Now there is no denying that marijuana, cannabis, weed, gas, or whatever you want to call it can be beneficial. Marijuana can help with sleeping better, lowering levels of anxiety, bringing back an appetite for people who have trouble eating, and more. If taken in moderation, weed can also help with many painful medical conditions and illnesses. In some instances, weed is prescribed to patients by their doctors as another form of medicine when it comes to dealing with painful symptoms from certain diseases and/or mental health issues. Besides it being very helpful, weed is also natural, so depending on who you purchase from, there are no other additives that come with it that can cause damage or harm to your body. So as good as weed can be and may seem, sometimes good things come with a price and in this case, the price you have to pay, might not only have to deal with money. You could be paying for weed with your sleep.
Marijuana And Its Benefits
As stated before, marijuana, reefer, weed, or gas (however you refer to the substance) has many benefits like helping with sleeping and gaining an appetite.
Smoking weed also helps with treating mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
There are also studies that show oral forms of cannabis can help cancer patients who suffer from nausea and vomiting as a result of chemotherapy.
Weed can help with treating disorders such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and other gastrointestinal disorders. This is because CBD products have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce symptoms.
CBD (a type of marijuana) can also help people who struggle with seizure syndromes and epilepsy, as well as lowering blood pressure and preventing relapses for people struggling with drug and/or alcohol addictions.
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Marijuana And Its Downfalls
Now that you know about marijuana and its benefits, it’s only right that you know about marijuana and its risks as well. As helpful as it can be for the body and mind, there are many risk factors that you have to take into consideration when using marijuana.
One risk is that it irritates the lungs. Marijuana can cause breathing problems and put you at risk of lung infections if you are a heavy smoker. Marijuana also increases your heart rate for a long period of time, even after you have stopped smoking. This can increase your levels of developing a heart attack.
Weed can also have effects on your mental well-being. In some instances, marijuana use can cause temporary paranoia and hallucinations, an increase in depression and anxiety levels, and even thoughts or increased thoughts of suicide.
People who are heavy marijuana smokers also struggle with relationship problems, have poorer physical and mental health than people who aren’t or don’t smoke marijuana and have lower life satisfaction. Though this may not be the case for everyone, which is fine, it can be a reality for others.
Another reality that heavy weed smokers face is sleeping problems. This is because marijuana can have very negative effects on your sleeping schedule and in some cases, cause insomnia.
How Weed Can Cause Insomnia And What This Leads To
Though many people have said that using weed does help them sleep better at night, there is evidence that that theory may not be all the way true.
According to this recent study, people who use weed for 20 or more days a month were almost 65% more likely to sleep less than 6 hours a night and over 75% were more likely to sleep more than 9 hours a night.
The second part of that statement might not seem like a bad thing but unfortunately, it is. Why? Because the average adult should only be sleeping seven to 8 hours a night. If they’re sleeping for more than 9 hours a night, that can have extremely negative effects on the body.
Sleeping for 6 hours or less a night can lead to insomnia and though it may not start out that way, if you are a consistent and heavy smoker, then it can lead to insomnia. With insomnia comes extreme fatigue, tiredness, terrible headaches and debilitating migraines, which can lead to stress and exhaustion and make you want to smoke more. It will just be a repeated cycle until you are now dependent on it.
How To Fix Your Sleeping Habits While Still Being Able To Enjoy Yourself
You can definitely still enjoy marijuana while making sure it doesn’t affect your sleeping habits. The first thing you need to do is be mindful and aware of how much you have been smoking recently. If you have already smoked at least twice that day, then maybe you shouldn’t pick up the blunt or joint again.
Another way is to eat your cannabis instead of smoking it. Eating a very small piece of an edible a few hours before your bedtime can be more beneficial than smoking right before bed.
You can still enjoy your time with marijuana but again just be more aware of how much of it you’re consuming. As helpful as it may be, it can also be very harmful to you and your body over time.