For a long time, the nightcap ritual has been associated with alcohol; a small but stiff drink to make drifting off to sleep all that much easier. But now that cannabis is being legalized all around the country, a different type of nightcap has taken hold, and more and more people are switching out their alcohol for cannabis. From tinctures to edibles to joints, cannabis is winning over the hearts, minds and lungs of more and more Americans. Read on to see if a cannabis nightcap is right for you.
Cannabis can be a natural sleep aid
Experienced cannabis users already know how cannabis can help improve sleep, or make it easier to fall asleep if you struggle with insomnia, but anyone who's new to cannabis, or trying it for the first time since legalization may be unfamiliar with its benefits. Cannabis has two main active cannabinoids, or compounds, that can aid in sleep: THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, and CBD, or cannabidiol, both of which are well known for their ability to induce sleep. These cannabinoids also interact with our ECS or endocannabinoid system, and help to regulate many different processes in our bodies related to hormones, immunity, hunger, pain and, you guessed it, sleep. Cannabis can be a great way to help regulate your sleep patterns naturally, without dangerous and addictive sleeping pills. Doctors do recommend that this be done with care though, and have found that the benefits from cannabis as a sleep aid are most effective when the dosage of THC is 20% or below. High levels of cannabis, can act as a stimulant, and may actually inhibit sleep. Doctors recommend that if you want to use cannabis as a sleep aid, you start with a smaller dosage, somewhere around 3 mg. Microdosing cannabis has been extremely effective for many people as a natural alternative to sleep aides.
More options with cannabis
One good thing about opting for a cannabis nightcap over an alcoholic nightcap is that cannabis offers a much wider variety of infusions compared with alcohol. You can drink your cannabis nightcap if you want, but you can also get the same benefits from tinctures, carts, disposable pens, joints, and some fast acting edibles like mints and hard candies. When it comes to nightcaps though, it’s generally best to avoid traditional edibles, which take much longer for the effects to kick in, sometimes up to two hours, and can
actually disrupt your sleep. Tincture and pre rolls are especially popular nightcap options because of their versatility, convenience and fast acting effects. Tincture are great if you enjoy a good stiff drink but don’t enjoy alcohol. They can be mixed into virtually any drink and are a great alternative for anyone looking to cut back on their alcohol consumption, but still need a little head change.
Alcohol can actually disrupt sleep
Alcohol is a sedative, and though it may make you sleepy, it doesn’t necessarily help you sleep. In order to understand how alcohol affects sleep, we have to understand the human sleep cycle, which is made up of four stages: awake, rem sleep, light sleep and deep sleep. Each stage lasts for a different length of time, but each is critical to getting a quality night’s sleep. Alcohol’s sedative properties can seem like they’re “helping” you to fall asleep faster, but that “help” is short lived. Alcohol can disrupt sleep for two or more cycles, which disrupts the ratio the sleep stages need in order for you to feel rested. This can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia, further disrupting a person’s sleep cycle. This can cause people to become dependent on alcohol to fall asleep, not knowing they're just making the problem worse in the long term. Alcohol is also a muscle relaxant and relaxes the muscles in the upper body, disrupting normal breathing which can lead to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition where individuals stop breathing during the night, disrupting their sleep and contributing to an overall decline in health. Studies have found that alcohol consumption increases the risk for sleep apnea by as much as 25%. Researchers have also found that even small amounts of alcohol (less than two drinks for men and one drink for women) can decrease sleep quality by nearly 10%, and that number grows exponentially when an individual consumes moderate or high amounts of alcohol.
Pre Rolls: The undefeated nightcap champ
Though cannabis has many options, most cannabis users like to keep things simple and prefer pre rolls as their nightcap. Pre rolls are quick and convenient and their pre portioning helps to make sure you don’t get too blitzed before bed. THC works well at inducing feelings of tiredness, but, unlike alcohol, which is poison to the human body, cannabis works with the body's natural endocannabinoid
system to help regulate sleep, instead of acting as a sedative the way alcohol does. An artfully rolled joint, made with premium cannabis and infused with extracts for a super potent and smooth hit, is the perfect way to end any day. Weedsy Originals, single serving pre rolls made with the highest quality cannabis, are the perfect pre roll for your nightcap. These tasty little devils will have you drifting off to dreamland after just a few puffs of the premium concentrates and top quality bud. Originals are available in six delicious flavors: Berry, Grape, Green Apple, Strawberry, Original and Watermelon, with two new flavors, Banana, exclusive to California, and Key Lime, exclusive to Oklahoma, joining the lineup in the next few weeks.
If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to a stiff drink before bed, it might be worth it to seriously consider swapping out a few drinks each week for a cannabis based alternative. The options are plentiful, the effects are powerful and the disruption to your body is minimal. What could be better?
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