Hemp Oil Is Calming — But Does It Make You Sleepy? What The Experts Say*

For such a popular product, there is still a lot of misinformation—and ensuing confusion—around hemp oil. In addition to questions surrounding legality, psychoactive effects, tolerance, and dosing, we at mbg field a lot of queries about whether it will cause sleepiness and should be taken before bed.

The answer, it turns out, is a bit complicated. But as a rule of thumb, Bonni Goldstein, M.D., a California-based physician and author of Cannabis Is Medicine, says that hemp oil won't be sedating at low to moderate doses.

Before we dive into why hemp oil won't put you to sleep, let's cover what it will do: Full-spectrum hemp oil is rich in healthy plant compounds called phytocannabinoids. While some of its phytocannabinoids are similar to those in marijuana plants (a distinctly different Cannabis plant varietal), hemp oil has an extremely low THC content (and high CBD).

As mbg's director of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, explains, "As for the THC in full-spectrum hemp oil, we're talking trace to undetectable levels. In fact, by law, hemp in the U.S. must contain less than 0.3% THC by dry weight, while European hemp is even more strict, at less than 0.2% THC."

This is an important distinction because THC, a psychoactive compound, does seem to cause sleepiness and affect sleep quality1 when taken in higher doses. But unlike THC, the phytocannabinoids found in a hemp product don't seem to bind directly to receptors in the brain and shouldn't make you feel profoundly tired, Goldstein explains. Instead, they interact more indirectly with a number of receptors in the brain and body that primarily help regulate things like mood, stress levels, and perceived pleasure.*

Where this gets confusing is that many people do take hemp oil at night and may find that it helps them sleep.* However, that's likely because it can help out with stress management, relax you, and promote a steadier mood.* And as hemp expert Dani Gordon, M.D., has previously told mbg, stress can often make it more difficult to fall and stay asleep. So once you get stress levels in check, it would make sense that deeper sleep can follow.