Wondering why your CBD takes so long to kick in? Does your recommended dose wear off much quicker than you’d expect? CBD effects everyone differently, and the specific product you use will also dramatically influence your experience.
Understanding the factors that can influence how quickly CBD is metabolized can help make deciding on dosing and frequency easier, so we’ll provide some guidelines that can optimize your CBD experience. After all, if you’re spending your hard-earned dollars on CBD oil, you deserve to get your money’s worth.
Factors That Affect How Long CBD Oil Lasts
While CBD oil is growing in popularity, there are still a lot of unknowns. In today’s fast-paced, hectic world, people are looking for natural and effective ways to reduce their stress that are long-lasting with zero scary side effects. They want to know that what they are taking is safe, that it works, and how long its effects will last.
There’s not a lot of information publicly available that helps guide CBD dosing, and that can be frustrating. The current wisdom usually advises “beginners” to start with low doses and “see how they feel,” increasing dosage over time.
However, this is not very scientific and doesn’t take into account several factors, including:
The Quality and Makeup of the Product
The consensus is that you can expect to feel the effects of CBD for about four to six hours. There is a vast amount of variation, and this range is a guideline, not a rule.
As with any product, the better quality it is, the better it usually works. For CBD oil, choosing a product that is made from high-quality ingredients, is third-party tested for consistency, and has a high concentration of CBD means you’ll have a longer-lasting and more noticeable experience. That’s why at Royal CBD, we guarantee all the above. We implement strict quality control protocols to ensure all our products are nothing less than the best.
There’s a lot of variation in the market, and it can be tough to know if a manufacturer’s labels can be trusted. Purchasing CBD oil that’s been tested by a third-party lab is the only way to know that the ingredients and concentrations are accurately represented.
Another thing to look for is a full-spectrum CBD extract rather than an isolate. Scientists theorize that consuming more of the plant (as is the case with full-spectrum CBD) that there are synergistic effects, boosting both the efficacy and longevity.
Royal CBD’s higher potency line with 1,000mg of CBD is ideal for those looking for a longer-lasting effect. Further, it’s easier to dose because each dropper delivers approximately 1mg of CBD.
Your Goals
While some people notice the positive effects of CBD the first time they try it, others comment that it took weeks before they saw results. As for how long it lasts, some accounts claim just a couple of hours while others say they reap the benefits all day long.
Sometimes, this discrepancy has to do with the reason you’re taking CBD in the first place.
We won’t get into the various conditions people turn to CBD for, but we can talk about stress, which is aptly called “the silent killer,” and is a top catalyst for disease. If you’re feeling stressed and take CBD, you might expect to be overcome with euphoria, and that’s not necessarily realistic. There are a lot of factors that cause stress, and while CBD can help with stress, the mechanics of how it works will be different, depending on the person.
The Method of Consumption
There are several ways to consume CBD, including vapes, oil tinctures, capsules, edibles, and topicals. If you’re looking for something that is both fast-acting and long-lasting, then tinctures and capsules are your best bet. The average dose lasts about four hours but can be extended to six if you use a higher potency line.
While a topical can potentially last longer, the absorption time is longer than a tincture or an edible. So, if you’re looking for both an immediate and long-lasting effect, we recommend starting with a tincture, capsule, or edible. We offer THC-free gummies, easy-to-dose softgel capsules, and three potency levels of high-quality full-spectrum CBD oil tinctures.
Your Health
Not surprisingly, individual biological factors, including overall health all play a role in how long CBD oil will last.
If you’re battling a health condition, you may respond differently to CBD. If you’ve ever been sick, you can attest firsthand to how consuming various foods, beverages, or supplements can make you feel differently.
Further, just like everyone reacts differently to things like caffeine and sugar (especially when feeling tired, sleepy, or stressed), CBD can also have varying effects.
Your Genetics
Our genes are a blueprint for who we are. While our genes can express themselves in different ways depending on environmental and developmental factors, much of our biology is determined by this blueprint.
For example, there’s one genetic mutation that results in elevated endocannabinoid levels in the body. This mutation expresses itself in about 20% of the population. This translates to already higher levels of its own cannabinoids, so supplementing those levels has less of an effect than if you were “deficient.”
Users who lack this genetic mutation tend to have more dramatic and longer-lasting reactions to CBD, but this also means they need to be conservative with their doses.
Your Mood and Outlook
Though THC-free CBD doesn’t have psychoactive properties, it can still affect your mood and sense of well-being. Similar to experiencing a euphoric high or a “bad trip,” your mindset and circumstances before consuming CBD could influence how you respond to it and how long those effects last.
The irony is that if you’re taking CBD for stress, you’re likely feeling stressed. The last thing you want is for that stress to magnify. We recommend having a positive mental association with CBD and thinking positively about it before taking it for the optimal experience.
Your Gender
Because men and women have different hormone levels, introducing CBD to their systems can affect them differently. The effects of cannabinoids tend to be stronger in women due to higher estrogen levels. This also suggests that depending on where a woman is in her monthly cycle could also affect how long CBD oil lasts.
Your Habits
Just like with any substance, you can build up a tolerance to CBDs. Therefore, you might need to take higher and higher doses to maintain the longevity of CBD oil’s effects.
However, most evidence suggests that this tolerance is more common in high-THC strains. The only documented instances of a tolerance developing among CBD users is in extremely high doses of over 1,500 mg daily.
The way that you dose could also affect how long it stays active in your body. Again, this is highly individual, but for some people, a large dose once or twice a day is preferable. For others, micro-dosing multiple times per day is the way to go. The key is to listen to your body and adjust your dosing until you find something that’s right for you. As you’re beginning this journey, you might want to keep a journal, noting the time of your dose, how much you took, and how you feel at hourly intervals.
Learn More: Why Does Cannabis Affect Everyone Differently?
How CBD Works
Understanding how CBD works can also give you some insight into how long it lasts and why. CBD is short for cannabidiol, and it’s a component of the cannabis plant. However, unlike marijuana, CBD doesn’t contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive property of cannabis.
The effects of CBD are still being studied, but scientists do know that it can bind to multiple receptors in the body, including those housed in several organs, from the intestinal tract all the way to the brain.
Further, the body can make its own cannabinoids. Humans come built with two cannabinoid receptors: CB1 and CB2. While taking CBD oil doesn’t mean that what you ingest binds to the receptors, it does stimulate the internal ECS (endocannabinoid system) to make its own cannabinoids. It also slows their breakdown, so they stay in the body longer.
You might not remember learning about the endocannabinoid system in high school biology, but this system is responsible for overall health or homeostasis. Think of it as the Goldilocks effect. The ECS is responsible for making sure everything in the body is balanced and “just right.”
This finding has shown scientists that ingested CBD can affect individuals differently. People who make fewer cannabinoids internally stand to feel the most dramatic effects, but science suggests that cannabinoids can be beneficial to the body in numerous ways.
Summing It Up
While there’s no definitive answer to this question, there are some things you can do to control how long CBD oil lasts. By using our high-high-quality products, you can experience longer-lasting effects.
Remember that CBD oil isn’t meant to be a quick fix. If you have questions about dosing and how you should use CBD, we recommend consulting with your doctor.
