Does smoking weed help you focus and improve productivity?
One of the most common and exaggerated marijuana stereotypes is the image of a thoughtless and lazy stoner. That’s because, historically, weed has been associated with lack of motivation, forgetfulness, and an overall lowbrow state of being for decades.
As marijuana has become more mainstream, these stigmas have been broken, at least in part. This is especially true as more high-functioning individuals admit that they get high on a regular basis in order to achieve their successes. Still, there has been limited research on marijuana’s ability to improve focus and stimulate productivity.
Using weed for concentration problems can have both positive and negative consequences. There are certain effects of THC that you should be wary of when you have a deadline, but also certain properties in several marijuana strains that can help you complete a tedious task with pleasure and ease. For example, some people claim that cannabis sativa strains in particular can help relax an anxious mind, making it easier to focus on other things.
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The type of marijuana strain you choose should target anything that inhibits your ability to focus. The tricky part is that there are many reasons why people have trouble concentrating. Concentration problems can stem from “mild cognitive impairment or a mood disorder such as depression and anxiety.” Harvard Medical School. They can also be caused by general lifestyle problems “such as stress, fatigue, poor sleep, dehydration, unhealthy diet or lack of exercise.”
Because so many different factors are involved in why people have trouble concentrating, there is no single cannabis-induced “cure” for concentration problems. However, there are a few general rules of thumb when you’re in the weed market that will help keep you focused. For example, sativa is known as “the energy queen” of cannabis.
While sativa is known for helping those who are struggling to focus due to a lack of motivation, indica strains can help those whose focus problems stem from elsewhere, like a racing mind. That being said, the lines between sativas and indicas are blurred these days, with some experts even calling them “meaningless”.
As we have previously reported, cannabis has been crossed extensively over the years, resulting in plants containing both indica and sativa strains. It also depends on where the plant was grown; The same strain may be different when grown in Colorado than when grown in California.
More research needs to be done to determine whether or not different weed strains really improve concentration. Still, there are many who speak of its therapeutic benefits in the focus department. Indeed they exist online discussions suggesting that cannabis may be therapeutic for people with ADHD. While significantly more testing needs to be done before cannabis can be used to treat ADHD, some who suffer from difficulty paying attention have found marijuana helpful.
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It’s important to understand marijuana’s potential negative effects on your brain function and productivity before you run to your local dispensary and buy a strain designed to help you focus. While certain strains can help you focus on tasks (especially creative ones), there are studies linking THC to side effects that affect focus and a stable workflow.
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The THC in marijuana can have several negative effects on your ability to function and focus, “from basic motor coordination to more complex executive function tasks, such as driving. B. the ability to plan, organize, problem solve, make decisions, remember, and control emotions and behavior,” according to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
When you have trouble concentrating, a lingering task can feel like a giant shadow cast over your life. A cure for lack of motivation and focus would improve millions of lives, but it just doesn’t exist. Marijuana will not miraculously cure the ability to focus. However, some have found it helpful to reduce the causes of concentration problems, which sounds more optimistic than staring at a blank wall waiting for inspiration.
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