Bedtime Cannabis: What You Need to Know
There’s no doubt that certain cannabis strains are more likely to send you off to the land of dreams than others. That’s no bad thing, especially if you have trouble sleeping and need a good night’s rest.
Bedtime cannabis is taken by millions of insomnia sufferers across the globe. Choose the right strain and it can make a really big difference to your sense of health and wellbeing by giving you a good night’s sleep.
If you’re new to using cannabis as a cure for lack of sleep, choosing the right strain can be difficult to figure out. This article takes a closer look at the strains available as well as the benefits of using cannabis for improving your nightly rest.
5 Facts About Bedtime Cannabis
Many people don’t actually want to get high when taking cannabis. They want it to relax them help provide a good night’s sleep.
1. CBD vs THC
Bedtime cannabis is usually seen as a medicinal application which often makes people go for CBD strains. The truth is that THC will give you a better night’s sleep if you choose the right high-level Indica strain. You ideally want a balance between getting high and knocking yourself out.
CBD acts totally differently and isn’t going to send you off to the land of make-believe anytime soon. What it does do is make you more alert and energetic during the day. This can make it a useful panacea if you have had a bad night’s sleep in the first place. It might also ensure that when you go to bed the next night, you fall asleep more easily.
If you just want to get your allotted 8 hours sleep, you need to be focused on mostly Indica strains with a THC content of around 15-20%.
2. Why Indica is Best for Bedtime Cannabis
This could be down to the terpenes in Indica strains which make them into calming and sleep enhancing strains rather than acting to liven you up. Sativa strains, on the other hand, tend to be energizing. While a mix of the two may help you get to sleep of an evening, the more potent insomnia strains are all Indica.
A word of warning, however. If you are having trouble sleeping because you are anxious, avoid very high THC strains as these can make things worse.
3. Aged Bedtime Cannabis Will Make You Sleepier
If you’re a beginner to cannabis, you will probably not have heard of CBN. It’s cannabinol and it’s produced when weed is dried and starts to become old. Essentially the THC in your cannabis degrades and CBN is produced.
While old weed can lose a lot of its potency, if you’re someone who has trouble with sleeping then the increased CBN is a bonus. It’s been shown to have a number of therapeutic effects not least making people drowsy and sending them sleep. It is also used in pain relief and as an anticonvulsant. If you have some old weed handy and you haven’t been sleeping too well, this might just do the trick.
4. Pair With a Lavender Tea for Better Results
First off, you should never take prescription drugs for improving sleep along with cannabis as this can be dangerous. You can pair your bedtime cannabis with either lavender or chamomile tea, however, both of which are supposed to be relaxing. Many people find that this improves the overall potency. We’re not entirely sure why this should be the case but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that it works. And it’s not going to harm you.
5. The End of Dreams?
One thing you’ll notice with using bedtime cannabis is that you will dream less. This isn’t an issue for most people, especially those who suffer from night terrors or generally bad dreams. The time we spend in REM sleep is reduced or inhibited and users often talk about a more restful night. It’s not bad in any particular way but just a side-effect of taking cannabis.
What Causes Insomnia?
The most common causes of insomnia are anxiety and depression. These can affect our overall sense of wellbeing. We spend the night tossing and turning and worrying about the world and our lives rather than getting a good night’s sleep. If you’ve ever had a stressful job, you will understand how this can interrupt sleep patterns, often for nights on end.
You might also have an illness or injury that keeps you awake at night. Finding a comfortable position can be almost impossible unless you have something to help you get to sleep. You could be someone who wakes up frequently during the night and find that you are drowsy during the day and have difficulty concentrating. You may suffer from a sleep disorder like apnea which interrupts your nightly rest.
Many people opt for pharmaceutical solutions such as sleeping pills but these can have their side-effects and can be damaging in the long-term. The reason that people turn to bedtime cannabis is because it is a natural solution and has less harmful side-effects. Picking the right strain, however, is going to be important.
Which is the Best Bedtime Cannabis?
At seedsbank.ie, we provide a number of high-quality cannabis strains that are suitable for treating conditions such as insomnia and improving sleep. Here are just some of our most popular:
1. Bubba Kush Feminized Seeds
This is a highly popular strain with around 15-20% THC. Suitable for growing indoors and outdoors it is mostly Indica as you might expect and has pretty strong sedative effects. With a fairly quick flowering time, you also get a good yield of about 500 gr/m². If you’re only just starting to explore the benefits of bedtime cannabis, this is a good strain to begin with and one that’s easy to grow.
2. Black Sugar Feminized Seeds
A potent mix of Black Domina, L.A OG and Critical strains, this delivers a THC content over 20% and is a pretty powerful sedative. It yields a good crop both indoors and outdoors and has a faster flowering time than the Bubba Kush. This makes it ideal if you have limited space in which to grow your plant. The strong sedative effect means that this is more suited to experienced cannabis cultivators.
3. Aurora Indica Feminized Seeds
This is another fairly potent Indica hybrid, this time combining Afghani and Nirvana strains. Flowering usually occurs within 7 to 9 weeks and should produce a creditable yield of around 500 gr/m². It’s a popular strain for treating insomnia and for pain relief which could be because it produces high levels of both THC and CBD. This is less about knocking you out but producing a relaxing high that makes you feel good.
4. Afghan Kush Regular Seeds
If you’re looking for a long lasting strain that delivers relaxation and pain relief, this is a popular choice. A fully Indica strain it has a THC content over 20% and produces a reasonably good yield both indoors and out. It’s also a plant that is pretty resistant to mould and over-watering which makes it a good choice for newbies with insomnia.
How to Take Bedtime Cannabis
There are several schools of thought on this and a lot will depend on your personal preferences and what actually works for you. There are many who vape or smoke cannabis before they go to bed as this delivers an almost immediate effect. If you don’t like either of these activities, however, it can be problematic. What it does allow you to do is control the dosage and how much bedtime cannabis you take. There is, however, the potential that it could wear off during the night.
Others prefer to take edibles, either because they don’t like smoking or because it’s just more palatable. Edibles can take longer to work so you need to have them an hour or so before you go to bed. It can be difficult to get the dosage right with edibles, especially if you are new to bedtime cannabis. The upside is that the edibles can continue to release the THC for much longer during the night which means you are more likely to achieve an uninterrupted sleep. You can also make batches and store them in the fridge.
At the end of the day, if you are taking bedtime cannabis, you’ll need to do a little experimentation to find out the best approach. You’ll also need to try different strains to discover which works for you. One thing you shouldn’t be doing is taking these kinds of strains during the day if you need to get out and about, work or do any activity like driving.
As with everything, always start with small doses and see how these affect you. You can always build up as you become more experienced at using bedtime cannabis.
