Microdosing with CBD
Some people follow a strict schedule for taking CBD. Some people take this compund when they believe it is needed. Other consumers microdose CBD on a schedule or when needed. Microdosing CBD offers an alternative strategy for consuming the amount of CBD you want to take daily. What is microdosing, and why do some people prefer microdosing CBD instead of taking CBD in a larger dose?
TLDR: Microdosing CBD refers to taking small amounts of CBD oils, tinctures or edibles. The total amount of CBD in the microdoses equals the amount of Cannabidiol you would consume for the day if not microdosing. The benefits of microdosing include the ability to maintain a steady amount of CBD in your system and an opportunity to test the effects of different potencies. This approach is particularly helpful for first-time CBD consumers who are not sure how they will respond to Cannabidiol.
What is Microdosing?
Chances are you have microdosed medications or food and did not realize it. Microdosing merely refers to taking a very small amount of a substance when needed or dividing a larger dose into a series of scheduled small doses. For example, if you take or want to take 50 mg of CBD oil each day, you could microdose by taking a serving amount of 10 mg five times a day.
What are the Benefits of Microdosing CBD?
The benefits of microdosing CBD include the following.
- Maintains a steady amount of CBD in your system throughout the day
- Enables testing its effects by starting with less CBD consumption
- Helps to determine the optimal amount of CBD to achieve desired results
- Can experiment with different potencies
- Can adjust the recommended serving amount for the daily total to fit your time schedule
- Enables timing the CBD effects
There are benefits to microdosing any substance in many cases.
Calculating CBD Per Drop
Microdosing is a simple process. Assume you purchase a bottle of CBD oil that has the following:
- 100 ml of fluid in the bottle
- 6,000 mg of CBD per container
How many milligrams (mg) of CBD are in a drop of CBD oil? First, calculate the total number of drops in the bottle, and then figure the total milligrams of CBD in a single drop. There are approximately 20 drops in one milliliter of CBD oil.
- Total number of drops: 100 ml x 20 drops per one ml = 2,000 drops
- Total mg of CBD in a drop: 6,000 mg of CBD / 2,000 drops = 3 mg of CBD per single drop
Here is the chart which helps to calculate CBD dosage in one full dropper of the 30-ml bottles with different CBD concentrations: 500 mg, 1000 mg, 1500 mg and 5000 mg of CBD:
You can also learn how to microdose CBD edibles. For example, assume you purchased CBD gummies with 30 mg of CBD per gummy. Determine the number of times you plan on consuming CBD in a single day with four or five times the normal scheduling. The amount of CBD consumed with each gummy is divided by the number of times you will consume part of the gummy.
Another option for microdosing CBD edibles is to buy a product like gummies or mints with a low potency. For example, you can purchase gummies with 5 mg of CBD per gummy. If the serving size is two gummies, you can eat one CBD gummy each time you microdose. Cutting a gummy in half is also easy if you want to lower potency and add more doses.
In the CBD gummy example, the calculation would be 30 mg of CBD per gummy divided by the number of microdoses which equals 6 mg of CBD per microdose. You can use a similar formula for any type of CBD edible that can be divided, including CBD cookies, brownies and even CBD taffy candies.
Microdosing Suggestions
The following are some suggestions for successfully microdosing CBD.
- Make sure you understand the CBD concentration in the recommended serving size of the CBD product for accurate calculation of the CBD in the microdose
- The number of drops in a dropper can be plus or minus 4-5 drops, but using 20 drops is a good standard
- First-time CBD consumers should buy CBD oil with low potency of 10 mg of CBD per serving to determine how CBD will affect you
- If you microdose five times a day and don’t feel the desired effects, add more microdoses to the microdosing schedule one hour at a time
- Remember that different CBD products are made to address different life and wellness issues, so use the appropriate product, i.e., don’t microdose CBD for sleep throughout the day unless you are staying home and want to test the effects
- Do keep a journal in which you describe how you feel after microdosing and the facts about the CBD product, like the potency per microdose
Meet Your Personal Needs
Each person consumes oils or tinctures for personal reasons. You must decide how many microdose drops you want to take with each serving. It takes some experimentation which is why journaling is recommended until you are comfortable with how a microdose makes you feel. You can record the amount of CBD consumed with each microdose, the time of day and how you feel after each dose. You may experience different effects with the first microdose compared to the last one.
How much CBD oil or tincture to take in a day through microdosing is a personal decision. Microdosing is an incredibly effective program for people inexperienced with CBD. Starting with a small or microdose of CBD makes sense when trying to figure out how much CBD to take to address your health and wellness needs. With each additional microdose, a first-time CBD user can learn the amount that works best because some CBD will build up in your body over time.
Establish a microdose schedule to get consistency with CBD consumption. Adhering to a schedule makes it easier to determine the number of microdoses and the amount of CBD that produces the effects you want to experience. Following a microdose schedule is also an excellent step to take before starting a full CBD dosing schedule per the brand’s recommendation.
Microdosing CBD to Regulate the Benefits
The growing body of clinical research providing evidence of CBD benefits includes discovering that even small amounts of CBD can activate the endocannabinoid system. For example, a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that low-dose CBD could increase a feeling of relaxation. Microdosing CBD is an excellent strategy for discovering how well CBD will work for you.
Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8602275/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35820856/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8704602/
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