Cannabidiol (CBD) has gained popularity internationally for its many health benefits. The natural cannabis compound is non-psychoactive (patients remain clear minded), plus it’s an anti-inflammatory. Those that swear by CBD use it for a variety of issues such as insomnia, pain, muscle aches, epilepsy, stress, anxiety, depression, certain mental health disorders, cancer related symptoms like nausea, substance abuse treatment, and even acne. If you want to experiment with CBD to treat a health issue, give microdosing a shot.
What is CBD microdosing?
Simply put, CBD microdosing is the act of taking multiple micro doses or smaller than normal doses over the course of the day instead of a single large dose. For example, instead of taking a full tablet of ibuprofen at once, someone may cut that same tablet into quarters and take it every few hours instead. They will still get the same dose but it’s evenly spread out throughout the day. Microdosing is often associated with potent psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) for use as psychedelic psychotherapy, however any medicine including THC and CBD can be microdosed.
What are the benefits of microdosing CBD?
- Longer lasting effects - When taking smaller doses throughout the day instead of one or two large doses, the effects and benefits are longer lasting.
- Great for figuring out dosage - Microdosing CBD is an effective way to discover your ideal dose if just beginning your CBD journey. Start by taking little doses throughout the day for a few weeks and increase the dosage as needed until you achieve the results you’re looking for. From there you can choose to continue microdosing CBD or switch to normal dosing once or twice a day.
- More consistent results - If you take one large dose of CBD, you may have great results in the beginning, but it will quickly wane since the CBD levels in your body will suddenly rise and fall. With CBD microdosing your body will always have a steady level of CBD resulting in more consistent effects.
- Subtle effects - With microdosing, CBD is slowly introduced little by little instead of a sudden large dose. That means the effects will be more subtle and gentle.
How to microdose CBD
Choosing your CBD product
It’s possible to microdose CBD with any type of CBD product, but most people who use this method of dosing typically opt for CBD oil, CBD tinctures, or premeasured microdose CBD spray.
Calculating doses
If you already use CBD and know what dose works for you, all you need to do is divide your normal daily dosage by five. For example if you normally take 25mg every morning, you will have a 5mg microdose of CBD 5 times per day. If you always take 15mg at breakfast and 15mg before bed, your CBD microdose will be 6mg each. The typical microdose is around 4mg to 5mg. You want to take the same amount of CBD that you normally would, but instead spread it out over the course of the day. Read the CBD label to get the serving size of your specific product. This is often a full dropper or a specified ml of CBD oil. Divide the total amount of CBD in the entire bottle by the number of servings per bottle to get the potency per serving.
Set a schedule
After dosage, the other essential part of CBD microdosing is taking the dose at the same times each day. Five doses per day is the norm and most people choose to take their dose every 3 hours. Choose the best times that fit with your schedule, but always keep doses spread out equally throughout the day. Set alarms on your phone so you don’t miss a dose. A sample CBD microdosing schedule is 5mg of CBD five times per day at:
8am
11am
2pm
5pm
8pm
Track effects
It’s important to keep a journal or take notes on your cellphone to keep track of the time and quantity of your doses plus any effects and changes in your symptoms. This journal will be very helpful, especially in the beginning to know if you need to increase or decrease your dosage. Get into the habit of jotting down a summary each night of how you felt during the day. If you’re taking CBD for pain, jot down when it’s hurting, maybe this is right after walking for long periods of time or it’s worse in the morning but you won’t know without keeping a journal. You’ll notice patterns overtime and can adjust your doses accordingly, like taking a larger dose in the morning and smaller doses throughout the day when the pain isn’t as bad.
Adjust dose
After microdosing CBD for at least a few weeks, you should notice a change in your symptoms and begin benefiting from the cannabinoid. Look through your journal and see if any consistent patterns arise. If you didn’t notice a change in your symptoms, you may need to increase each dosage. When increasing each dose, always monitor the effects for another week or so before considering increasing dosage again. If you feel amazing and your symptoms are gone, you might want to think about decreasing your dosage. Just like any medicine, it’s best to take the smallest dose possible where you feel your best.
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