Can Cannabis Improve Your Sleep Quality

Sleep is important for our health. Good quality sleep helps us maintain our mental and physical health. Lack of good quality sleep can pose risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression and many more diseases.

The National Sleep Foundation said that 50 to 70 million adults in the U.S have sleep disorder. Forty percent of the population experiences insomnia and 15% of those are chronic. 

Troubles with sleeping has become very common especially for adults. With this, many have opted to sleeping pills and other medications. And many have turned to cannabis. Cannabis has been effective in treating sleeping problems with little to no side effects. It has analgesic properties to relieve chronic pain, and also soothes a stressed mind and body. With the increasing popularity of marijuana for medical use around the United States, weed delivery in Hollywood has grown day to day.  

What Does The Research Say?

Dr. Matt Roman, a medical marijuana physician, said that “Marijuana is an effective sleep aid because it restores a person’s natural sleep cycle, which so often falls out of sync with our schedules in today’s modern lifestyles.”

An anecdotal research done in Australia suggested that cannabis could provide efficacious treatment to chronic insomnia. Funded by medical marijuana company Zelira Therapeutic, the University of Western Australia conducted this study including 23 chronic insomnia patients. The patients were given an active dose of placebo and an active dose of marijuana, both in the forms of tinctures. Scientists measured the patients’ quality of sleep through different channels. They used digital trackers, subjective responses, and ISI (Insomnia Severity Index). ISI is a clinical tool used for the registration of insomnia symptoms.

Those who have taken the marijuana tinctures dropped their insomnia symptoms by 26% compared to the placebo patients. They also fell asleep faster and longer. Upon waking up, they experienced feeling less tired, less stressed, less groggy and refreshed.

“This study addresses the most thorough clinical trial ever undertaken to assess the therapeutic potential of medicinal cannabis to treat the symptoms of chronic insomnia. The way that ZLT-101 treatment accomplished measurably critical, dose responsive improvements across a broad range of key insomnia indices is impressive, especially given the relatively short two-week dosing window,” said by the lead scientist Peter Eastwood. 

Another study was conducted in the Rambam Institute of Pain Medicine in Haifa, Israel. The study is titled “Medical cannabis and insomnia in older adults with chronic pain: a cross-sectional study.”

A 128-person study found that marijuana is useful for chronic pain sufferers that have trouble sleeping at night. The study includes patients with PTSD, anxiety, clinical dementia, cancer patients who received chemotherapy, sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injury. Of the 128 patients included in the research, 62 were non-marijuana users and 66 were classified as users. When the two groups are compared, medical marijuana users are less likely to have disrupted sleep. Based on the results, scientists urged for more studies to examine the right dose for patients with high sleep issues. 

The Importance of Cannabis Strains

Cannabis has different strains. Some makes you active. Some will make you calm and sedated. What type of cannabinoids do you need to induce sleep? 

Marijuana contains two different cannabinoids:

Cannabidiol (CBD) – non-psychoactive (doesn’t give you the “high” effect), it gives you many health benefits

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – psychoactive (causes the “high” feeling)

The cannabinoid needed for inducing sleep is more THC than CBD. A 2008 study revealed that high level of THC cannabis reduces the amount of REM sleep and occurrence of nightmares specially for PTSD patients. THC reportedly promotes sleep through our CB1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system. Our endocannabinoid system plays a big role in many of our biological function. These functions include hormonal functions and the regulation of our pain and appetite. You may notice that if we are not relaxed, it’s harder to sleep.

Cannabis also has different strains: indica, sativa and hybrid. If you’ve talked to your doctor and you’re on your way to try medical marijuana for your insomnia, it is time to choose the best strain. 

The three strains you will commonly encounter are:

Indica – soothing and relaxing strain

Sativa – this strain makes people happy, excited, active and energized

Hybrids – a combination of Indica and sativa 

It is vital to know the best strain suited for your needs before you call for a cannabis delivery. You can ask people at a local dispensary or do your research. 

A Harvard-trained physician and cannabis specialist, Dr. Jordan Tishler, advised a strain with less than 20% THC. Anything more than twenty percent can make you feel muzzy and sleepy the next day. He also recommends the Indica strain for inducing sleep. 

How to Consume Cannabis For a Good Night’s Sleep?

Generally, people consume cannabis by smoking a pipe or a joint. If you don’t like smoking and wanted to ingest in a healthier way, you can try vaporizers or tinctures. Timing is also important to effectively get the best out of cannabis. Doctors would advise to ingest cannabis at least an hour before bedtime. 

Conclusion

Smoking in general is a known health risk and should be done with caution. It is essential to talk to your physician about your sleep cycles. Of course it’s not the same for everyone, what works for others may not work for you. It might take some time to determine the right dosage for you. So it’s best to not try it on a work week! Make sure to observe how you feel after each ingestion. It is also important to choose a method that is most comforting. These methods can vary form person to person. 

While it’s good to seek aid to cannabis for inducing sleep, nothing beats practicing good sleep hygiene and healthy lifestyle that promotes healthy sleep. Apart from going to a marijuana delivery service for cannabis relief, it’s good to practice long-term solutions to sleeping problems. It can be focusing on a good sleeping pattern, avoiding consumption of large meals before bed, exercising regularly and avoiding caffeine. 

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Can Marijuana Help in Hair Growth

There are about 5 million hair follicles in our body, and 100,000 is located in our head. We are born with this amount of follicles that we will ever have in our lifetime. As we grow older, some follicles halt producing hair, and that is when hair thinning or baldness occur. How fast your hair grows depend on your specific hair type, overall health, age, and other health conditions.

Losing hair everyday is normal. Humans unnoticeably lose between 50 to 100 hairs a day. It is not something to be worried about, but too much of it certainly implies a medical condition. These medical conditions are either menopausal, chronic stress, alopecia, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, chemotherapy, and malnutrition.  On the other hand, what we call male-pattern baldness can be completely natural and simply due to age and genetics.

Marijuana has become so popular today for its medicinal benefits, that’s why many people are becoming accustomed to using marijuana delivery service everyday. Some medical experts have pondered whether it can also be beneficial to preventing hair loss and help hair growth. Some marijuana consumers who use cannabis 3 to 5 times a week have reported spotting their hairs grow faster than normal. Can it be imaginary?

The only medical research conducted for cannabis and its connection to hair growth is dated back to 1980. In the September issue of Endocrinology, a study was observed that “marijuana inhibits dihydrotestosterone binding to the androgen receptor.” DHT didn’t bind to hormone receptors in rodents treated with THC and CBD. Lowering the amount of DHT is a big part of traditional hair loss treatment. Sad to say, there are no follow-up studies since.

Hormonal Imbalances

One of the significant causes of hair loss for women is caused by hormonal imbalance. Hormonal changes mostly happen during pregnancy and menopause. Especially after childbirth, women significantly experience hair loss due to low estrogen levels in the body. And menopausal also changes the body’s hormonal composition. For men, unregulated production of DHT (dihydrotestosterone androgen) in the body is one reason that causes hair loss and baldness. People who are sensitive to DHT hormone suffers androgenic alopecia and generally become bald.

Marijuana can help balance hormonal imbalances by binding different endocannabinoid receptors in the head and body. These endocannabinoid receptors in our endocannabinoid system is in charge of the different functionalities. This includes personal immunity, good metabolism and better function of the nervous system. CBD compounds from marijuana can help fight the symptoms of menopause by balancing the women’s hormones.

Hair Growth and Vitamins

It is a known fact that our daily intake and diet impacts the overall health of our hair. The more vitamins and nutrients intake, the more our hair will be healthier and less prone to hair loss. Baldness is sometimes caused by nutritional deficiencies especially for children.

CBD-based cannabidiol gives the body important nutritional components to help keep up healthy hair. Medicinal CBD oils contain the significant amount of vitamins and omega fatty acids including omega 3,6 and 9. These oils from CBD keep your scalp healthy by preserving its moisture content while stimulating hair growth. CBD helps nourish hair strands through its high protein content. It also boosts the production of collagen and elastin, which are the basic foundation of a strong and luster hair. The vitamins and antioxidants that CBD contain such as E, A, and C also protect hair damage by fending off too much dryness and hair breakage.

Marijuana and the Side Effects of Prescription Medication

Cancer patients suffer massive hair loss due to chemotherapy treatment. The treatment’ side effect prevents hair growth and causes baldness. Some prescription medication for acne, depression or anxiety can also result to losing hair.

Cannabis-based CBD help patients and people undergoing medications combat stressful situations through its calming and relaxing properties. It also helps people sleep and find relief from the shock that comes from stressful events. It also boosts your appetite and fight inflammation which will result to hair growth in the long run.

Healthy Metabolism

Cannabis speeds up metabolism in our body which is essential for hair growth. A faster metabolism digests food faster and burns calories faster. Just make sure to not take it to the extreme, as too much fast metabolism can make you age faster as well.

Marijuana and Stress Relief

It is not a new fact that stress is a big cause of hair loss. And it is not a new fact that marijuana is a great remedy for stress. A big manifestation of stress is hair loss and this can possibly be avoided through using marijuana. Marijuana is commonly used to relieve bad mood, depression, stress, and insomnia. While it cannot help eradicate depression completely, marijuana helps many people cope with stress through its powerful anti-depressant properties which helps stabilize stress levels in the body. 

So while there’s many testimony and evidence to show marijuana’s benefits to hair growth, using it for this purpose may probably not the best and only option. Though, if you’re using cannabis to manage stress, hair loss prevention might just be a bonus side effect.  Less stress leads to healthier hair!

Summary

In general, marijuana promotes hair growth and supports hair health by supplying nutrients, improving scalp health, moisturizing and strengthening hair shaft, and stimulating blood flow. Even if your medically skeptic and only want to consume cannabis recreationally, the usage can still improve hair health by boosting your metabolism and reducing stress. If you would like to add topical marijuana to your beauty regimen, you can buy commercial products that include herb as an ingredient. These can be purchased easily in many weed dispensaries or you can avail a fast and discreet weed delivery in Santa Monica service for free.

Of course, our bodies do not all react to substances and medications in the same way. So it is also possible to consume without noticeably seeing the possible side effects. Hopefully, one day in the future we’ll have substantial evidence on how marijuana can really help hair growth. Until then, let us know if any of these approach have worked for you.

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