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6 Ways Cannabis Can Help Your Resolutions Stick

byMichael Warford4 minutes

The new year is upon us and that can mean only one thing: making wildly ambitious resolutions. Now, I know it can be easy to be cynical about resolutions—especially with more than 90% of people breaking their New Year’s resolutions. But perhaps the reason so many people fall short is because they haven’t been using cannabis to get them over the finish line.

That’s right, you can actually use cannabis to help you join that elite club of people who really do succeed at making their resolutions happen. From getting fit to being more organized, you may be surprised at the number of ways marijuana can help you up your resolution-conquering game.

So, without further delay, here are six ways you can use cannabis to nail your resolutions.

1. Try Something New, Like Growing Your Own Cannabis

The new year is the perfect opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. And there are a ton of ways cannabis can help you on that front.

For example, while much of the Canadian media coverage on cannabis legalization has focused on our recent freedom to buy cannabis legally, did you know that in most of Canada you can grow up to four marijuana plants for personal usage?

Only Manitoba and Quebec still prohibit growing cannabis at home. So, if you live outside of those two provinces, why not turn your green thumb to cannabis?

RELATED: TIPS ON GROWING MARIJUANA AT HOME FROM AN LP EXPERT

2. Hit the Gym & Make Your Workouts More Effective With Marijuana

Getting in shape is the quintessential New Year’s resolution, because it’s so popular to pledge—and to break. But this year, make cannabis your secret weapon in helping you hit the gym harder and more effectively.

Believe it or not, cannabis can enhance almost every aspect of your workout. If you’re feeling sluggish and unmotivated, try a sativa marijuana strain to provide you with a stimulating burst of energy. Between workouts, you can battle muscle soreness with a cannabidiol (CBD) topical, which reduces inflammation and pain.

RELATED: HOW CANNABIS & EXERCISE MAKE A GOOD TEAM

3. Get More Sleep & Take Care of Yourself With Cannabis

There are numerous benefits associated with improving your sleep patterns. Longer, deeper sleeps can increase your concentration levels and improve your fitness performance. Plus, a lack of sleep is linked to an array of health problems, including:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Cardiovascular disease

Unfortunately, a third of Canadians aren’t getting enough sleep per night. And about half of us have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

So, why not make a New Year’s resolution to get more sleep with the help of cannabis? A soothing indica marijuana strain could be the perfect sleep aid.

RELATED: 3 CBD PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU GO BACK TO SLEEP

4. Improve Your Concentration With Marijuana & Read More Books

If you feel like your smartphone, tablet and social media have completely destroyed your ability to focus, you’re not alone. One study found that even when our smartphones are turned off, its mere presence in the same room reduces our attention spans and ability to think.

Fortunately, microdosing marijuana can boost your ability to focus, especially if you choose an uplifting sativa cannabis strain. Once you can stay on task again, you’re more likely to tackle other productive resolutions like reading more books.

5. Consuming Marijuana Can Spark Your Inner Artist

A ton of creative people have admitted to using cannabis, including Rihanna, Bob Dylan, Carl Sagan and Hunter S. Thompson. Researchers even found cannabis in pipes that Shakespeare himself may have once smoked.

There’s also scientific evidence to back up claims that cannabis helps break down creative blocks. One study, for example, found that small doses of marijuana increase brainstorming abilities, although at higher doses marijuana has the opposite effect.

So, if you’re looking to make 2019 the year you tackle a new creative project, taking cannabis in moderate amounts could help get you going.

RELATED: HOW CANNABIS CAN HELP YOU GET OVER A CREATIVE BLOCK

6. Cannabis Can Help You Better Control Your Appetite & Lose Weight

While I’m sure you’ve heard about cannabis’s many great benefits, you may be unaware that it can help you lose weight and control your appetite. Sounds like fake news, right? After all, cannabis is famous to many for bringing about the munchies.

But stay with me here: While marijuana certainly can induce appetite, certain compounds within cannabis do the exact opposite. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)—a compound similar to the more well-known tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—is an appetite suppressant that’s most commonly found in sativa strains.

So, this year, make cannabis your ally in trimming down and getting healthy.

Photo credit: Alora Griffiths