How to recover today from an edible hangover
If you are still high the next day after taking edibles you may be experiencing spinning, fatigue, headaches, nausea, brain fog, or lethargy.
This is commonly known as an edible hangover, but in reality, your body just ingested far too much THC for you to handle.
The University of Minnesota found that fatty foods help increase the absorption rate of CBD (which counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC) by up to 14 times which can help you recover much faster (learn more below).
Why am I hungover from edibles?
An edible high is much stronger than just smoking THC.
That’s because your digestive system converts the THC into a much more potent compound known as 11-OH-THC, which is 4 times stronger than smoking cannabis.
By overdosing on edibles, it’s possible to even feel high for days, depending on your bioavailability, endocannabinoid system, weight, and the edible dosage you took.
How to sober up by today
While I love edibles, I’ve had my fair share of foggy mornings that can really put a damper on productivity during the day.
If you need to clear the hangover by today, just follow these three steps below:
Step 1 - Start with high fatty foods
Eating foods high in fat is proven to help reduce the effects of THC.
The research conducted by the University of Minnesota found that eating fatty foods after taking CBD increased the body’s absorption of CBD by 14 times.
CBD counteracts the psychoactive components of THC and is one of the most common stoner hacks used to sober up from weed. By eating fatty foods you force your body to absorb the CBD from the edible you already took.
Don’t worry, CBD isn’t going to make you feel higher, in fact, it helps with anxiety, reduces the psychoactive components of THC, and just makes you feel relaxed.
If you are feeling dizzy, it may be hard to force yourself to eat some fatty foods, so I recommend starting with some saltine crackers as it helps to prepare my body to intake all that grease and fat.
Step 2 - Drink ginger tea for nausea
Hydration is important for headaches and cleansing your body of any cannabinoids, which will help reduce symptoms much faster.
Drinking water alone is great but the results for recovery are a bit slow. I recommend drinking water and ginger tea.
The National Library of Medicine found that Ginger tea was a safe and effective way to treat nausea and vomiting, and it’s my go-to edible hangover remedy that works like a charm.
Here is my go-to recipe for masala-fighting ginger tea which only requires three simple ingredients: ginger, lemon juice, and honey.
Step 3 - Rest (THC promotes deep sleep)
Finally, after you have eaten some fatty foods and drank your ginger tea it’s time to get some rest.
The fatty foods by now should be putting a considerable amount of work on your digestive system, slowing your body down, or what is popularly known as a “food coma” which is perfect to put your body in a place where you want to rest and digest.
Sobering up from an uncomfortable edible high takes time, and while we all want to feel better instantly there is nothing that works as well as a great nap.
Trust me, the THC in cannabis promotes sleep, so as crazy as you feel if you close your eyes and get comfortable chances are you will fall asleep and wake up feeling so much better.
This could be as simple as a 20-40 minute nap, to allow the fatty food to increase the CBD absorption.
Once you wake up it’s time to refresh! Hop in the shower, make a cup of coffee, and get your day started!
If you are still feeling some lingering effects, I like to use any of the below methods to get my mind back to focus and clarity.
A few more organic methods
While fatty foods, ginger tea, and napping will absolutely help get rid of an edible high sometimes you can still feel some lingering effects if you dosed far too much THC.
For the stubborn edible hangover try these organic methods to help shed that lethargy and fogginess:
Exercising: Often what happens during an edible hangover is you just want to curl up and do nothing. Exercising can enhance neuroplasticity in the brain which protects against neurodegeneration. In layman’s terms: exercising helps remove that fogginess in the brain! And of course, the more you sweat the more you are cleansing the cannabinoids out of your body.
Stretching: According to physical therapist Suzanne Martin, stretching affects not only our muscles but also our neurological system. Stretching tells the brain to relax and secretes hormones to help maintain mood, metabolism, and emotions. Often times when dosing too many edibles you can feel out of equilibrium on an emotional level, and stretching or yoga is an easy trick to find some balance.
Green Tea: Studies show that green tea helps restore brain function. So if you are feeling foggy some green tea can help to shake that mental fatigue and a little bit of caffeine will give you some energy to try to get your body back in motion.
Massage: When it comes to recovering from edibles a massage can do wonders. Massages are golden for a THC hangover because it improves circulation from head to toe of oxygen, blood, and fluids.
Can you wake up high after an edible?
Absolutely, in fact, this is very common if you took an edible in the evening.
An edible high can last longer and hit much stronger because edibles are eaten not smoked.
When THC edibles pass through the digestive system, the THC converts into what is called 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC).
11-OH-THC is four times stronger than regular THC, and depending on your body you may metabolize an edible high very differently than you would when smoking cannabis.
When you sleep the digestive tract slows down immensely, which results in the THC not being processed fully.
So if you fall asleep high from edibles, the THC is not processing through your system the same as if you were awake, which results in you waking up feeling high – or what we like to call “an edible hangover”.
Can edibles make you feel high for days?
For those of you that feel high for days after taking a cannabis edible, that’s a tough one.
This high may feel more like a “residue” of the original high, but nonetheless, you are not 100% yourself.
If you are still feeling high after a few days, and it’s uncomfortable you can actually go to the hospital.
They have plenty of safe treatment methods such as an IV drip to help you flush out all the cannabinoids from your body.
No matter what, if you keep hydrating, eating, and resting your body will return to its normal state.
A common mistake most beginners make when experiencing a hangover from edibles is they do nothing.
You do not want to sit idle. Instead make sure you eat, drink, and rest as much as you can.
When to seek medical attention
Here are some common side effects of dosing more edibles than your body can handle.
- Nausea
- Paranoia
- Anxiety
- Panic Attacks
- Fatigue/ Lethargy
- Vomiting
If you experience these uncomfortable symptoms for more than a day, then it’s best to seek medical attention.
A new study found an increased rate of hospital visits for people that dosed edibles incorrectly, compared to vaping and smoking dry herbs.
While hospitalization for cannabis overdosing is not common, it is with edibles so seeking medical attention if you are feeling miserable is a smart option.
Final thoughts
Edible hangovers are extremely common due to how hard it is to accurately dose edibles. Every person’s body chemistry is very different and how your body’s specific endocannabinoid system works with the THC through your liver determines how strong the edible high will be.
In this article, we discussed how to recover from edibles with three easy steps:
- Eating fatty foods helps to stop dizziness and spinning.
- Drinking ginger tea and hydrating helps stop nausea
- Rest will help for the CBD to absorb through the fatty foods, to counter the psychoactive cannabinoids such as THC.
In the future I recommend you find an edible product that has very stable and consistent dosages. That way everytime you take it you know exactly how much to take and what it will do to you. I recommend buying from medical marijuana dispensaries as they have much more regulations, which will result in a more consistent dosage.
When manufacturers do not consistently dose their edibles, such as distillate edibles, this results in a volatile range of highs.
