At some point or another, we’ve all experienced that singular misery of laying awake in the dead of night, staring at the ceiling or our phones or the clock and wishing we could just sleep. When it’s a one-off thing, it’s not that big of a deal. But quality sleep is closely tied to quality of life, and a few sleepless nights become a problem — fast. It makes people wonder, will cannabis help me sleep?
SLEEP BETTER
A Consumer Reports article from 2016 titled “Why Americans Can’t Sleep” reported that we spent a cool $41 billion on sleep aids and remedies in 2015, a number expected to grow to $52 billion by 2020 (and that was before the pandemic). So what’s the deal? A lot of it comes down to stress, which is a natural sleep killer that ramps up our anxiety just when it’s time for our brains to power down. People have been turning to over-the-counter options for years, but increasingly, they’re also looking to alternative treatments and lifestyle changes. Case in point? Cannabis.
No, there is no hard, empirical proof that cannabis can help you sleep. However, it is true that THC has natural sedative properties. And many people find it helpful in easing anxiety, which may be the key for helping you relax enough to fall asleep. At this time, there’s also some evidence that the entourage effect of cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis can continue while we snooze. Still, these compounds won’t have the same effect as a pharmaceutical if you’re looking to knock yourself out cold.
That’s largely because the effects of cannabis are such an individual experience, and hugely dependent on the terpene profile of a given strain. But that brings us to another point — if you’re building a relaxing bedtime ritual (and if sleep escapes you, that’s exactly what you should be doing), cannabis can fit in really nicely. A bedtime gummy, a cup of chamomile tea, a sleep blend in the diffuser — this is all relaxing stuff! And by upping your terpene exposure with the right cannabis product, you’re only boosting the sedating effects.
Keep in mind that dosing will be key. In some cases, CBD has been shown to be calming in higher doses, but stimulating in low doses. Be prepared for a bit of trial and error if you’re hoping to use cannabis for sleep, and consider starting with a low dose of THC. Next time you hit up MYNT, ask a budtender for some recommendations. Pair the suggested cannabis product with a few other bedtime best practices, and with a little luck you’ll be sleeping like a baby very soon.
