Beating Brain Fog: If you're vaping, you're halfway there!

[Odyssey]

Recently I have been more and more interested in the phenomena of "brain fog" after peak marijuana consumption effects have been lifted. It is characterized by a sluggishness and heaviness of mind, making the likelihood of advanced cognitive functioning more unlikely. However, there is hope! If you're vaporizing, then you are already halfway there in terms of beating that cloudy brain fog. Vaporizing gives off a much cleaner high than combustion, even without water filtration devices like custom water attachments, vapor tamers, etc. This is because you are not inhaling the methane that is a byproduct of combustion.

Now that you're vaping, you still feel mentally slow after a nice toke session. What in the hell? Well, it turns out you may need to do a little more mental work (ugh) to shake off that THC-induced mental rust.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/17/playing-tetris-addiction_n_7998248.html
I highly recommend a game or two of Tetris between breaks, maybe after you're done a toke and need to do some light studying/reading. It definitely jogs the mind in a fun way, and it apparently can even help curb addictions (even physiological needs that aren't addictions, like hunger!) for just 3 minutes. However, the study was conducted with 7 intervals per day of Tetris gaming, so results should be taken with caution.

I also recommend reading some light fiction that's easy to read as well, and since I'm going to university, I would choose young adult books of the ilk.

 

[Jaindoh]

A lot of people, myself included, use nootropic supplements for this. Even just supplemental choline, especially with ALCAR, can help a lot.

 

[biohacker]

I'm noticing big improvements just not vaping before bed. When I do, I wake up in a severe fog that lasts most of the morning if not all day. The more I vape, the more foggy my brain gets.

 

[Hoops]

The 'vaping before bed' thing always has me waking up foggy in the morning as well. Edibles at night are worse.

Getting the blood pumping with some exercise seems to be the best solution to clearing the fog for me. Works every time.

 

[zor]

Hm, I've never noticed an excessive or greater sluggishness or torpor the following day. I have sleep apnea as well and know my sleep is relatively troubled which sleep studies have indicated, but apparently my body/mind compensates enough that even with a CPAP/VPAP I noticed no improvement in feeling rested....

Ah....like Hoops, I ride my bike most mornings, yeah, increasing circulation and metabolism seems to be key for me too

 

[slick]

A lot of people, myself included, use nootropic supplements for this. Even just supplemental choline, especially with ALCAR, can help a lot.

Can you expand on this? Do you feel a difference?

A lot of people, myself included, use nootropic supplements for this. Even just supplemental choline, especially with ALCAR, can help a lot.

Can you expand on this? Do you feel a difference?

Mod note: posts merged

 

[Kakaxxot]

While I haven't been smoking for long, I almost exclusively smoke before going to sleep and haven't noticed "brain fog" the next day. Then again, I'm a super heavy sleeper as is and have trouble waking up without an annoying alarm already. I guess I've been suffering from it all my life anyway. :v

 

[crawdad]

my current fog thinner is niacin + magnesium in the morning and 5-htp at night. it helps with vape fog and my own fog (when not vaping).

 

[His_Highness]

My remedy is a shower where at the end I lower the water temp till I can't stand the cold anymore.

 

[Hashtag46&2]

my current fog thinner is niacin + magnesium in the morning and 5-htp at night. it helps with vape fog and my own fog (when not vaping).

Niiice. Not too many folks realize the importance of Supplementing Magnesium, and just how important it is regarding "feeling better" in general.

The American diet is very short of supplying the necessary amount of Magnesium that the body & mind requires.

Also, Vitamin D, and Hydration.

Drink about 16oz of cold water first thing in the morning to kickstart your metabolism, this essentially wakes the body up.

I like the 5 HTP and Melatonin at night myself, add a touch of Valerian Root for a perfect nights sleep.

I also supplement DLPA (Another Amino Acid) ..which repairs and maintains neurotransmitters helping with endorphin production.

***Always check with your Doctor before taking any Amino Acids, many could cause severe problems if you're taking SSRIs***

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

I don't have a problem vaping at night. I wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

It's when I vape in the middle of the day. After coming off the high, I get lethargic and blah feeling. I am pretty shot for the rest of the day. As a result I have settled on only really vaping indicas at night to chill out and eventually fall asleep. It makes the evenings fun.

 

[Hashtag46&2]

I don't have a problem vaping at night. I wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

It's when I vape in the middle of the day. After coming off the high, I get lethargic and blah feeling. I am pretty shot for the rest of the day. As a result I have settled on only really vaping indicas at night to chill out and eventually fall asleep. It makes the evenings fun.

I was going to say the same....

If I didn't Vape before bed, I would be useless in the morning, tossing and turning all night long.

When I Vape during the day, I just want to watch Comedy Central and eat and sleep.

 

[biohacker]

If I didn't Vape before bed, I would be useless in the morning, tossing and turning all night long.

That just about sums it all up...day 3 of my cleanse and maybe got an hour of sleep. Hormones are all completely fucked up! Cold sweats, hands freezing and the worst brain fog I think i've ever experienced! All because of abuse and dependency. If you use it every night consistently to sleep, good luck sleeping without it.

 

[zor]

Heh, I'm the same with regards to vaping and sleep, but exercise also helps me sleep better for when I'm abstaining from weed. Exercise is great

 

[Hashtag46&2]

That just about sums it all up...day 3 of my cleanse and maybe got an hour of sleep. Hormones are all completely fucked up! Cold sweats, hands freezing and the worst brain fog I think i've ever experienced! All because of abuse and dependency. If you use it every night consistently to sleep, good luck sleeping without it.

I'm sorry to hear of your struggles man. I can't imagine what you're going through, I've used Cannabis for this purpose for almost 20 years.


I choose not to indulge during the day in order to maintain the effectiveness of its sedative qualities at night.

I myself would have to make a decision whether to utilize Cannabis or Pharma to get to sleep due to my disease. (Rheumatic & Spondylitis along with an erratic Immune System).


Best of luck in your cleansing.

 

[biohacker]

thanks @Hashtag46&2 I really appreciate the empathy, especially since my t-break officially ended today due to an extremely stressful family emergency. Even drank my first beer in over 2 months (off caffeine for months as well due to coffee addiction which messed up sleep even more). Ah well, back to it tomorrow, and thinking of tapering by doing every other or third night for relief due to the crippling insomnia. Days are fragmented but it's the nights that are the worst...especially with the sweats. Many of my issues with this dependence are self inflicted as i'd vape during the day, many times morning to afternoon, in order to cope with night shifts and not being able to sleep during the day. Unfortunately, after years and years of this it's finally said fuck you and backfired, hence trying my best to change the situation. I'm in a position now where i'm not working nights, so i'm working on a relationship with the angelic plant that is similar to yours. There is much more to it, from a self-medicating standpoint due to mental health issues (anxiety primarily) from a very young age due to trauma. thank again bro.

 

[ZC]

I almost exclusively vape at night. I medicate primarily for insomnia and anxiety, so before bed is a necessity for me.

I do agree that vaping is a huge step to eliminate brain fog, I've always done kind of a mixture of vaping and combusting depending on how I feel, but since I've switched to only vaping I've noticed much less brain fog in the morning.

I also find that getting enough sleep is the #1 factor for me. It doesn't matter too much if I vape 5 minutes or 2 hours before bed, but if I get 5 hours or less of sleep I'm FAR more likely to feel brain fog and it's likely to last longer. I don't think I've ever experienced brain fog after getting a full nights rest.

Except for once actually, when I was fairly new to cannabis and took a particularly potent hit from a gravity vortex. I was foggy for almost a week. Never had (or wanted) to experience that again.

 

[DOOM]

Brain fog for me comes and goes, but it's usually after a day of vaping every hour or so and not getting fresh air or staying hydrated.

So on my days off

 

[bluenavey00]

It doesn't matter too much if I vape 5 minutes or 2 hours before bed, but if I get 5 hours or less of sleep I'm FAR more likely to feel brain fog and it's likely to last longer. I don't think I've ever experienced brain fog after getting a full nights rest.

I would feel like crap if I only sleep for 5 hours. I tend to sleep for 7 sometimes 8.

I don't think it's that surprising if you feel fogged over with 5 hours of sleep.

 

[ZC]

I would feel like crap if I only sleep for 5 hours. I tend to sleep for 7 sometimes 8.

I don't think it's that surprising if you feel fogged over with 5 hours of sleep.

Yeah unfortunately my heavy work schedule often demands that I only have 5 or 6 hours of sleep. But that alone doesn't create brain fog, only when it's mixed with vaping before bed.

 

[Nosferatu]

YES. Don't go cold turkey, there is nothing healthy about that. Ween off over a week, it's not cuz your a drug addict, it's just like quitting coffee or something you are used to ingesting everyday. Your body got use to this amount but if you feel it is no longer beneficial or too much lower it and reassess.

 

[HomeFree]

I get to bed fine without it. I always think I will toss and turn, but strangely enough - nothing. Even when I used it far more heavily. For a good while I was having to use a gram and a half or so every day. Now I only use around 0.3 grams or so a day, probably less. I stopped keeping track. I don't doubt people get insomnia when stopping their cannabis intake though.

It doesn't seem to give me brain fog during the day, but could be the strains I am using or the amount I use. I have used too much edibles late at night or smoked (keyword there) too much cannabis at 3 a.m. or so, which is the only time I have woke up with a brain fog. I get brain fog normally, and strangely enough more than half of all strains clear it out. I don't understand it. But some strains have a longer length effect than others it seems.

Hope you feel better biohacker. I'm sure you will. Tryptophan is back on the market. magnesium is good too. Also melatonin, and I have used both valerian root and valerian oil. Valerian does not seem to actually make me drowsy, but for some reason it helps me fall asleep without feeling tired.

 

[stressed]

when i have that fog headed, cheesy feeling in the morning, i vape a bag. cures it every time!

 

[Taproots]

I had an interesting experience with brain fog, marijuana use, ect. I solely vape- started with vaping and never combusted.

initially from even limited use I had hideous brainfog, It was so profoundly bad that I had to take weeks off to get it to go away. I also was consistently rendered nonfunctional (wouldn't be able to leave my apartment) from even small doses.

Well, a couple things happened between then and now. First, I lost about 35 lbs, mainly through a ketosis diet which I'm still on. Second, I had a long period of dankruptcy (several months.) Using now is completely different, the tone of the high is much clearer, and I have never had brainfog.

I'm convinced that it is either a product of being in ketosis or having lost weight, but I am now reporting functional highs much more in line with what most users describe when vaping. And this is after a pretty long T-Break. Confounding it all is that losing the weight resolved my sleep apnea, so maybe I'm just less tired in general.

TLDR: Started out with disruptive highs/crazy brainfog. Lost 35 lbs and my highs became the "head high" people describe and have had no issue with brain fog.

 

[AJS]

TLDR: Started out with disruptive highs/crazy brainfog. Lost 35 lbs and my highs became the "head high" people describe and have had no issue with brain fog.

Wonder if the THC has less fat to bind to, haha, so maybe it doesn't stay in your system as long? Is this possible? lol.