What's the Best Time of Day to Take CBD?

By now you might be pretty familiar with CBD’s many benefits. 

All that’s left is to try out CBD for yourself — but there’s one more question you’ll need answered first. What's the best time of the day to take CBD?  

Hey, it’s an important question. The answer is that optimal timing depends on your goals! Some people prefer taking CBD in the morning, while others prefer taking it in the morning. Yet another group likes to take small amounts of CBD frequently throughout the day. But when should you take your daily dose of CBD? Keep reading to find out. 

• CBD pharmacology 101
• Take CBD in the morning if you…
• Take CBD in the afternoon if you…
• Take CBD in the evening if you…
• Try microdosing CBD if you…

CBD pharmacology 101

Before we can dive into when you should take your CBD, however, we should mention that some CBD products kick in faster than others. Understanding this allows us to draw some practical conclusions. It wouldn’t usually make sense to take a slow-acting CBD edible right before bed, for example. 

Here’s a short list of CBD products and their onset times, just to get you thinking. 

CBD tinctures

• Onset time: 5-30 minutes
• Best effects: 60-90 minutes
• Leaves system in:  4-8 hours

CBD edibles

• Onset time: 45-90 minutes
• Best effects: 60-120 minutes
• Leaves system in: 6-12 hours

Oh, and one more thing: full spectrum CBD products tend to kick in faster and last longer than CBD isolate varieties. As if that weren’t enough, these full spectrum products are remarkably free of side effects. These are just a few of the reasons all of our products at fiveTM are truly full-spectrum. [1] 

These guidelines aside, let’s take a close look at how to know when you should take CBD. 

Take CBD in the morning if you…

• Want to start your day strong
• Enjoy the benefits of CBD coffee
• Are so busy that you might forget to take it later

Taking your daily dose of CBD in the morning is the best choice for most people. It’s convenient, and it’s also practical in the sense you probably won’t forget about it. We suggest you place your CBD product(s) in the same vicinity as any other supplements you take. That way you can really set things on autopilot. 

CBD takes on another beneficial quality if you just so happen to enjoy a morning cup of coffee (or five cups, for that matter). Why? Because CBD may be able to balance out the jitters caused by out-of-control caffeine intake. It’s thought to do this by altering the way caffeine binds to your body’s adenosine A2A receptors, just FYI. [2] If calm, stable energy is what you’re after, try making yourself some CBD-infused coffee! 

Take CBD in the afternoon if you…

• Need an additional midday boost
• Take it for its mood-regulating benefits
• Are an athlete who wants to recover faster

While taking a daily dose of CBD each morning is enough for most people, some may want to incorporate CBD into their afternoon routine, too. 

The most common reason to take this route? Improved mood regulation. In other words, those who take CBD to keep calm and carry one usually do best with small doses of CBD — and if they’re only taking small doses, they should probably take them more frequently. Someone who’s taking CBD to combat stubborn anxious thoughts may want to take three small doses per day.  This tactic is often called microdosing (more on it later). 

Athletes are another group that tends to benefit from afternoon CBD dosing. Taking a little bit of full spectrum CBD oil before a workout may help one’s body mobilize more fat during the proceeding hours, while applying a CBD topical post-workout may reduce DOMS and speed up the inflammation-mediated recovery process. [3] And don’t think you have to be a professional athlete to benefit from this extra CBD use. Even if it’s just the bicycle commute from work that you’re struggling against, a little bit of afternoon CBD could help. 

You may want to keep CBD out of your afternoon schedule, however, if you:

• Feel just fine from a single morning dose
• Already feel blissful and free
• Are just too busy to keep it consistent

Take CBD in the evening if you…

• Need some help sleeping better
• Want to wake up feeling revitalized and refreshed
• Are looking to wean yourself off nicotine or alcohol
• Took too much of that CBD-infused coffee we mentioned earlier

The most common reason people take CBD in the evening is to sleep better. Intuitive enough, right? We’re happy to report that CBD really shines when it comes to restoring and deepening one’s sleep habits. Many users find that just a single evening dose of CBD is enough to have them sleeping better than they have in years. It seems that CBD may entrain your brain to the sun’s daily rhythms, helping you get to sleep at night and have more energy during the day. Some new CBD users find that they’ve started having lucid dreams again — an intriguing sign that more REM sleep is happening. [4] 

CBD has other evening-specific benefits, too. If the stress of daily life or daily grind has made you turn to alcohol or cigarettes, CBD could provide a surprisingly effective alternative. It won’t get you high…but it might very well erase the feelings of stress that made you want another beer in the first place. 

More and more studies affirm that CBD may have a unique ability to reduce the severity of substance abuse/addiction. If you’re tired of a growing reliance on less-than-healthy substances, don’t shy away from experiencing CBD’s anti-addiction qualities for yourself. [5] 

Try microdosing CBD if you…

• Are taking CBD specifically for mood regulation 
• Don’t like how relaxing large doses of CBD can be
• Are just sensitive to cannabinoids

As we alluded to earlier on, some demographics do best with microdosing, or frequently taking smaller-than-normal amounts of CBD. Instead of taking a single daily dose of 15 milligrams, such users can take 5mgs three times per day. It’s especially important to choose a full spectrum product if you practice microdosing, as such small doses of CBD isolate just won’t cut it. 

Another reason to consider microdosing your CBD? If you don’t enjoy the intense relaxation that comes with larger doses of the compound. Some people are simply more sensitive to cannabinoids, so much so that a ‘normal’ CBD dose can temporarily overwhelm their endocannabinoid system and cause drowsiness or other side effects. 

To determine if you’re in this group, try following the start-low-go-slow dosing strategy. This strategy calls for starting out super conservatively if you’re new to CBD. You might take 5 milligrams of CBD one day, then 6 milligrams the next, then 7 the day after that, and so on. 

If you stop feeling better — or start feeling worse — at 9 milligrams per day, then you can deduce that 8 mg/day is your sweet spot. You can then take these 8 mg’s all at once…or further dial things in by taking 4 milligrams in the morning and 4 milligrams at night.   

As efficient as microdosing is, it may not be for everyone. Some people just need larger doses of CBD to make a dent in their health problems. If you have stubborn aches and pains that you’d like to escape from, for example, we’d encourage you to take a more aggressive approach involving much higher dosages. 

Summing things up

So…what’s the best time of the day to take CBD?  It turns out that things aren’t always as simple as they sometimes seem, and in this case there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The optimal time to take CBD depends on several different factors — the most notable one being your health and wellness goals. 

Regardless of when you take CBD, however, we think you’ll find its benefits nearly timeless.

What are you waiting for? Check out five's most powerful and popular CBD + THC gummy, the Daily Buzz gummy, today!