and the top factors that influence how long it takes to see results here. These factors are your method of intake, dosage, potency and quality of your product, plus your unique individual physiology and whether you have any underlying medical conditions. Always consult with your doctor before starting with any new health product.

What kind of CBD should I take?

You must figure out what form of CBD works for you. It depends partly on your goals and partly on your personal preference. However, the reason for using it in the first place is a more critical factor. After some time, it will be easy for you to decide what consumption method suits you based on your observation. We prefer tinctures as it is easy to consume and the subtle earthy flavor is enjoyable, however many prefer sublingual or topicals to avoid the flavor or texture of oil. 

What time of day should I take it?

A simple answer to what time you should take CBD lies in your own experiences and observation. If you observe that hemp extract makes you feel refreshed, energized, and awake, then take it in the morning. Whereas, if you feel that helps you relax and unwind, take it at night. This difference is mainly due to your perceptions of the experience of CBD. You might even choose to use it throughout the day and add it to your food to mask the flavor. It’s a personal choice and there’s no ‘correct’ answer.

How Often Should I Take CBD?

For beginners, a straightforward answer to this question is “Less is more.” You should maintain strictly low doses in the beginning. Full-spectrum CBD oil typically works faster when used for mild discomfort rather than when it is used for serious problems. When starting, look to load your body by maintaining daily dosages to build up a constant level of CBD in your system and accelerate its effects. When loading the body, it can take 3-5 days typically to achieve body load. You may want to use ‘load dosages’ at first to accelerate the body’s uptake and loaded state more quickly. This type of dosing means you will use much higher doses to start with for the first few days, before shifting back to a more ‘standard’ daily dosage protocol to maximize the body’s take up and use of therapeutic cannabinoids. CBD is not a magic pill that will work overnight. In the first month, you might feel the side effects. These include fatigue, dry mouth, diarrhea, etc. Feeling better immediately after taking it is nothing more than a myth.

How long will it stay in my body?

As mentioned above, the body will store cannabinoids in the fat cells or lipids due to these compounds being water-insoluble. The performance of full-spectrum hemp oil depends on the rate of absorption but the length of time the compound stays in your body depends completely on the fat you have. More fat cells your body has, the more absorption into lipids you’ll experience and as a result, the cannabinoid compounds will stay longer in the body. Scientists have observed that it takes 2-5 days for half of the cannabinoids in full-spectrum hemp oil to be cleared out of the body. It is then estimated that it takes about one week to get completely metabolized by the body – although this can be longer or shorter depending on how much you ingest and your usage pattern.