It’s a fact of life that the older you get, the more trouble you might have getting to sleep at night and, at the same time, relieving the chronic aches and pains that can not only accompany strenuous strength-training workouts but also just going about your daily routine. Pain and sleeplessness go hand in hand.

The good news is that instead of popping eight Advil per day and risking stomach bleeding, you can now purchase powerful, organic, pain-relieving, and relaxing cannabis strains.  

Says the spokespeople at Kolas, a Sacramento, CA, marijuana dispensary, cannabis is a resilient and versatile plant that’s known for its wide varieties of strains, each of which possesses unique effects on the mind and body. Whether you’re looking for an effective all-natural sleep aid, a pain reliever, something that can give you both morning and end-of-day focus, or even a boost in your overall creativity, there is almost certainly a cannabis strain that can help you out.

That said, what are the best cannabis strains to relieve your pain and your sleepless nights in 2024? According to a recent report by MedicalNewsToday, cannabis is said to ease a variety of chronic pain situations, including pain due to inflammation, nerve and bone damage. You can take cannabis to help ease pain and help you sleep via topical applications, edibles, or by placing tablets under your tongue. If you so choose, you can smoke the cannabis.

In the 2020s, chronic pain is believed to affect more people in the U.S. than diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined. Chronic pain is one of the major reasons most people seek out medical treatment in the first place.  

A large swath of cannabis-based products, despite being organic in nature, have yet to receive full approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the FDA. That said, more evidence is required to verify their effectiveness and overall safety. However, there is evidence that cannabis and many of its compounds can relieve certain types of pain and help you get a good night’s sleep.

Most Effective Cannabis Strains for Managing Pain and Relaxation

The different varieties of effective cannabis plants are said to include the following:

–Cannabis sativa

–Cannabis indica

–Hybrid plants

As previously indicated, there remains limited research available regarding specific strains for pain, sleeplessness, and other medical symptoms. It’s because of this that strain-specific recommendations cannot be medically based or proven.

However, not long ago, the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that participants in an online survey were said to prefer indica strains for their pain management, plus sedation and as a cure for sleeplessness. On the other hand, they opted for sativa strains as a way to improve mood and boost energy reserves.

When it came to pain management, research participants reported a significant positive effect when utilizing indicia for the following ailments:

–Joint and muscle pain

–Spasticity

–Non-migraine headaches

–Neuropathy conditions

It’s important to bear in mind that this particular study was not without its limitations. Its scope was small in scale compared to similar studies. It was also anonymous while requesting participants to “self-report” their ailments and accompanying symptoms. The participants were not using marijuana or cannabis products in a controlled, clinical setting, which can lead to major differences in drug potency, dosage, and composition.

Yet a second study took a deep dive into the utilization of organically grown indica and sativa strains for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. More than half of the participants were said to be utilizing the cannabis strains to treat symptoms that resulted from HIV. 

The study kept track of the participant’s progress, or lack thereof, for 36 months before asking them to describe the specific effects of the cannabis on their present condition. The results were encouraging. It was discovered by researchers that indica strains greatly improved appetite and energy. Sativa and Indica both were able to alleviate nausea and other painful or uncomfortable issues that could also result in losing precious rest.   

In the end, while cannabis products might not yet be fully approved by the FDA for pain relief and as an organic alternative to alleviating sleeplessness, all indicators are pointing to its full approval in the very near future. Which would you rather choose to cure your chronic pain? A chemical produced in a lab or a plant that is grown and cultivated naturally?