WOMEN STRUGGLE TO SLEEP.
Sleep is so precious to our health and it can be such a challenge, especially for women. Hormonal fluctuations throughout women’s lives affect their cicardian rythm, and make them need more sleep. If you’re looking to cannabis to improve your sleep, you’re not alone.
Although conventional medicine can effectively address sleeping problems, there are still several unwanted side effects that can occur from taking sleeping pills. Some people may experience drowsiness, dizziness, or sleepwalking while on the medication. Other side effects can include changes in mood and behavior, memory problems, and even falls.
One of the many benefits of cannabis is that it plays a role in promoting better sleep, but CBD and THC affect sleep differently. THC strains and edibles with THC promote rapid onset of sleep while CBD regulates sleep/wake cycles both during the night and the following day.
HAVING SLEEP ISSUES? MARIJUANA CAN HELP
Sleep problems are medically defined as any sleeping episode during which either one or two of these symptoms occur: insomnia, sleepiness, excessive daytime somnolence (sleepy feeling), and snoring.
Sleeping is a part of our physical health, but it also affects our mental health. Sleeping well allows us to remain healthy and happy throughout the day, which leads to being productive in whatever we do. People who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to have chronic pain or experience depression symptoms.
The cannabis plant has been used for centuries as a sleep aid. Contemporary scientific research is still ongoing on what people have known and experienced since ancient times: cannabis use provides relaxing and sedative effects.
With little research to elaborate on the anecdotal evidence linking sleep and cannabis, we offer what we know: While other cannabinoids – specifically, CBN and CBG – show promise for sleep, there is so little research about cannabis in general, that their success is mostly anecdotal. This is where you’ll have to experiment a bit to find the cannabis products for sleep that work best for you.
BENEFITS OF CANNABIS: WILL CBD WORK FOR INSOMNIA?
In short, the non-intoxicating CBD helps you stay asleep all night long. In 2017, researchers reviewed studies dating back to the 1970s and found compelling evidence that one of the benefits of cannabis is that it’s an effective tool in combating insomnia.
In addition to stabilizing sleep patterns, the review offered strong evidence that CBD reduces daytime drowsiness, improves alertness, and relieves anxiety. CBD has been shown to improve sleep quality in people with chronic pain, as well as those who suffer from insomnia and other sleep disorders caused by mental health conditions.
HOW DOES WEED HELP YOU SLEEP, EXACTLY?
Do you have trouble staying asleep? High doses of CBD have been found to optimize the sleep wake cycle, while low doses of CBD promote alertness and protect against crashing throughout the 24-hour period following ingestion. So, CBD can act as a natural sleep aid, and many strains of cannabis that include CBD are also great for relaxing muscles before bedtime.
Do you have trouble falling asleep? THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) has been found to reduce activity during deep and REM sleep, suppressing nightmares and/or dreams – making it a crucial ingredient for people who suffer from PTSD.
If you’re looking for cannabis products that specifically promote sleep, these are some of our top cannabis brand recommendations.
The Endocannabinoid System, or ECS, is responsible for creating balance in the body. Endocannabinoids are balancing neurotransmitters that our body makes on its own.
Endo = within the body. Phytocannabinoids are plant-derived compounds that mimic endocannabinoids. They have the same chemical structure. Phyto = from a plant. One is already in our bodies. One comes from plants.
Starting in the early 1990s scientists found natural cannabis like molecules in the brain, actually produced by the human body. They’re called endocannabinoids. They found a complex network of receptors in the body, a cell signaling system that they identified and called the endocannabinoid system.
Dr. Jessica Knox, a Harvard trained physician and co-founder of the American Cannabinoid Clinics explains it more in depth, “so most people know about the cardiovascular system, our heart, they know about the neurological system, the respiratory system. These are the systems we all learned about in health class in high school. But nobody learned about the endocannabinoid system. Even still, I graduated from medical school in 2012, the endocannabinoid system, the primary components, had been discovered by the early 1990s, 20 years later, I was not learning this in medical school. But the endocannabinoid system is a really important system that’s balancing and modulating all of these other systems in our body to maintain what we call homeostasis or balance in our body.
The main function of the endocannabinoid system is to maintain biological harmony in response to changes in our environment. So that’s why things like stress and toxins can have an adverse effect. It’s also why CBD and other compounds in cannabis can be so effective.
FINDING THE BEST CANNABIS FOR SLEEP
Now we’ve already established that one of the wondrous effects of cannabis is that it promotes better sleep. But what is the best weed strain for sleep?
INDICA FOR SLEEP: DOES INDICA MAKE YOU SLEEPY OR HYPER?
Cannabis Sativa and Indica are two different types of cannabis plants. The conventional wisdom is that indica strains offer the sleepy, body-high effects and sativa strains will make you feel energized and creative. A more effective way to find the cannabis that works best for your sleep needs is to be open to experimenting, and to know the right questions to ask.
First, do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Cannabis with THC will help you fall asleep fast, and there are many beloved cannabis strains to try. When you go to a dispensary, ask the retail staff at the dispensary, the budtenders, for cannabis strains that have a sedative effect, helping you to relax and get to sleep more easily. Be warned that the classifications of Indica and Sativa are not always a good indicator for how you will feel, and you need to be open to experimenting to find the snooziest weed for you.
Typically, Cannabis Sativa strains are known for their energizing effects and may be better for daytime use because they have typically a higher level of THC content and less CBD. This makes them more energizing and stimulating, perfect for when you want to take on the world. Take the time to learn about the strains that calming your body down before bedtime so that you can spend less time laying in bed trying to fall asleep.
The reasons certain types of cannabis help you fall asleep have a lot to do with terpenes, which are often called the essential oils of cannabis. Think of terpenes as a smell you can taste – where smell meets the back of your throat and your taste buds.
WHICH POT BRAND CAN WOMEN TRUST TO HELP THEM SLEEP?
CBD will help you stay asleep all night, and since it is legal in all 50 states, it’s easy to buy and ship the products to your home. Try code DOTHEPOT for discounts on safe and tested products from some of our favorite women-run CBD companies.
- How to Do the Pot’s host Ellen Scanlon swears by Equilibria CBD gelcaps, and Equilibria has developed a CBD sleep gummy that will help you rest easily all night.
- The Nightcap tincture from Juna is a hemp based cbd oil blend that turns down the volume on racing thoughts and invites you into your most restorative sleep.
- Barbari’s herbal smoking blends and pre-rolls are formulated to be mixed with hemp or cannabis and smoked as a spliff so that you have more control over the effects and the experience.
- Airplane Mode features lavender, rose, and blue lotus flower, which encourage relaxation and calming of the senses.
