“Teen Marijuana Use may Boost Adult Insomnia”…but does it really?
The other day I was reading things online – like I tend to do – when suddenly I saw this title that read, “Teen Marijuana Use May Increase Adult Insomnia” or some drivel like that. Here’s the study which is actually entitled; “Onset of Regular Cannabis Use & Young Adult Insomnia: An Analysis of Shared Genetic Liability.”
Granted – the study title is a tad bit more accurate than the news-media’s titles – but the content is also not very “scientific”. It’s actually quite shocking what could pass as science these days. Nonetheless – the study essentially tried to make a claim between “regular teen cannabis use” and insomnia. As you may have guessed – they found some interesting data that suggest that maybe cannabis could by chance have some role to possibly play in adult insomnia. They cite a bunch of data which utilizes a small sample group and should be applied to the whole of humanity.
However – I wonder if they took into account things like Mobile phones, televisions and other screens, higher stress, faster global dynamics, a global perspective, and all of the other mind-bending issues that arise in life of the everyday man and women.
Because – I can tell you as a cannabis smoker who did smoke regularly as a teen – I too struggled with insomnia. I smoked cannabis – and it helped a bit, but I still had issues with insomnia. Do I have insomnia these days? Not at all – so then what changed?
Most of the time you’re an Insomniac by choice
As a person who’ve suffered from Insomnia for years – and as someone who is an avid cannabis smoker – the correlation between insomnia and cannabis use at an early stage is very weak. There is no way that scientists could exclude the myriad of things that can lead to insomnia from drinking coffee to reading a message on your mobile 1 hour prior to sleeping.
Let’s not forget about the daily stresses of life, social anxiety, job stress, family stress, the food we eat, the lack of sleep in general, and thousands of other factors.
After years of trying one method or the other – I can finally tell you that I have managed to beat insomnia and at 11 PM – I crash and I crash hard.
What’s the secret to curing insomnia?
Unless you’re in the extreme minority – in that you have a physiological issue that inhibits sleep – the way to sleep better is a direct result in changing your behavioral patterns.
After years of trying – one of the most effective ways I found to combat insomnia is by waking up early. And so – I now wake up every day at 5:31 AM. It took me about a week to settle into the routine and I won’t lie to you – it wasn’t easy.
The first week required several power naps simply to make it through the day, however, by week 2, I settled into the routine and started getting tired at about 11 PM – which was my target time for going to bed.
However, there were other behavioral changes I also implemented such as;
Regular Exercise – I do Yoga because it’s both physical and helps deal with stress and anxiety, and I can do it at home
Better Diet – I significantly cut down on junk food and also made sure to have light meals after 6 PM
Regular Meditation – One of the biggest issues for me was the constant thinking of bullshit. I would lay awake at night for hours running through thoughts and it dawned on me – I’ve got so many thoughts popping around in my head – I never take the time to empty them. Snice I started meditating – nothing but sweet sleep at night.
Breathing – finally, deep breathing is another thing that helped me fall asleep by reducing stress and anxiety and oxygenizing my blood.
More recently – I discovered Yoga Nidra – which is “night yoga” if we can even call it that. This is a guided meditation that you can do at night – which essentially moves your conscious awareness to different points of your body. It’s very calm and relaxing – great for getting you right on the edge of sleep.
No Cannabis?
For sleep – not anymore! I use cannabis for maintenance these days – most of my physical and emotional issues started evaporating when I decided to deal with them all head-on. Of course, I still sometimes get insomnia if I’m too stressed or neglecting myself – but now I don’t see it as a problem anymore.
I see it as an opportunity to find out what’s bothering me and dealing with it. Turns out – insomnia is your body’s way of telling you – “HEY DIPSHIT – YOU NEED TO DEAL WITH SOME INTERNAL SHIT!” It took me 10-years to figure that out.
Cannabis is the medicine to assist my body to deal with the issues I face on a daily basis. I regularly take tincture now (that I make myself) – smoke on occasions, and have edibles on hand for pain management and for getting a little “stoney” when I feel like it.
CANNABIS AND INSOMNIA, READ MORE...
MARIJUANA AS A SLEEP AID FOR INSOMNIA, GET THE FACTS!
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