What to Expect When Taking CBD

What Does CBD Feel Like?

If you’re new to CBD, you may be unsure what to expect and how you should feel. A common myth or misconception about CBD is that it works right away and dispels all problems, much like a magic pill. This notion couldn’t be further from the truth. CBD is not meant to address acute issues in the same way that over-the-counter or prescription medication does (i.e., taking an aspirin to relieve a headache). Rather, CBD works over an extended period to help re-calibrate your body back to homeostasis—a state of internal balance. 

Many people experience relief of symptoms once their body reaches homeostasis. Homeostasis is a physiological term with complex underlying biological mechanisms at play. But to discern what homeostasis actually feels like within the body can be tricky. Once in a homeostatic state, some would describe it as internal harmony, or a state of relaxation accompanied by feelings of well-being and bliss. It can be subtle to detect at first, but once you start to edge towards homeostasis, it means that the CBD is adequately supporting your internal systems.

What's The Right Dosage of CBD? 

The best way to ensure results is to make sure you are consistent with taking your CBD every day. CBD takes time to build up within your system. It’s also important that you’re on a dose that works for you. Everybody’s dosage will be different and unique to your physiology and genetic makeup.

The dosage amount varies based on individual-specific factors, but it also depends on your therapeutic need. Someone with a severe internal imbalance will require more CBD than a person in good health status. A higher strength CBD product may provide more therapeutic benefits to someone with a specific ailment because they have more “ground to cover” per se, to get the body back into a balanced state. Think about it much like “returning to the mean, or the average.” The farther off course you are, the more effort it will take to get back to the middle ground. 

This is one reason why taking any CBD product that contains under ~20mg of CBD per serving is unlikely to have a significant effect. The proper therapeutic dose will typically be much higher. HempLand USA offers CBD concentrations ranging from 25mg per serving up to 83mg per serving to help meet the needs of those who require a therapeutic dose.

Finding the Right Dose of CBD

The general rule of thumb with CBD is to start on a low dose and slowly increase your dose until you start to feel better or experience relief from symptoms. Relief from symptoms can take up to a month at the minimum, sometimes two months, if you have a severe imbalance.

The serving size is also only a recommendation and not a guideline. Many factors go into finding a dose that works specifically for you, and for many people, this takes some experimentation. 

It is perfectly safe to experiment with increasing your dose if you have not experienced relief yet. When your symptoms start to lessen, that’s when you know you’re on a dose that is working. For our CBD tinctures, hold the oil underneath your tongue for at least 90 seconds before swallowing to get maximum absorption into your bloodstream. The tincture can be taken up to 4 times per day. 

It may take up to a week or two of experimentation until you find a dose that works for you. Most people find that a moderate dose is ideal since CBD’s peak effectiveness occurs at this level. A moderate dose should produce a mildly energizing effect, while also providing relief from symptoms.

Other factors that go into the dosage amount are age, metabolism, height, body fat percentage, diet, and health status. For instance, a larger person will generally require more CBD than a smaller person to have the same effect. Someone with health issues or obvious imbalances will likely require more milligrams of CBD than somebody who’s only taking it for daily wellness maintenance. 

You’ll know that you’re taking too much if you feel sedated. If you’re not feeling anything at all, that’s an indication that your body requires more, so you can try increasing your dose.

When Will I Feel the Effects of CBD?

CBD becomes more effective, the more consistently, and the longer you take it so that it can build up in your body. Once you start taking it consistently, CBD is stored in the body’s fatty tissues until it is metabolized, creating an accumulation throughout your system. Because of this, you may not feel the full range of health benefits from CBD right away, but after about a month, you should begin to experience the full balancing effects. A consistent regimen and the right dose are the keys to success!