You toss and turn in bed yet you can’t find sleep, finally; you did but you feel groggy during daytime – these are telltale signs of insomnia.

You are not alone, there are millions of Americans suffering from sleep disorders. If traditional sleep meds won’t work, good thing cannabis has therapeutic benefits that will help you sleep.  Cannabis is a safe option and a sleep aid to many sufferers.

Provided you have the right strain, cannabis will calm your active mind, loosen up tight muscles, and give you sleep right away.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder where a person is having trouble finding sleep, staying asleep, or lack of sleep feeling tired when waking up. In any condition, you are deprived of sleep and your body is sapped of energy adversely affecting your work performance for the day and your quality of life.

The extent of the disorder varies from person to person. Many will experience acute insomnia from lack of or no sleep for a few days or weeks. Others will suffer for months or years from chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is about the quality of sleep and how you feel when you wake up, and not the amount of sleep. The symptoms may be due to another problem, by making some changes in your lifestyle often help. For instance, avoid drinking coffee before bedtime, caffeine stimulates the brain and pumps up the body.

Here are some symptoms to observe:

• Trouble bedding down at night
• Rousing during the night
• Rising up prematurely
• Feeling tired after a night’s sleep
• Daytime sluggishness or laziness
• Irritability, gloominess or nervousness
• Difficulty focusing on tasks or memory retention
• Increased mistakes or mishaps
• Continuous fears about sleep

If Insomnia makes it hard for you to complete your tasks, visit your doctor for treatment.

How Does Cannabis Help Insomnia?

Research indicates that the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has the capability to make sleep kick in faster. There are strains with high levels of THC which decrease the amount of REM sleep associated with poor sleep and dreams. By reducing the REM stage of sleep, nightmares are reduced as well. There will be more time spent in the Stage 4 cycle, which is the deep sleep stage.

The cannabidiol (CBD) compound found in cannabis may help treat sleeplessness if it is caused by external conditions such as anxiety, chronic pain, PTSD, depression, and Parkinson’s disease among others. CBD improves the side-effects of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a condition where an individual is deprived of sleep and has nightmares.

Aside from THC and CBD, there are over 100 cannabinoids found in cannabis, one of them is terpenes. Terpenes are responsible for the aroma of the plant and are bioactive. It can either enhance or change the impact of THC and CBD in the body. For instance, people with epilepsy had better symptoms and fewer side effects from CBD rich extract than purified CBD.

Although the future for the therapeutic benefits of cannabis seems bright it is still classified as a Schedule I substance. Researches and clinical trials are limited, the results cannot be adopted to make a definite conclusive opinion.

5 Best Strains for Insomnia

According to medical researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, one in four Americans suffer from acute insomnia annually, and one in ten experiences sleep problems and chronic insomnia. There is a high dissatisfaction among patients using conventional sleep-aid drugs, from unfavorable side-effects to dangerous drug reactions.

Fortunately, cannabis offers a better alternative to traditional meds. The right strains and concentration can provide a calming effect, pain relief, and a muscle relaxant sending into slumberland in a jiffy.

Check out these five cannabis strains from a marijuana dispensary near you.

Blue Cheese

A classic indica-dominant hybrid created by crossing the well-liked Blueberry and the UK strain Cheese. The strain delivers a noteworthy taste and a steady high from its 15 percent to 20 percent THC concentrate. The combined aroma of blueberry and cheese will produce a smell similar to the original, but not in the taste of course. The sense of uplift will make you feel relaxed from a stressful day and provides a reprieve from muscle contractions, chronic pain, and stress.

OG Kush

This was first cultivated in Florida in the ’90s when a Northern California strain was crossed with the Hindu Kush from Amsterdam. The 20 percent to 25 percent THC content will give you a sudden headrush, consumers will feel more centered on their surroundings, sounds, and colors. Easy on the doses, it can make you paranoid. OG Kush yields successful cross breeds like Bubba Kush, GSC, and Headband; and unique phenotypes including Tahoe OG, SFV OG, and Ghost OG.

God’s Gift

This is the offspring of Granddaddy Purple and OG Kush and a fitting gift to insomniacs. It has a high THC content up to 27 percent and a 1 percent CBD content which will wipe the worries away in one swift swoop. Enjoy its flavors of grape, citrus, and hash, you’ll feel happy and calm as you progress into a blissful sleep.

Cookie Jar

This bud is a cross between Platinum Girl Cookies and White Fire Alien OG. As its name suggests this sweet treat emits a delicious scent of baked cookies that will leave you wanting more. When you dip your hand in the Cookie Jar the 23 percent THC will take your head high in the clouds buzzing all day. The sedative properties will lead to laziness and restful slumber.

White Widow

White Widow is one of the most renowned strains globally. It is a Sativa dominant hybrid crossed between Brazilian Indica and South India Sativa landraces with an average of 20 percent THC composition. What it lacks in flavor it makes up in quick mental activities. Enthusiasts will be very keen on their surroundings, attentive to sounds, and displays that were previously ignored. Tokers should plan their dosage, White Widow at times can drift into paranoia.

Emily Wilson is a marketing specialist at Essence Cannabis Dispensary with a primary focus on the development and implementation of marketing ideas. Her main talking points are medical and recreational marijuana, marijuana marketing, and advertising.