Cannabis for Stress Reduction and Sleep

Good morning Cannaseurs! If you’re not feeling as chipper as I am this morning, maybe we can fix that! Below is what I did in order to come off of ambien completely, along with shelving my xanax as well.

Self-care the for a good day tends to start the night before during evening preparations. We need to feel good before we go to sleep in order to not have our minds race and be able to sleep soundly. If we are stressed out and have a hard time “turning it off,” we will not be able to sleep well and thus not function at our best ability the next day.

There are several ways that we can do this, with mindfulness always being the best option (followed by moving-mindfulness i.e.- yoga). Mindfulness allows us to not focus on the past, because we cannot do anything about it…when it’s over, it’s OVER (no matter WHAT it is!!). Mindfulness also allows us to forget about the future (because we can only guess what is coming next but can never truly know…so why worry!).

*Now, let’s pull off to the side of the road for a minute and consider this: You know the idea that when you’re high you’re also forgetful? I’ve personally come to believe that this is true to a degree, but I don’t believe that the person becomes absent minded completely, but just becomes incredibly focused on one idea, conversation, concept, playing with kids, friends, etc. SO focused, in fact, that you completely forget anything else that may be happening in the world around you. This is not always, good, but sometimes it is (especially to reduce stress, which I will get back to in a minute). This is similar to how time may appear to pass more slowly when you’re high…we all know that that is not what is really happening, but my take from this, is that we are just getting incredibly focused second-by-second on what you are doing, paying intense attention to every moment, so it feels longer. Conversely, when someone drinks and “blacks-out,” they wake up the next morning not knowing how they got where they ended up often, remembering one moment of the night and then POOF! The next moment they are awake with what feels like a hammer tapping on their head over and over…I definitely don’t miss those days!*

So BACK ON THE ROAD! Stress at night. You come home from work, have a long day, whatever it may be, and we have a plethora of chores to complete. Kids have to be fed, bathed, put to bed, homework, dishes, cleaning, maybe prepping for tomorrow’s meeting, and omg THE NEWS!!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CORONAVIRUS!?!

So you’re evening begins, and then BOOM. It’s 11pm, and all you’ve done are chores, chores, chores, and then filled your head with anxiety on TV, or with your latest drama show. As soon as you turn the lights off an quiet your outside space, that is when the internal party starts!! Your mind is racing, you thoughts, feelings, emotions from earlier in the day bubbling up, thinking about tomorrow and what needs to be done at work, but first you need to make sure you get the kids to school and they need to be there early tomorrow, so make sure that you make note of that also, and the list goes on and on. You toss on and off throughout the night, the 7am alarm goes off, and away we go again.

OOOF! Not good. So, how an cannabis help? CANNABIS TURNS IT OFF! Yes, I call it my “loop-breaker” and “going for a spin.” If I get locked in, can’t turn it of with breathing techniques alone or through changing the environment, cannabis can always change the environment for you!

My goal at night is to be productive with my tasks and prepping, while also accomplishing a podcast, or some other audible achievement during that time (whether that’s an audio book, other podcasts, news updates, etc). If I use the wrong cannabis strain, I will end up just sitting on the couch and mindlessly watching TV for the rest of the night as well. With the correct strain, however, I be productive, get what I need done, but do it without that “coffee” buzz, and with lower anxiety and a better overall body-feel as well.

After I am done with nightly chores, I then switch to a more relaxation routine, which I try to change every night. This can include creative tasks (music), physical (stretching), or reading/watching TV. Watching TV isn’t the devil, just don’t do it every night and give yourself a break. I also change strains at this time as well. I still want to be productive and not sleep…at this point, I am just trying to wind down my mind. If you’re driving a car, you stop and get out, you don’t jump out when the car is still moving. To be going through your chores and MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!, and then abruptly try to sleep, is akin to jumping out of the car when it is still moving…so SLOW DOWN…then park! Here is where I will grab an indica-leaning hybrid…something that will start to settle me, but allow me to still hang-out.

Then, we SLEEP! This is the easiest part at this point also. Here, I will change strains again to a pure indica. I often occasionally will do a 1:1 strain as well if I am experiencing more anxiety, or if I’m finding that the heavy indica is making me drowsy the next day.

Occasionally I will also do a sleep meditation concurrently, but if I do, I am usually out before we are 5 minutes into it.

For me, getting better sleep and reducing my anxiety essentially comes down to being present in the moment so you are no longer worried about what you cannot change in the past, and also what you cannot control in the unforeseeable future. Once you are able to do this, your sleep hygiene becomes bulletproof, and I seldom wake up complaining about energy levels, even if I only get 5-6 hours of sleep. Once you can create this positive-loop in your routine, then you will eventually start to see the compounding effects that this will have on your life, and for the better. Routines are hard to start, but if used wisely and correctly, cannabis can actually help make your life easier to accomplish that as well!

Here are some strains that I like to use for the above activities:

***note…some strains are repeated in different stages due to their versatility, but I try to change terpenes when going from one stage to the next, and everyone will feel differently about these options also…but below is at least some guidance***

Being productive at night, prepping for sleep, all vapes: Anything that is a balanced hybrid, or even sativa-leaning hybrids.

-OG Kush

-Jack Herer

-Sour Jack

-Headband

-Tangie

-CBD Critical Cure

-Blue Dream

-sour kush.

Wind-down, creative/relaxation time, all vapes:

-OG kush

-Granddaddy purple

-sour kush

-sherbet

-gelato

-frankenberry

-do-si-do

-zkittles

-platinum OG

-skywalker OG

-CBD Critical Cure

-any strains with “cookies” in it

-any other strains with “kush” in it.

Here, I also start shifting my terpenes to more myrcene/linolol if possible. If I am mentally anxious, I will stick with higher CBD strains. If I’m generally feeling good and want to really relax, I stick with THC.

Sleep (combination of vapes, edibles, tinctures, sprays, and lotions):

-Lotion- I will rub this on my muscles to repair at night, and also a CBD balm over my sinuses and throat to make sure they stay clear throughout the night and I don’t wake up because my nose is stuffy (yes it helps!).

-Jedi-OG kush

-blueberry strains

-kush and afghani strains

-Bubba kush

-Grape Ape