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If you suffer from insomnia, you may have already tried vaping or smoking cannabis to help you get some z’s. But maybe you didn’t feel like the marijuana gave you the results you were after. What if we told you that eating your cannabis can be the best way to fall asleep and stay asleep? It’s true—many people who suffer from insomnia and other sleep issues say that eating marijuana edibles before bedtime is the best way to help ease yourself into sleep.
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Why do Marijuana Edibles Work?
Edible marijuana products, such as marijuana cookies, dosed chocolate and any other foods made with cannabutter or cannabis cooking oil—and even cannabis teas—are great for treating sleep disorders because their effects last longer than vaping or smoking.
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When you eat a marijuana edible, the cannabis goes through your digestive system and is processed by the liver. The liver then sends the signal to your brain to make you feel altered. That journey also takes longer than inhaled cannabis so after eating an edible cannabis product, you won’t feel the effects for around an hour (everyone’s body is different, so this can vary) and then you can expect the cannabis’s effects to last as long as eight hours, just enough time to get though a full sleep cycle and feel truly rested in the morning.
The Best Edible Cannabis Products to Treat Insomnia
Marijuana edibles can be an easy and discrete way to add cannabis to your nightly routine and help ease insomnia symptoms. There are so many cannabis products on the market, here are a few of our favorites:
1. Cannabis Blueberry Bites From Kiva
Kiva’s Blueberry Bites are a delicious chocolate and blueberry confection that provides insomnia relief in bite-sized servings. The small size of the blueberry bites gives you greater control over dosing, which is perfect for marijuana edibles as it sometimes takes time to figure out how much you need for the effects you’re looking for.
Kiva creates their edible cannabis chocolate bites using United States-grown blueberries which are dried, coated in cocoa powder, then covered in cannabis-infused milk chocolate. There are 5 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per blueberry bite; each tin contains 24 bite-sized blueberry treats.
2. Cannabis Chocolate Chip Cookies from MoonMan’s Mistress
MoonMan’s Mistress Chocolate Chip Crater Cookies are great guilt-free, cannabis-infused goodies. The cookies are made with quality ingredients like coconut oil, organic eggs and almond flour—perfect for folks who have food restrictions or need to follow specific diets. The cookies are gluten free, paleo, soy free, dairy free and low glycemic, sweetened with maple syrup, which is filled with beneficial antioxidants. The cookies get their medicinal kick from cannabis-infused coconut oil. MoonMan’s Mistress also uses organically grown cannabis in their products; each two-cookie package contains 25 mg of THC.
3. Marijuana Tranquili-Tea from Kikoko
The cannabis tea Tranquili-Tea from Kikoko not only contains chamomile, renowned for its sleep-inducing properties, but also the cannabinoid cannabinol (CBN). THC turns into CBN when exposed to oxygen or UV light. CBN has a sedative effect and doesn’t cause any psychoactive effects so it’s just the ingredient you should be looking for to treat insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy and more.
Steep your Tranquili-Tea teabag in boiling water for a few minutes and sip the soothing drink a bit before bedtime so that the active ingredients kick in at just the right time. This tea does contain a small amount of THC so you may feel elevated, but the effects should be slight.
4. Marijuana-Infused Bliss Blossoms from Garden Society
Garden Society’s delicious two-bite chocolates are infused with passion flower as well as a calming hybrid cannabis strain to promote sleep. These marijuana edibles are also great for relaxing and destressing, so they could be a good choice for the evening when you’re trying to wind down after a chaotic day. Some people could find these on the strong side, so start with half a chocolate and see how it affects you.
All of these edible marijuana products are made with simple ingredients and fit a variety of lifestyles and diets, while still providing patients with relief from their insomnia. These are just a few of the great insomnia-fighting edibles on the market and you may need to experiment a bit before you find the one that’s right for you. Remember, with marijuana edibles follow the golden rule: start low and go slow.
Photo credit: Alex
If you’re new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 post. HelloMD can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's easy, private and 100% online.
