One thing that you might know about cannabis is that it can help you sleep. However, when people talk about the benefits of cannabis in relation to sleep, they’re usually referring to either THC or even CBD.
There are, of course, many other cannabinoids, over 110 of them, and many of them can indeed help you get a good sleep. One of the cannabinoids that may be able to help you sleep better at night is THCA. No worries if you don’t know what THCA is because we’ll begin by explaining exactly that.
We’ll also talk about how this cannabinoid makes you feel and whether or not it is a good sleep aid. Let’s find out if your sleeplessness can be treated using THCA.
Key Takeaways
- Although limited research has been done on THCA, there is some promise in terms of it having many of the same potential benefits as Delta-9 THC.
- THCA may act as a sedative and sleep aid.
- Delta-9 THC acts as a sleep aid, and THCA is its precursor.
- THCA is the acidic and inactive form of Delta-9 THC.
What is THCA?
THCA stands for Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid, a very special type of cannabinoid found in cannabis plants. Technically speaking, this is the acidic version of THC that can also be called its precursor. In the simplest terms, THCA is the inert or inactive version of THC.
When heat is applied to THCA, which is commonly known as decarboxylation, it converts into what we know as THC, specifically Delta-9 THC.
So, when we talk about the THC content, we are actually talking about THCA content. You might be surprised to know that no matter what the label on your cannabis product says, raw cannabis buds don’t actually contain any real Delta-9 THC at all.
Raw cannabis buds all contain THCA, which needs to be decarboxylated to turn into Delta-9 THC, the stuff that gets you high. Smoking or vaporizing cannabis applies more than enough heat to the THCA to cause it to decarboxylate as you smoke or vape.
If you haven’t already guessed, THCA itself is not intoxicating or psychoactive. This is why most people choose never to eat raw cannabis buds because it wouldn’t have any effect, at least not in terms of getting high.
However, this does not mean that raw cannabis with THCA does not have any benefits. Although there is a lot more research required on this front, it is believed that raw THCA may have a variety of benefits, all without being decarboxylated and becoming psychoactive. It doesn’t have to be activated and intoxicating to provide you with benefits.
How Does THCA Make You Feel?
THCA should not make you feel anything at all. Once again, this cannabinoid is completely inert and inactive in terms of being psychoactive. It will not make you high or make you feel intoxicated at all.
Yes, there are cannabinoids out there that can produce certain feelings without actually intoxicating you or making you high, such as CBD, CBG, and CBC. These are all cannabinoids that are believed to help regulate mood, relieve stress and anxiety, and make you feel happier and calmer.
While THCA may have a myriad of benefits, it shouldn’t actually make you feel any different, and this goes both for its lack of psychoactivity and for its lack of stress-relieving and mood-regulating abilities.
back to menu ↑Does THCA Make You Sleep?
So, does THCA make you tired? There is more research required on this front, although anecdotal evidence appears to indicate that THCA may be beneficial as an anti-insomnia agent. In other words, it may make you feel a bit tired and help you sleep.
However, how THCA accomplishes this is unknown at this time. It is known that activated Delta-9 THC acts as a sedative. It is thought to bind with your cannabinoid receptors and therefore increase levels of adenosine, which is a sleep-promoting agent.
It is also believed that Delta-9 THC has the ability to suppress the arousal system of the brain. THC may help increase melatonin production, therefore activating your sleep cycle and making you feel tired. THC may also help to relax the central nervous system.
What is important to note is that THCA has many of the same potential benefits as Delta-9 THC, even though it is not activated or psychoactive.
Therefore, if regular THC acts as a sleep aid and sedative, seeing as THCA is thought to have many of the same benefits as THC, it is safe to assume that THCA also acts as a sleep aid.
The bottom line here is that you can bet your money on THCA helping you sleep and acting as a sedative, although exactly how it does so is yet to be seen.
Can THCA Help You Sleep?
Once again, more conclusive research is required to come to a solid conclusion here, but it is safe to assume that THCA can help you sleep.
Whether or not THCA is actually a sedative is not 100% confirmed yet. However, even if we, for the purposes of this argument, were to assume that THCA is not a sedative, there are still other ways in which it may be able to help you get a good night’s rest.
The reason we say this is because THC is also believed to be, just like regular THC, both an anti-inflammatory agent and an analgesic pain reliever.
If you are suffering from pain and inflammation, it makes sleeping much harder. Therefore, if THCA can help relieve inflammation and pain, it should, in theory, also be able to help you get a good night’s sleep in this way.
back to menu ↑How Much THCA Should You Take for Sleep?
Seeing as not much research has been done on the front of THCA acting as a sedative, there are at this time no official recommendations on how much should be taken to sleep.
That said, if we look at other cannabinoids, such as CBG, CBC, CBN, CBD, and THC, the recommendation for any and all of these as a sleep aid is to take anywhere between 5 milligrams and 20 milligrams, especially as a beginner.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that somewhere around 10 milligrams of THCA should be enough to help induce those sleep-promoting properties. However, because there’s not much research on this front, it is a bit of a trial-and-error type of exercise. You might find that 10 milligrams are not nearly enough.
Furthermore, if you really want to be sure that THCA will help you sleep, your best bet is probably just to convert it into THC. Yes, here we’re talking about decarboxylating the THCA by combustion or vaporizing it. Just smoke or vape your flower, and it should help you sleep just fine.
THCA vs. Delta-9 for Sleep
Here’s the thing, when it comes to THCA versus Delta-9 THC for sleep, both are likely to have more or less the same effects. The issue here is that Delta-9 THC has a lot more research behind it in terms of acting as a sleep aid, whereas THCA does not.
It’s safe to assume that both work in the same way as a sedative or sleep aid, but this has not been confirmed for THCA.
It is shown that Delta-9 THC may increase the secretion of melatonin by the human body, therefore making you feel tired. Melatonin is a neurotransmitter that tells your body it’s time for sleep. When the sun goes down, your body produces more melatonin, therefore making you feel tired.
It is also thought that large concentrations of THC may cause dopamine levels to decrease, which may cause sleepiness and a lack of motivation.
It may also be the case that THC causes your brain to release more adenosine, a sleep-promoting agent, while also suppressing the arousal system of the brain. Therefore, it is virtually confirmed that THC acts as a sleep aid. Although THCA is very likely to produce many or all of these same effects, it just hasn’t been confirmed. Therefore, if we had to choose one of the two, we would say Delta-9 THC.
However, the thing is that THCA, when it is decarboxylated, smoked, or vaporized, automatically turns into Delta-9 THC anyway.
In other words, if you plan on smoking or vaporizing your flower, it really doesn’t make a difference because you end up with Delta-9 THC either way. For instance, if you smoke these super tasty THCA Pre-Roll Joints from Delta Munchies, even though they contain a whole lot of THCA, as soon as you light them up, it all turns into regular Delta-9 THC.
back to menu ↑Final Takeaway – Does THCA Help with Sleep?
THCA is likely a powerful sleep aid. However, it just hasn’t been confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt. What has, however, been confirmed is that regular Delta-9 THC is a sleep aid.
So, if you are worried about your THCA not working as a sleep aid, just either decarboxylate it in the oven, smoke or vaporize it to activate it and turn it into Delta-9 THC.
If you’d like to check out more THCA products, take a look at this selection of THCA flowers, pre-rolls, and vapes from Secret Nature CBD.
back to menu ↑Where to Buy THCA Online
The selection of THCA products from Secret Nature CBD is absolutely worth checking out, as is the THCA Pre-Roll from Delta Munchies we talked about earlier today.
However, if you are still looking for more THCA products, check out this awesome Boston Hemp Inc Hempress THCA Flower.
