When you're just getting started with CBD, finding the right strength can be confusing—and, TBH, a bit overwhelming. After all, it’s not like ibuprofen, where you can just pop a 200mg tablet and get rid of your headache.
Not only does CBD come in different forms and strengths, but there also aren’t clear guidelines when it comes to dosing. Because CBD is highly personal, what works for one person may not work for you. Multiple factors—such as your unique body chemistry and the reason you're taking it—go into the way CBD makes you feel.
But it also doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. Here, we’ll guide you through where to start, how to test doses, and, ultimately, how to find your optimal strength.
Finding your starting point
When you’re new to CBD, we recommend starting with a 1200 MG-strength tincture—it’s a good middle ground that will let you easily test different doses until you find your personal sweet spot. In general, it’s better to start with a low dose and work your way up. But knowing what you’re taking it for can also help.
Ask yourself, “Why am I taking CBD?” Is it to feel less overwhelmed? Fall asleep faster? Recover from tough workouts? As a rule of thumb, lower doses (around 20mg) tend to provide calm and focus, while larger doses (around 60mg) have potential to sedate.
So, for example, if you’re taking CBD because you get nervous presenting at all-hands meetings, you may want to begin with 20mg. Waking up at 2 a.m. every morning? Try 60mg. And if you’re dealing with an old basketball injury, you probably want to go with something in the middle—around 30mg.
Putting it to the test
Once you’ve found your starting dose, take it regularly at the same time every day for at least a week. Notice how you feel, keeping in mind the effects may be subtle.
In fact, sometimes it’s helpful to pay attention to what you don’t feel, rather than what you do. Maybe those nagging thoughts aren’t quite so nagging. Or the tension you normally feel in your neck isn’t there anymore. We recommend keeping a journal to track your dose, the time of day, and how it made you feel.
Identifying your sweet spot
If that initial dose is working for you, stick with it. More CBD does not necessarily equal better, so once you’ve found your Goldilocks zone, upping your dose won’t really do much for you.
Not feeling anything? Try increasing or lowering your dose by 5 to 10mg. It may take a bit of trial and error, but when you start feeling like yourself again, you’ll know you’ve found your sweet spot.
From there, you can either stick with the 1200 MG strength or consider a lower- or higher-strength tincture. Much like espresso versus drip, it takes less of a higher-strength tincture to feel the same effects as it does with a lower-strength tincture.
In other words, if you’re taking 80mg to help you doze off every night, you may want to switch to a more concentrated tincture, such as 2400 MG. That way it’ll be easier to measure out your dose, and you’ll get more out of each bottle. But if you’re only taking a small dose of 10mg to help you focus at work, you may find a lighter formula like 600 MG does the trick.
As you can tell, CBD is not only highly personal but also highly flexible. There’s no one way to take CBD, and ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you. Here's how to get started.
