What Is Weed Hangover: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention, and Relief
Have you ever woken up after a night of smoking weed and felt like you were still high? Or maybe you felt dizzy, tired, thirsty, or just out of it? If so, you might have experienced what some people call a weed hangover.
Whats a weed hangover
Whats a weed hangover ? A simple answer is that weed hangover is a term used to describe the aftereffects of cannabis consumption that last into the next day. Unlike an alcohol hangover caused by the toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism, a weed hangover is poorly understood and has not been extensively studied.
However, many cannabis users report feeling some or all of the following symptoms after a heavy or prolonged session of smoking weed, vaping, dabbing, or eating weed:
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Dry eyes
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
Some symptoms may be mild and manageable, while others may interfere with your daily activities and mood. The severity and duration of a weed hangover may vary depending on several factors, such as how much you consumed, how potent the weed was, how you finished it, how hydrated you were, how well you slept, and your tolerance and metabolism.
This article will explore weed hangovers, including their possible causes, symptoms, prevention, and relief. We will also debunk some common myths and misconceptions about weed hangovers and provide some tips from experts on how to deal with them.
Weed Hangover Studies
Before diving into the causes and symptoms of weed hangover, let's look at what the scientific literature says about it. Surprisingly, while we've lots of marijuana news, there are few studies on this topic. We could only find two studies that specifically investigated the effects of cannabis on next-day performance and mood.
The first study was conducted in 1985 by researchers from the University of Chicago. They recruited 13 regular cannabis users and asked them to smoke either a placebo or a cannabis cigarette containing 2.9% THC (the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis) before going to bed. The following day, they were tested on various cognitive and psychomotor tasks, such as memory recall, reaction time, and motor coordination. They also completed a questionnaire on their mood and subjective feelings.
The results showed no significant differences between the placebo and cannabis groups on performance measures. However, the cannabis group reported feeling more tired, sluggish, forgetful, and clumsy than the placebo group. They also reported having more difficulty concentrating and unpleasant dreams than the placebo group. For more information on detoxing from THC, you can read our comprehensive guide on THC Detox.
The second study was conducted in 1998 by researchers from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. They recruited 40 occasional cannabis users and asked them to smoke either a placebo or a cannabis cigarette containing 9% THC before bed. The following day, they were tested on various cognitive and psychomotor tasks, such as attention span, verbal memory, arithmetic ability, and motor control. They also completed a questionnaire on their mood and subjective feelings.
The results showed no significant differences between the placebo and cannabis groups on performance measures. However, the cannabis group reported feeling more sleepy, dizzy, confused, and hungover than the placebo group. They also reported having less appetite and more headaches than the placebo group.
These two studies suggest that cannabis consumption does not impair next-day performance but may affect next-day mood and subjective feelings. However, these studies have some limitations that need to be considered:
They used a small sample size (13 and 40 participants, respectively), which may not represent the general population. They used only one dose of cannabis (2.9% and 9% THC, respectively), which may not reflect the range of potency and dosage that people use in real life. They used only one method of consumption (smoking), which may not account for the different effects of other ways, such as vaping, dabbing, or edibles. They used only one strain of cannabis (unknown), which may not capture the diversity of themes and cannabinoids that people use in real life. They tested participants only once in the morning, which may not capture the changes in effects throughout the day.
Therefore, these studies do not provide a definitive answer to what is weed hangover and how it affects people. There is a need for more research on this topic, especially with the increasing legalization and consumption of cannabis around the world.
Weed Hangover Symptoms
As we have seen, a weed hangover may not affect your performance but may affect your feelings. Let's look at the typical weed hangover symptoms and how they manifest.
Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the most common and noticeable symptoms of weed hangover. You may feel tired, sleepy, or lethargic the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your sleep quality and cycles. While cannabis may help you fall asleep faster, it may also reduce your REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is the stage of sleep where you dream and consolidate memories. REM sleep is essential for your mental and physical health, and a lack of it may make you feel groggy and unrested the next day.
- Cannabis affects your energy levels and metabolism. Cannabis interacts with your endocannabinoid system, a network of receptors and chemicals regulating various bodily functions, including appetite, mood, pain, and energy. Cannabis may alter the balance of these functions and affect how your body uses and stores energy. For example, cannabis may increase your appetite and make you eat more, but it may also slow down your metabolism and make you burn fewer calories. This may result in a net energy loss and make you feel sluggish the next day.
Brain Fog
Brain fog is another common symptom of weed hangover. You may feel confused, forgetful, or unable to focus the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your memory and cognition. Cannabis affects your short-term memory, which is the ability to store and recall information for a short period. Cannabis may impair your short-term memory by interfering with the formation and consolidation of new memories in your brain. This may make remembering what you did or learned the previous day harder. Cannabis may also affect your executive functions, the higher-order cognitive skills that enable you to plan, organize, solve problems, and make decisions. Cannabis may impair your executive functions by reducing your attention span, inhibiting impulse control, and impairing judgment. This may make it harder for you to focus on tasks or goals the next day.
- Cannabis affects your mood and emotions. Cannabis affects your mood and emotions by altering the levels of neurotransmitters in your brain, such as dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. These chemicals regulate your feelings of pleasure, happiness, and reward. Cannabis may increase the levels of these neurotransmitters while you are high, but it may also deplete them afterward. This may result in a rebound effect, where you feel low, depressed, or anxious the next day.
Headache
Headache is another possible symptom of a weed hangover. You may feel a throbbing or pounding pain in your head the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your blood pressure and heart rate. Cannabis affects your cardiovascular system by dilating your blood vessels and increasing your heart rate. This may lower your blood pressure while high, but it may also raise it afterward. This may cause a headache due to the changes in blood flow and oxygen delivery to your brain.
- Cannabis affects your hydration and electrolyte balance. Cannabis affects your hydration and electrolyte balance by increasing your urine output and making you sweat more. This may dehydrate you and cause a loss of fluids and minerals from your body. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance can cause a headache due to the shrinkage of brain cells and the activation of pain receptors in your head.
Dry Mouth
Dry mouth is another frequent symptom of a weed hangover. You may feel a sticky or cottony sensation in your mouth the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your salivary glands and production. Cannabis affects your salivary glands and production by binding to the cannabinoid receptors in your mouth. These receptors are responsible for regulating saliva secretion and lubrication. Cannabis may inhibit these receptors and reduce saliva production. This may cause dry mouth by decreasing the moisture and protection in your oral cavity.
- Cannabis affects your thirst perception and drinking behavior. Cannabis affects your thirst perception and drinking behavior by altering the signals from your brain to your body. These signals tell you when you are thirsty and need to drink water. Cannabis may disrupt these signals and reduce thirst perception. This may cause dry mouth by decreasing water intake and hydration.
Dry Eyes
Dry eyes are another potential symptom of a weed hangover. You may feel a burning or itching in your eyes the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your tear glands and production. Cannabis affects your tear glands and production by binding to the cannabinoid receptors in your eyes. These receptors are responsible for regulating tear secretion and lubrication. Cannabis may inhibit these receptors and reduce tear production. This may cause dry eyes by decreasing the moisture and protection on your ocular surface. Cannabis affects your blink rate and eye movement. Cannabis affects your blink rate and eye movement by altering the activity of your nervous system and muscles. These control the blinking and direction of your eyelids and eyeballs. Cannabis may reduce the activity of these systems and decrease blink rate and eye movement. This may cause dry eyes by reducing the distribution and renewal of tears in your eyes.
Nausea
Nausea is another possible symptom of a weed hangover. You may feel queasy or sick in your stomach the next day after consuming cannabis. This may be due to several reasons, such as:
- Cannabis affects your digestive system and motility. Cannabis affects your digestive system and motility by binding to the cannabinoid receptors in your gut. These receptors are responsible for regulating digestion and movement of food and waste through your intestines. Cannabis may stimulate these receptors and increase digestion and motility. This may cause nausea by speeding up the emptying of your stomach and the transit of food and waste through your gut.
- Cannabis affects your liver and metabolism. Cannabis affects your liver and metabolism by being processed and broken down by your liver enzymes. These enzymes convert cannabis into metabolites that can be eliminated from your body. Cannabis may overload these enzymes and slow down metabolism. This may cause nausea by increasing the accumulation of cannabis and its metabolites in your blood and tissues.
Some other symptoms of weed hangover that you may experience are:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Paranoia
- Mood Swings
- Dizziness
- Tremors
- Palpitations
- Chest Pain
These symptoms may vary in intensity and duration depending on how much you consumed, how potent the weed was, how you finished it, how hydrated you were, how well you slept, and your tolerance and metabolism. Some people may not experience symptoms, while others may feel them for hours or days.