Best CBD Oils for Sleep (Top 8 Choices) | A 2023 Guide
CBD oil seems to suddenly be everywhere lately – and with all the benefits people report experiencing from it, it’s not hard to see why. One of these benefits people continue to report is their quality of sleep improving.
Unfortunately, not every CBD oil is equal. In fact, Penn State found in a study that close to 70% of the CBD extracts sold online were mislabeled. There is widespread under-regulation, and few companies are meeting the standards that should be expected of them.
What’s important to know is that there are brands out there that do meet the standards that consumers deserve – and we can show you how to spot them.
What is CBD?
There are plenty of sites out there that function as a complete guide to CBD, but we’ll provide a short summary for those that may not know what it is. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a cannabinoid that can be derived legally from hemp strains that contain 0.3% THC or less.
While more research is needed on the subject before the FDA is willing to confirm anything, there is preliminary evidence that CBD might possess a variety of beneficial properties; one of which includes promoting better, deeper, and easier sleep.
Best CBD Oils for Sleep
Here’s a list of our favorite CBD oils that have been formulated more for evening use; crafted to help one sleep better or at least relax in an effort to get to sleep easier.
Best Specialized CBD Oil for Sleep – Diamond CBD
Likely our favorite full-spectrum CBD oil formula for sleep or nighttime use, Diamond CBD provides a Relax line in various strengths. While our preferred go-to is often 1,500mg per bottle, they offer 500mg, 1,000mg, and a variety of other strengths depending on the specialized formula type.
Their Relax formula is made with the most minimal of ingredients, but their proprietary full-spectrum hemp extract blend is where the oil really shines. Packed with not just CBD, but also other beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes that make it easier to stimulate relaxation, we’re always pleased to experience that fancy entourage effect that can come from full-spectrum formulas. The intensity of CBD and the other compounds together is stronger than they would be separately, also making the product more cost-effective overall.
If you’re looking for a CBD oil strictly for evening use, aiming to achieve a better quality of sleep, Diamond CBD’s Relax Full-Spectrum CBD oil line is a great place to start. Choose anywhere between 25mg and 3,000mg – they offer a vast range that makes it easy to narrow in on your preferred strength.
Diamond CBD also takes it a step further with a Relax Extreme CBD Oil, both in 500mg and 1,000mg. These are formulated to work as a tincture, vape oil, topical, and more. A supposedly stronger type of formula, we were most impressed with the sheer amount of flavors they have to offer for the Relax Extreme line.
160+ flavors – they have over one hundred sixty flavors of CBD oil for this one specialized line. When it comes to finding CBD oil for sleep, Diamond CBD works hard to try to ensure you know they’re there for you. If they weren’t the most specialized CBD brand on our list, we might have pegged them for best flavor just for the taste choices available.
Diamond CBD Lab Reports
While the CBD lab reports from third-party testing is available on Diamond CBD’s web platform, they offer those lab reports on the same page where you have to scroll or go to the next page before you can locate the lab results for your specific CBD oil. If you’re looking for the lab results, especially before you buy, of a specific product, it may be in your best interest to reach out to Diamond CBD directly about the matter so that they can simply send you the lab results for your oil.
Highest Potency – cbdMD
Some of the other CBD brands we’ll be mentioning certainly offers their fair share of high strengths, but cbdMD takes the cake with a 7,500mg 1oz container. At 30mL, that’s 30 servings of 250mg CBD – each! It comes in both Berry and Natural flavors, which are not the most ideal for evening use, but the strength can very well be what some need for those especially severe nights.
The normal serving size is one dropper full of oil, and while that adds up to 250mg, most consumers with cbdMD end up taking less than the entire amount. Just a few drops are perfect if you’re just starting out, going up to half a dropper over time until you’ve established your tolerance and can feel comfortable increasing your dosage strength from there.
One of the more well-known CBD brands in the industry, cbdMD has made a name for themselves with their innovative, creative, and powerful cannabidiol formulas. Though they made it on the list for the 7,500mg strength of their regular CBD oil formula, we do feel the need to mention they have a specialized version, too.
cbdMD offers a 500mg bottle in a mint flavor that’s considered a sleep aid, referred to as CBD PM. Infused with melatonin, it may be an even more worthy contender for our Best Specialized CBD Oil for Sleep section that Diamond CBD’s Relax line had any right to be. In fact, it also contains valerian root, passionflower extract, cascade, hops, chamomile flower, and lemon balm; all natural ingredients that have been shown to help stimulate relaxation and improve quality of sleep.
The difference that sets the two apart is the fact that you can get 1,500mg all the way up to even 3,000mg for the Relax formula with Diamond CBD, while you’re limited to just the 500mg container through cbdMD. For those that are new to CBD, prefer lower doses, or know they’re sensitive to cannabinoids, this may be the CBD oil you’ve been looking for.
cbdMD 30-day Money-Back Guarantee
It helps instill confidence in a company when they have a return policy clearly visible on their web platform that indicates they offer a full 30-day money-back guarantee with no strings attached. The guarantee is simple – don’t like the product and it’s been within 30 days? Simply request a refund via their support email or phone and they can make a full refund happen quickly.
Best Value – Green Gorilla
A transparent CBD company, Green Gorilla provides a 2oz 3,000mg whole plant extract, which is a step above full-spectrum. The formula contains 25% active CBD and is plentiful in rich components from the hemp plant, including phytonutrients, fatty acids, vitamins, and other cannabinoids.
They land in the Best Value category because you can get this 2oz container, which is roughly a 2-month supply, for less than $100 before tax. And what’s $99.99 can be cut to $92.99 a month if you subscribe for recurring delivery.
Offering a safe, powerfully effective option with a product that can be used day or night, we find the Green Gorilla CBD oil formula works well for evening use. We’re also big fans of the company being willing to put the ingredients for their formulas front and center on the box and bottle label.
They work hard to stay honest so you don’t have to dig deep to find the information you’re looking for – something we can wholly appreciate from a CBD company in such an under-regulated industry.
Green Gorilla’s Lab Reports
Across the brand’s products, they display their lab results for that product’s most recent batch. Not only do they test for THC and pesticides, heavy metals, and other pollutants or contaminants, but they also do a full compound breakdown. This provides a comprehensive profile featuring the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other hemp components found in the strain Green Gorilla used.
And though most terpenes and other cannabinoids were considered non-detectable, we were pleased to see some amounts of CBC, CBDV, CBG, caryophyllene, humulene, terpineol, and more; which is just a fancy way of saying the full-spectrum extract has a way to back up the fact that it’s a whole plant, full-spectrum formula.
Highest Quality – Charlotte’s Web
Considered one of the world’s most trusted and well-known CBD brands to ever hit the industry, Charlotte’s Web is also a cannabis strain produced in Colorado by the Stanley brothers who were on a mission to find a high-CBD, low-THC strain for their little sister. They reached for the sky, helped their sister and then countless more consumers across the nation, and now they stand as one of the most notoriously high-quality CBD brands on the market.
What Charlotte’s Web offers is simplicity when ordering. Instead of choosing between countless products while you look through the product page, they allow you to narrow in on a product comfortably through a user-friendly interface.
We prefer the 60mg serving option, which offers 1,800mg of plant-based cannabinoids in one bottle. From here, you can choose between MCT – Mint chocolate, Orange Blossom, and Lemon Twist as your preferred extract flavor. They even allow you to choose between a 30mL container or upgrade to a 100mL size. To top it off, they offer an even more generous subscription discount if you want to set up recurring delivery, taking 10% off the entire order and then providing the 7th order or product for free – score!
Their formulas make it easy to feel safe and confident about the CBD product you choose. They don’t make empty promises or pretend to make medical claims. Rather, they’re upfront about the effects to expect from their CBD oil over time.
It could help manage everyday stress, recover from exercise-induced inflammation faster, support a sense of focus or calm depending on what time of day it’s taken, and, most importantly, help maintain healthy sleep cycles. Consistency does play a big role in best results, however, so expect to see benefits stack as it stays in your daily routine.
Best THC-free CBD Oil – The CBDistillery
We often find The CBDistillery likes to provide the best of both worlds, offering both CBD isolates and full-spectrum options. For those that can’t risk even trace amounts of THC under the legal 0.3% limit, THC-free CBD oil is the way to go.
From 250mg to 5,000mg, The CBDistillery puts in work to provide an ample range of THC-free options. They also conveniently provide their lab results as images on each of their product pages, making it easy to see the true THC and CBD count without having to look open a new window or download a file.
The company provides a 99% pure CBD isolate tincture. We went for the 2,500mg container, which amounted to about 83mg of pure CBD in every serving. Unlike the other formulas we’re most used to, this one is free of the other beneficial cannabinoids, terpenes, and other hemp compounds, but it’s also assuredly free of THC, so there are pros and cons that come with an isolate option.
For the price, we feel it has one of the best values out the CBD oils for sleep that we’ve tried. They’re also formulated with possibly the most minimal of ingredients across the board, since their isolate only contains fractionated coconut oil and CBD from the aerial parts of a hemp extract.
Highest Quantity – Elixinol
While this might be considered an odd category to consider, we’ve never seen a 4-month supply of CBD oil at such a high value, so we had to mention Elixinol. For less than $250 before tax, you get a whopping 4oz container of 3,600mg CBD. A serving is only a quarter of the dropper full, making for about 240 servings per bottle of 50mg of hemp extract and 15mg CBD.
We also love that you can hit “View Batch Test Report,” type in the lot number located on the back of your product and view the third-party lab results for that specific batch. While the other brands we’ve recommended do test their products through a third-party lab, lack of regulation means there’s no set standard across the board, so they may not batch-test as frequently as it appears Elixinol does.
When looking for a CBD oil for sleep, this one is the one likely to last the longest for your needs. Especially if you only intend on taking your preferred serving size in the evening instead of also in the morning, this may be the CBD oil that helps you truly stretch the hemp product so you can feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.
Elixinol Giving Back
We’ve already mentioned that Elixinol thoroughly third-party lab-tests their products, so we’ll save this section for their donations to charity. For every purchase, the company donates 5% to a non-profit of the consumer’s choice.
The brand collaborates with valuable customers to choose the select organizations that a portion of the donation proceeds go to, offering donations to one of the six organizations they currently send proceeds to: Realm of Caring, AutismOne, Vote Hemp, American Brain Tumor Association, The Cancer Cure Foundation, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Best Flavor – Hemp Bombs
We mentioned that Diamond CBD would’ve likely landed this spot if they hadn’t been selected as our favorite CBD oil when it comes to sleep, but Hemp Bombs is a worthy contender. Though their flavor selection isn’t nearly as vast, the choices they offer make up for the quantity that they’re lacking.
Excluding the not-as-popular unflavored option, they have Acai Berry, Orange Creamsicle, Peppermint, and Watermelon. And while these flavors may not stand out for everyone, the Orange Creamsicle was an Orange dream to our taste buds, so you bet they’re in the Best Flavor category!
They have a viable range of strengths available, making it easy for anyone that could be new to CBD or that’s just transitioning to Hemp Bombs from a different brand. They offer 125mg, 300mg, 600mg, 1,000mg, 2,000mg, and 4,000mg, providing a reasonable strength for just about anyone that could use it.
It’s the first three, much lower strengths that would’ve landed Hemp Bombs in the spot for Best Lower Strengths had they not amazed us with their flavor profile. Overall, we’re just happy to be able to choose CBD oil companies that can fit comfortably in multiple categories as true winners.
Hemp Bombs’ Veterans & Active Duty Program
The company strives to stress that they value our active duty military personnel, veterans, retired military and military spouses and dependents. They want to give back in every way possible, so they offer all these members 15% off all CBD products; a lifelong discount they’re proud to offer.
Best Lower Strengths – CBD Pure
Finally, we get to the CBD oil that may not suit everyone but may be perfect for the beginners just getting into CBD. Even those that know they’re sensitive to cannabinoids can respond well to CBD Pure’s low dosage strengths, offering only three CBD oil products: 100mg, 300mg, and 600mg. These come in 2oz bottles instead of the standard one, so this cuts the strength in half for most expected serving sizes.
For those that are just getting into CBD or those that just want to dip their toes in what CBD oil could do for their sleep, CBD Pure is a great place to start. We always go for their 600mg bottle, but others may find the 300mg or 100mg container more appealing.
Can CBD Help with Sleep?
That’s still technically up for debate – but we do have some hard-hitting evidence for CBD’s side of the case. We’re going to look at some of the most well-known clinical trials and published studies we have so far on cannabidiol and its potential effects on sleep.
Before we do that, we do want to stress that we’re not pretending to make any medical claims, and you shouldn’t seek this guide as advice over something your physician has advised. We always recommend speaking with a physician or certified medical professional before incorporating CBD into your daily routine, especially if you’re already taking prescription medication.
A Case Series on Sleep (and Anxiety)
The largest case series we have on CBD’s potential effects on sleep was also a case series for its effects on anxiety. Using validated instruments, the objective was to find each participant’s baseline and then see the results of CBD treatment based on that baseline.
Of the patients that participated, 66.7% noticed an improvement in their sleep scores within the first month, though this fluctuated over time. Controlled clinical studies are needed before we can conclude anything, but there is promise that there may just be something to CBD for sleep.
Further Data
A review of literature over CBD and sleep was published in 2017, aiming to summarize the current state on sleep and cannabis up until 2014, as well as a review on cannabis and its effect on specific sleep disorders from 2014 up until the time of publication.
The preliminary data from this review found that CBD could have therapeutic potential for the treatment of insomnia, as well as REM sleep behavior disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness, and more. The research is merely in its infancy, so further data is needed before we can make any solid conclusions.
How to Find the Best CBD Oil for Sleep
The CBD industry is changing fast, and everyone could do with some key tips to keep them in the know on what to watch out for.
We’ve offered some recommendations, laid out the preliminary evidence indicating there could be a chance that CBD might help with sleep – now it’s up to you. If you’re still set on looking for a CBD oil yourself, that’s completely understandable. We want this guide to be a good base for you to start with, so now we’re going to dive into the best tips we have on how to ensure you’re choosing a reputable CBD brand.
Quality Over Anything
Above all, our goal is to only stick with CBD brands that put quality above any other priority. The quality of their product demonstrates the quality of the rest of their company, from how well their customer service responds to how fast the product ships to you. There are a few tell-tale ways you can ensure you’re choosing a brand that focuses on quality.
Where Was the Hemp Grown? And How?
The first step to really narrowing in on a CBD brand’s quality is finding their source for hemp. Do they cultivate the hemp themselves, or do they source from a third party? Either way, is their hemp grown in the United States? Is it grown with any fertilizers, pesticides, or other harsh chemicals, contaminants, and pollutants?
Choosing a transparent company that provides their process directly on their web platform and demonstrates to you where they get their hemp is the best choice to take in our book.
Transparency
Honesty is so important with a CBD company, we felt it needed its own section. Stick with a CBD brand that is forthright about all their sourcing and manufacturing processes. Just because CBD is now legal in the United States doesn’t ensure that every CBD company is performing safe and orderly practices to extract the CBD from hemp.
Make sure they specify what they’re testing for, ensure they’re testing for all the things they should be legally testing for within the United States, and don’t settle for a CBD brand that can’t be honest about some of the steps in their process – you deserve better from your hemp-derived products.
Flavor
While it may matter more to some people than others, using CBD oil means you’re likely going to taste it. Especially if you plan on placing drops of the oil under your tongue to improve the absorption rate, most users want to stick with a brand that offers delicious formulas with preferably a variety of flavors to choose from.
Value
Don’t go for the cheapest CBD product. In most cases, you get what you pay for. However, also be wary of CBD products that offer their CBD at outrageous prices and claim it as a “luxury brand” with no evidence to support it.
The biggest way to ensure you’re getting a good value is to double-check what strength the company is talking about. Some bottles will simply state a certain amount of milligrams of hemp extract, while others will specify the amount of CBD per serving. Make sure you’re sticking with a brand that specifies how much CBD is in each container – a lot of issues with mislabeling still comes into play with this particular issue, since some brands will specify hemp extract but try to pass it off as a CBD oil anyway. Stay on your toes about what’s contained in a CBD oil formula!
Customer Service
Finally, this is a picky factor to consider that holds more weight to some people than others, but we feel it’s important regardless. The customer service a CBD brand demonstrates when you have to reach out to them says a lot about the quality of the rest of their company. If they only have a single support email address available for customer service, for example, they may not be as trustworthy and reliable as they let on.
When we look for our ideal CBD brand, we’re searching for support phone numbers and business hours (preferably the more hours available the better!), online chat options, multiple support emails for different inquiries, and social media accounts where you can reach out through DM’s to try and get ahold of someone even faster.
It’s not a necessity, and we don’t expect a company to have every single one of these support options available. When the options are available, though, it instills just a little more trust in that company for us.
Conclusion
There’s a lot we have left to learn about CBD oil for sleep, but that doesn’t take away the benefits consumers are already experiencing from CBD oil products. We hope our guide will help you stay vigilant to make sure you’re truly getting a high-quality CBD oil you can trust, whether you wish to use it for sleep, general wellness, or any of the other benefits people keep reporting. Now that you have tips at your disposal for what to watch out for, you’re strapped for success in this fast-growing and quick-evolving CBD world!
