I Used CBD Oil Every Night for 60 Days - Here's What Happened to My Sleep and Recovery

I've been sceptical of CBD for a long time. Not because the mechanism is implausible - the endocannabinoid system is real and its role in stress regulation and sleep is well-documented. But because the UK market is so full of underdosed, mislabelled, and simply ineffective products that I'd written off trying it until I found a brand I trusted.

That changed when I decided to properly test CBD Armour for 60 consecutive nights.

Here's exactly what the data showed.

Why CBD Armour

Before running any protocol, I verified the product. CBD Armour provides independent Certificates of Analysis on all products, confirming CBD content, THC levels (legally required to be below 0.2% in the UK), and a full cannabinoid and contaminant profile.

Their 1000mg broad-spectrum oil tested at 1,050mg CBD per 10ml bottle (slightly over-labelled - a positive sign). THC: non-detectable. No contaminants flagged.

Broad-spectrum means it contains CBD plus a range of minor cannabinoids (CBG, CBN, CBC) but no THC. The theory is that the multiple cannabinoids work together - the "entourage effect" - more effectively than CBD isolate alone. This is debated in the literature but the weight of evidence supports some form of this effect.

The Protocol

• Product: CBD Armour 1000mg Broad-Spectrum CBD Oil
• Dose: 40mg CBD nightly (4 drops of the 1000mg/10ml oil - approximately 40mg per 4 drops)
• Timing: 45 minutes before intended sleep
• Method: Sublingual - held under tongue for 90 seconds before swallowing
• Tracking: Oura ring (HRV, sleep stages, resting heart rate, readiness score)
• Duration: 60 consecutive nights
• Consistency maintained throughout: same sleep window, same training schedule, same alcohol consumption (low), same nutrition pattern

Baseline Data (Nights 1–7, washout period)

I collected 7 nights of baseline data before starting CBD:

• Average HRV: 46ms
• Average sleep duration: 6h 49m
• Deep sleep average: 58 minutes
• REM sleep average: 1h 12m
• Average readiness score: 72/100
• Average resting heart rate: 58 bpm

Results: Weeks 1–2 (Nights 8–21)

Minimal change. Slight improvement in sleep onset time (approximately 8 minutes faster to sleep on average). No significant changes to HRV, deep sleep, or readiness.

This is consistent with how most people experience CBD - there's no acute, dramatic effect in the first week. I didn't feel sedated or significantly more relaxed. I nearly concluded it wasn't doing anything.

Results: Weeks 3–6 (Nights 22–56)

This is where the data started to shift.

HRV: Increased from 46ms baseline to an average of 53ms across weeks 3–8. That's a 15% improvement - meaningful by any standard. HRV improvement takes weeks because it reflects gradual nervous system adaptation, not acute sedation.

Deep sleep: Average deep sleep increased from 58 minutes to 74 minutes across the same period. This is the most significant change and the one I'm most confident attributing to CBD. Deep sleep (slow-wave sleep) is where physical recovery and growth hormone release occur - it's the most physically restorative sleep stage.

Sleep duration: Average increased by approximately 22 minutes - from 6h 49m to 7h 11m. This partly reflects sleeping through rather than waking briefly in the early morning.

Resting heart rate: Dropped from 58 bpm to 55 bpm on average. Lower resting HR alongside higher HRV is consistent with increased parasympathetic tone - the effect I'd expect from CBD based on the mechanism.

Readiness score: Improved from average 72 to average 79 across the same period.

What I Noticed Subjectively

The most noticeable subjective change was in how I felt on waking. I was getting to sleep at a similar time, but waking up feeling more rested - not the low-grade grogginess that had been normal for me for years in the 6–7 hours range.

Afternoon energy was better. My usual 2–3pm energy dip (which I track loosely) was less pronounced in weeks 4–8. This aligns with the HRV data - higher parasympathetic tone during the day is associated with better sustained energy.

I also noticed I was training with more perceived energy and less joint discomfort - particularly in my knees from training. CBD's anti-inflammatory effects may have contributed to this, though it's harder to isolate.

What Didn't Change

Body composition: No change. CBD isn't a fat loss compound.

Libido: No noticeable change either direction.

Cognition: No dramatic change, though I'd expect that at 40mg nightly rather than a divided dose throughout the day.

Mood: Marginally better, but this is difficult to separate from the improved sleep.

The Dose Question

40mg nightly is on the higher end for sleep optimisation. Many users report benefit at 25mg. If you're new to CBD, start at 15–25mg and increase by 10mg every week until you notice an effect - or reach 75mg, beyond which the sleep benefit may plateau.

Very high doses (above 150mg) can be activating rather than sedating for some people. The dose-response is non-linear.

Final Verdict

I went in sceptical. The data changed my position. The combination of significantly improved HRV, increased deep sleep, and the downstream changes to readiness and energy make this one of the more impactful single interventions I've tracked.

The caveat: product quality matters enormously. The UK CBD market has a serious quality control problem, and an underdosed or mislabelled product at half the stated CBD content would show none of these effects. The independent lab testing from CBD Armour is what makes the protocol reproducible.

Check CBD Armour's full range →

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Individual results will vary. This is a personal account and not medical advice.