What Exactly Are CBD Gummies and Do They Work?

I don’t sleep. Similar to your favorite vampire (Team Edward or Team Jacob?) I lie awake at night, scanning the walls of my bedroom searching for answers. “Why did I say that in my meeting?” “What did Rebecca, who I haven’t spoken to since ninth grade, end up doing with her life?” “What is my mom doing right now, and is she okay?”

To escape the mind prison that locks me up after 2 a.m., I’ve tried all the best tricks on the market. Nyquil? For kiddies. Melatonin? Give me a break. A routine that relaxes me hours before I hit the hay? That’s going to be a no from me, dog. But all this changed when I found CBD gummies.

Before we deep dive into my personal journey, it’s best to know what exactly CBD is. CBD, the acronym for cannabidoil, is derived from the hemp plant, a cousin of the marijuana plant. Since it comes from hemp and not marijuana, it’s completely legal nationwide and relatively easy to find online in myriad forms: lotion, chocolate, black pepper, face masks, bath bombs and, yes, gummy form. CBD does not contain any THC, the ingredient in the cannabis plant that gets you high, so you don’t ever need to worry about somehow losing your day to a streaming of Good Burger while eating a bag of Cheetos — not that there’s anything wrong with that. The part of CBD that intrigued me the most was its never-ending list of benefits. CBD advocates claim that the ingredient has the ability to not only hydrate the driest of skin and treat childhood epilepsy but to also provide chronic pain relief and work to fight the early onset of diabetes. I, however, was interested in CBD for its ability to treat insomnia. I was hopeful that CBD gummies could be the answer to all my problems, so I decided to give it a try.

First, I tried the Instagram-ad approved Sunday Scaries brand gummies, which promised a good night’s sleep and relaxation of a wandering mind, and had a pretty meh experience. Sunday Scaries was started by two men, Mike Sill and Beau Schmitt, who wanted to create something that helped with daily anxiety. The name is a cute reference to that feeling of dread that dawns on Sunday night when the reality of Monday starts barreling towards you. The bottle comes with 20 gummies (for $39), similar to a bag of Haribo gold bears, and can be taken when you want to reduce stress and relax, aka what I needed to go to sleep.

Sunday Scaries Gummies for Anxiety, $39, forsundayscaries.com

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The first night I took the gummies, I was convinced they worked. I felt less stressed on the Sunday night before work and within thirty to forty minutes after getting into bed I was asleep. However, my success was short-lived. I don’t know if I abused the gummies by taking them in the day time (when I was also stressed) or built a nightly tolerance, but after a week or so, I was awake again. The 10mg of cbd oil that the Sunday Scaries contained was not doing it for me anymore.

I looked for a stronger dose and found it in Lord Jones’s all-natural gum drops, which contain 20mg of CBD with no artificial colors or flavors. The Lord Jones gummies promised and delivered the same effects, but for a longer period of time. The CBD calmed me down and relieved a bit of anxiety, which in turned allowed me to get some much needed rest.

I picked the brain of Lord Jones’s founder Cindy Capobianco to see what exactly set these gummies apart. Capobianco was quick to explain that not all CBD gummies on the market are equal. She explained that there are two main factors differentiating real and fake CBD gummies. The first is the quality of the CBD that manufacturers are using. Lord Jones uses a full spectrum of CBD oil that contains all the compounds of the plant working together, not just an isolated molecule of CBD, like some of its competitors. Additionally, Capobianco pointed to the manufacturing of the product. How your CBD is applied matters, apparently. Some manufacturers CBD-ify their products by spraying it on, but Lord Jones actually infuses their gummies by hand. I must say, I did notice the difference.

Lord Jone’s CBD All-Natural Old Fashioned Gumdrops, $45; shop.lordjones.com

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My final takeaways from my gummy journey? Do your research, check out ingredients, and learn a bit more about the brand. You should search for brands that utilize the complete plant and are legitimized by third-party lab tests. Also, make sure you know how your body reacts to CBD, since it can vary from person to person. Ten milligrams will work for some people, while others may need a bit of a higher dose. And finally, to all my insomnia homies who are up at 4:45am Googling “how do I get to sleep,” maybe a gummy is a great place to start.