Medical cannabis or marijuana has a lot of therapeutic value and can be used to treat various ailments including pain reduction, sleep issues, lack of appetite and PTSD to name a few.
There are many types of cannabis strands today in comparison to even 5 years ago. However, the two main types of Cannabis available on the market are Sativa and Indica.
Technically speaking, these are the two strains of the plant and each has its own sets of effects on the body. While Sativa helps the body to get “energized,” the Indica strain has a more calming effect on the body and helps the user to relax. But, that’s not the only difference.
Here are some more detailed comparisons between both the strains:
Differences Between Sativa and Indica
Going by physical appearance, Indica is short and bushy with wider leaves. It grows faster than its counterpart and generally produces a higher yield. The medicine produced from Indica has a higher CBD and a lower THC count. Some of the therapeutic benefits of Indica include – muscle relaxation, increased mental relaxation, reduction of nausea, a decrease in acute pain, an increase of appetite and dopamine (a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers). Because of these effects, users tend to prefer Indica in the evening or right before bedtime.
Cannabis Sativa has just the opposite effects of the Indica strain. Physically, Sativa grows tall and thin with narrower leaves. The plants also tend to have a lighter shade of green. Medicine produced from Sativa strains have a higher content of THC and lower content of CBD. In addition, unlike the Indica strain, Sativa takes longer to grow and mature requiring more light.
Major Benefits of Sativa
- Help with anxiety
- Acting as an anti-depressant
- Treating chronic pain
- Increased focus and creativity
- Increased serotonin (a neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of learning, mood, sleep, anxiety and appetite).
Users who are looking to do regular daily activities without the “couch stone” feeling tend to lean towards Sativa or marijuana that contains higher THC levels. Sativa grows best in the equatorial climate like Thailand, Mexico, and southern Africa.
How does Sativa and Indica affect the general mood of the user?
Both Indica and Sativa are psychoactive derivatives of Cannabis and can have various effects on your physical and/or mental state.
Indicas are known for their physically sedating effect. Some people often use the mnemonic, “in da couch,” where some users enter a very relaxed state in which they feel most comfortable sitting or lying down. Use of Indica boils down to user preference and as mentioned earlier, may be a great option for those looking to “unwind” at the end of the day.
Medically speaking, the heavy resin and soporific potency of Indica vs Sativa flowers makes them most beneficial to people with insomnia, anxiety, nausea and pain.
Sativa is known for inducing a mental “buzz” which makes it ideal for creative pursuits. A dose of Sativa is good enough to make you high with euphoric, racing thoughts. It helps to pursue creativity. It can also increase focus.
These strains can be very helpful in fighting depression, fatigue, and various mood disorders. There’s absolutely nothing like a jolt of cannabinoid-induced mental energy to get you out of the doldrums. The weed is also useful for treating Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) because of its ability to increase mental focus. Furthermore, in most cases, after consuming Sativa strains, people feel a stronger sense of both physical and mental relaxation in addition to pain reduction, increased appetite, and better sleep on average.
On a chemical level, Sativa strains usually show a high THC content and low CBD content. Continue reading to see our take on Sativa vs. Indica strains for doing work or study.
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Is Sativa or Indica better for working? Studying?
Cannabis has always been known to hinder the cognitive performance and sustain negative effect on mind, memory and learning. However, some recent study reports the other way which is why many individuals use either type of cannabis to help them study, work or even train physically. Despite the controversy, the question still remains. Is marijuana bad for you in the long term?
Taking into consideration, that there are two sides of the coin. Many people continue to compare alcohol vs. marijuana and in some instances use history as a mechanism to approach the legislation of legal marijuana.
Some researchers believe that cannabis hinders brain development in children and teenagers so this demographic should abstain from cannabis use. For adults, some believe that Cannabis may negatively impact learning. However, there is no evidence to suggest that cannabis impacts long-term memory or the ability to process and retain new information. In fact, in certain cases, cannabis can actually incite creativity, while boosting productivity and performance as mentioned earlier. Apart from these experiences, we can conclude that the effect of the weed also varies from individual to individual and can play into body type, metabolism, and mental/physical state.
Provided this fact, some users may prefer the “energetic” high of a Sativa to do physical work and other daily activities whereas, others may be looking for the “grounded” effects of Indica to help them finish up that mid-term essay.