10 Best CBD Strains for a Relaxing Session
This holiday season arrives with baggage like no other. It has been quite a year with event after event triggering an uncertain future. Among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic has left millions dead, ill, or financially undone. However, there is still time to approach the end of the year with some promise.
Holidays, of course, come with their own tensions. You must shop, entertain, and travel. But this year has multiplied those stressors. They want you to wear masks, severely limit even family gatherings, and avoid travel absolutely. CBD cannabis strains can help you get through to 2021.
CBD cannabis calms
CBD or cannabidiol is only one of the scores of chemical molecules found in the cannabis plant. Unlike THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), it does not prompt psychoactive events because its mechanism of action differs.
If you can picture a chain of neurons, you can imagine a series of cells, each of which ends with little claws or receptors reaching out to the next cell. In normal behavior, electric signals pass along this chain jumping from one neuron to the next across a tiny space or synapse. When your systems are balanced, these signals move smoothly throughout the nervous system leading to and from the brain.
When you are ill, in pain, or out of sorts, that system has broken down. THC is known to bind to the receptors. This binding can agitate the system triggering activity in the brain, which results in a variety of outcomes from mild euphoria to frightening paranoia, from focused clarity to confused senses. In many situations, this psychic influence can provide therapy for PTSD, PMS, migraines, and other health problems.
Unlike THC, CBD does not excite the nervous system. The mechanism of action for CBD is less precise than that for THC. However, CBD does not bind with receptors. Instead, it appears to “run interference,” as it were. It gets under the cells, providing a buffer that protects those cells from agitation by any number of irritants.
In doing so, CBD encourages the “proper” flow of hormones, enzymes, and other health influences. For instance, CBD is known to reduce the body’s normal reabsorption of Anandamide (ANA). This ANA is a fatty acid transmitter leading to brain functions like memory, motivation, and movement. It breaks down quickly and absorbs back into the body. However, if it can be retained and modulated, it will calm systems and perception of irritation, pain, inflammation, anxiety, stress, and more. So, Anandamide has been called “the bliss molecule.” To the extent that CBD can control or modulate the reabsorption of Anandamide, it will enhance relaxation.
10 best CBD strains for relaxation
There are some hemp options legal everywhere because they contain only trace amounts of THC. Grumpy Gorilla, for instance, is a CBD-loaded (21+%) hemp, a hydroponic-farmed full-spectrum hemp with terpenes that offer a taste of sour apple and forest pine. You might also find Suver Haze with its thick aroma of ripened fruit, offering a lasting full-body buzz without couchlock or sedation.
Charlotte’s Web continues to lead lists of the best CBD strains. A legend in its own time, this strain is named for the little girl it helped. Crippled with epileptic spasms that had failed to respond to other treatments, she responded well to the influence of CBD. Administered as an oil, the CBD radically reduced her epileptic events, relaxing her nerves and muscles. The strain is tasty and fragrant, delivering comfort with 27: 1 CBD: THC ratio to improve mood, focus, and fight involuntary spasms.
ACDC comes with 15% to 28% CBD. Administered as an oil, it too has helped people living with pediatric epilepsy. As a therapy, it treats inflammation-related pain and social anxiety, and stress. You can expect an early buzz that fades into a calming relaxation without sedation.
Cannatonic is a well-balanced hybrid with 12% CBD and up to 15% THC. It is enough THC to perk you up. It also has been used for epilepsy spasms, but it is also popular as a moderate, pleasant, lightly energetic high that settles into a relaxing calm.
Pennywise addresses depression like a good clown with its 1: 1 CBD to THC ratio. The 15% THC is enough to lift your mood and spirits. But the 12% CBD will balance that with enough calm to fight seizures, neurological disorders, depression, and anxiety.
Remedy is a flavorful strain for muscle tension and insomnia. With a whopping % CBD smothering its 1% THC, Remedy’s effects are mild without sedation or psychoactive agitation. The strain’s high sneaks up on you like a mellow, full-body experience. It will fight pain, inflammation, and spasms without couchlock or sedation.
Sour Tsunami balances CBD at 11% with THC at 10% for a physical and mental calm. This strain is finding increasing popularity as a therapy for stress, anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain.
Trident comes with a hefty 12% CBD over a low 6% THC for a pleasantly mixed experience. That is enough THC to sustain an alert and creative focus, but the powerful CBD number treats anxiety, depression, seizures, and PTSD.
Ringo’s Gift is typically balanced, but you can find the product with CBD at 20: 1. The relaxation is sufficient enough to relieve cancer patients and chronic generalized pain. The strain’s 13% to 20% CBD triggers a happy social brain rush that melds slowly into a warm and fuzzy body calm for anxiety, tremors, and pain.
Harlequin is another legendary strain for medical conditions. It will soother pain, but it does so after an energetic and friendly mood lift. Considered a balanced hybrid, Harlequin has enough THC to offset sedation. Flavorful and fragrant, Harlequin assures you the focus and alertness you need for work while leaving you centered, chill, and calm.
Harle-Tsu brings you a CBD-high ratio of 20: 1. Notes of forest and soil mask a creeping relaxation to treat inflammation and insomnia without flooring you. Despite the incredibly high 22% CBD, you will find the experience thoroughly mellow. Fully relaxed and pain-free, you will still enjoy a mildly euphoric focus.
It’s up to you!
Any one of these strains provides medical benefits along with a pleasant brain and body relaxation. Each of them is an option for reducing the stresses associated with holiday pressures. And they all improve your social interactions.