One of the first things I used to do after coming home late from work would be to grab a drink or two to wind down. I was working 50-60 hour weeks and the stress of the work day almost always lingered into the night. It left me with an anxious mind that would keep me from falling asleep at bedtime.

Whether it was a glass of wine, an IPA, hard seltzer, or whiskey neat – I felt like I needed the alcohol to alleviate all the stress, or at least numb it. Needless to say, it was not the healthiest habit – but it seemed like a necessary evil.

I eventually decided that things needed to change. Even though the alcohol helped me fall asleep, the quality of sleep was worse and there were some mornings I woke up feeling too dehydrated. I also learned that daily alcohol use can shrink your brain over time (no thanks!). Thankfully, a friend had introduced me to Mind Unwind from 5to9 Wellness.

Mind Unwind is a water soluble CBD elixir infused with Lion’s Mane mushroom extract and L-theanine. I was always curious about the healing properties of CBD, and was familiar with the anti-anxiety properties of both Lion’s Mane and L-theanine. Additionally, I learned that these 3 ingredients are great for your brain health and have each been studied for preventing brain diseases!

Unlike CBD oil, what’s great about Mind Unwind CBD is that it’s water soluble and will fully dissolve into any beverage (along with being 5x more easily absorbed by our bodies vs oil). This was perfect for me since I still enjoyed the evening ritual of making myself a drink and decided that I’d try to wean off the alcohol at a comfortable pace.

One of the first ways I used Mind Unwind was to add a full dropper or two with whiskey on the rocks. Since Mind Unwind has mild herbal bitter notes and some natural citrus flavor, this combination actually tasted like a quick and easy Old Fashioned. On other nights, I add Mind Unwind to a hard seltzer.

With these drinks, I could definitely feel that there was an extra level of “chill” that wasn’t the usual alcohol buzz. I could feel these effects almost as quickly as I felt the effects of alcohol. However, it wasn’t long before I realized I could probably just leave out the alcohol entirely.

Within a couple weeks, I started combining Mind Unwind with regular seltzer water instead of hard seltzers. These DIY CBD seltzers that I was making gave me the satisfaction of having a refreshing drink that could put me into a calmer state, without the negative side effects of alcohol. No more head spinning or dehydration – it was a much purer sense of natural, Zen-like calmness.

Now Mind Unwind is part of my evening routine, whether it goes inside of a drink or not. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even have to craft a drink anymore – on some nights I’ll just drip Mind Unwind straight under my tongue if I just need to enter that calmer state more efficiently. I feel at ease within 10-15 minutes.

It has been an absolute game changer for my anxiety levels and sleep quality at night. I’ve been feeling much more refreshed in the mornings and ready to tackle the day. And I’m proud to say that I haven’t drank a single glass of alcohol to unwind after work in over 6 months!