In short: To wind down in the heat, keep cool, stay hydrated, and protect your sleep. Go easy on alcohol, because it dehydrates you further. Some people swap the evening drink for CBD to take the edge off instead, without the dehydration or the next-day hangover. In summer, our gummies are the easy one to keep to hand.
Why does the heat leave you so frazzled?
It isn't just in your head. As the temperature climbs, your body works harder to cool itself and releases more cortisol, the stress hormone. Sleep gets lighter and more broken. Small things feel bigger, and patience runs short. Researchers have found that irritability and low mood measurably rise on hot days. So if you have felt shorter-tempered this past week, the weather is genuinely part of it.
Why the cold wine or beer works against you
When it's hot, the natural move is to reach for something cold, and often that something is a glass of wine or a cold beer. Here's the catch. Alcohol is a diuretic (something that makes you pass out more water than you take in). It switches off the hormone that tells your kidneys to hold on to water, and the stronger drinks, wine and spirits, tip you into net fluid loss. In a heatwave, when you're already struggling to stay hydrated, that's the last thing your body needs. The drink that was meant to help you switch off leaves you thirsty, badly slept, and worse the next morning.
The drink meant to help you unwind is quietly working against you in the heat.
So where does CBD come in?
This is where some people make a swap. Instead of the evening drink, they reach for CBD to wind down. To be clear about what it is and isn't: it won't cool you down, and it's no fix for a hot and bothered day. But unlike alcohol, it doesn't dehydrate you, and there's no hangover in the morning. Research into CBD and relaxation is still early, and everyone responds differently, which we get into in what the research actually says. But what we hear from customers is simple: many find it a gentler way to take the edge off a long, hot evening. If you were leaning sober-curious anyway, summer is a natural time to try it, and we wrote more on that here. There's also a fuller look at CBD and alcohol together if you're weighing the two.
Gummies or oil for the garden?
For summer, we usually point people to the gummies. There's no bottle, no dropper, no measuring. You keep them in a bag or a pocket and take one when you want to slow down, whether that's the garden, a barbecue, or the end of a long hot day. If you already take CBD daily, the oil is the more flexible option, and you can fine-tune the amount to suit you. We put the two side by side in gummies vs oil for relaxation.
How much should you take?
Start low and give it time. If you're new to it, our beginner's guide to dosing walks through finding your amount. The aim is the lowest amount that suits you, not the most you can manage. And if the heat is wrecking your sleep, which it does for most of us, there's more in CBD for sleep.
Enjoy the sun, skip the parched morning
None of this is about giving up your summer. It's about enjoying the heat without waking up dried out and groggy. If the weather has you frazzled and you'd rather not reach for a drink every evening, CBD is a swap worth trying. Keep a tin of gummies to hand and see how a hot evening feels without the drink.
References
- UCLA Health, "4 effects of heat on mental health (and how to protect yourself)" – https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/4-effects-heat-mental-health-and-how-protect-yourself-2
- Cleveland Clinic, "How the Heat Can Impact Your Mood" – https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2024/07/05/how-the-heat-can-impact-your-mood
- "The Diuretic Action of Weak and Strong Alcoholic Beverages in Elderly Men: A Randomized Diet-Controlled Crossover Trial" – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537780/
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you're taking medication, consult your GP before using CBD.