It's more of an analgesic--and there are some interesting studies that have already been done for topically applied cannabinoids and skin disorders as well if you want to check those out on pubmed just search for "topical cannabis" (but that is not a recommendation, please see your doctor). I use topicals mostly for joint pain and muscle spasm. However, in my book, I have pioneered a cannabis bath salt formulation which lends itself to the sedative side of things--I'll try to post again soon with a photo of that and some information about the formulation process as it is a bit more complex than standard bath salts or bombs you may be familiar with. If you are looking for topicals with a sedative effect--definitely the bath salts.