I drank CBD tea every night for a week and noticed this weird thing happen

This article was updated on September 23, 2021.

I think it’s fair to say that when it comes to winding down and going to bed, we’re all looking for ways to improve our quality of sleep, to lessen the anxiety from our day, and to turn off the voice reminding us of all the nagging items on our to-do list.

I usually try to foster a good night’s sleep by reading before bed or listening to a meditation app, but when I found out a simple cup of CBD tea could check off all my sleep hygiene-related boxes, I figured it was worth a shot!

Here’s what happened when I swapped out my evening nightcap with a pot of CBD tea—and why I probably won’t be drinking it on a regular basis.

Day One

I was so excited to start this week off. I’m always looking for ways to enhance my nighttime routine and improve my sleep hygiene, so anything that promises a better night’s sleep is intriguing to me. What’s more, I have a ton of really charming teapots that I’ve collected over the years, which, as a coffee drinker, I don’t use as much as I’d like.

I didn’t really notice anything tonight—which I think is due to my not steeping the tea long enough. I’ll be sure to steep the tea for closer to twenty minutes or so moving forward.

Day Two

Tonight I made sure to steep my tea for a full half-hour, which is supposed to ensure all the CBD makes it into the teapot. It definitely made a noteworthy difference. About an hour after drinking my pot of tea I noticed a sense of peaceful clarity and drowsiness which made it so much easier to fall asleep. I slept through the night and woke up very well rested the next morning.

Day Three

By today I was really looking forward to my new nightly ritual. I love ending the night with a warm beverage and the fact that it helps me sleep and calms my anxiety is a pretty great side effect. I did notice that it was much harder to get my day started, though, and I indulged in way more coffee than I usually do—I’m not sure if it’s just a one-off or if it could be due to the tea.

Day Four

By the fourth day I had definitely noticed a change in my overall quality of sleep but I wasn’t anticipating a little added weight loss. I hadn’t done anything different this week and still lost a total of four pounds—after a bit of research I realized that a lot of the herbs used in tea have debloating effects while helping reduce water retention, which, as a coffee drinker, I didn’t expect at all. This definitely made me interested in trying out different types of teas to include in my night time routine moving forward.

Day Five

By the last day, I had lost a total of five pounds—which I know is all water weight, but I still found that to be pretty surprising. I also noticed I had less indigestion in the evenings, was sleeping way better, and also fell asleep much faster.

That being said, I’m not sure I would continue drinking CBD tea every single night. Not only is it rather expensive per cup, I’m also very conscious of the sleep aids I use. I used to be an avid fan of taking melatonin before bed but I found any sleep aid, be it melatonin or CBD tea actually leaves me feeling very sluggish in the morning, which, although falling and staying asleep is nice, makes the rest of my day a bit of struggle.