Smoke too much of any of this stuff and you'll fall asleep from it, right? That's only partly correct. Plus we can do significantly better than stoning yourself unconscious. So lets take a look at how to use cannabis to benefit your sleep.
First we need to ask a couple of questions. Do you strictly use CBD, or are you open to using THC and the range of other cannabinoids? Also, is your trouble more about falling asleep, or staying asleep? Luckily there are options for each. First we can look at CBD based approaches, and then scale up.
As we've touched on in previous classes, CBD is a great nervous system relaxant. It is calming, tension releasing, and pain reducing. These are all great for the end of a long day, and may be all you need to wind down. Edibles can have a full body effect, that will help keep you physically relaxed all night. Just remember that edibles take about an hour to 2 to set in. Tinctures can have a much faster effect. You can also find tinctures that include lavender or even melatonin to increase the sedative qualities.
Using the full range of cannabis offers even more potent ways of catching your Z's. The quick answer is those Indicas we've talked about before. Remember, "In-da-couch." Their effects are more body relaxing, pain reducing, and sleep inducing. Now to circle back to my question regarding falling asleep versus staying asleep. Smoking cannabis has short term, yet fast acting effects. This is helpful for getting you to sleep, and reduces the chance for that grogginess to linger in the morning. If you're having trouble staying asleep, edibles are both more potent, and longer lasting. You would need to take them an hour to 2 before you plan on going to sleep, but their effects should last most or all of the night. This does mean you are more likely to have a slow start in morning as the effects wear off. Be sure to remember, the right sized dose is key to gaining these sleep benefits, which we will discuss in another class.
You may be asking, what about cannabis makes some strains more sedating than others? It's not just about THC potency. Another cannabinoid called cannabinol, or CBN is incredibly more effective for making you tired. It is actually what other cannabinoids degrade into, so older buds will develop more CBN. You could actually leave your flower out in the sun and air before smoking it to increase this production. Another active ingredient would be a couple of the Terpenes which are common in cannabis; specifically myrcene and linalool. Terpenes and Cannabinoids will be covered in detail in future posts, so stick around!
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