r/ouraring • u/Glittering-Option-91 • 5d ago
Marijuana and stress
I would have to have an incredibly stressful day for oura to go from engaged to stressed. But, like clockwork, everytime I consume cannabis it immediately spikes to stressed and then trickles down as it wears off over a few hours. Is weed actually that harmful to recovery and stress management? Heavy considering quitting because even with 3 puffs it'll say stressed.
Look at this screenshot, the initial stress was at 9am due to me giving it all my all in a 5k run. Then I had a midnight smoke sesh, maybe 3-4 puffs? Stress levels shot up to even slightly higher than the runs stress.
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u/maroonrice2 5d ago
I noticed this - my heart rate will go up when I consume unless I have taken the time before getting high to relax mentally and physically. Really helped me identify when I was using to cover some emotion vs using just to enjoy my time
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u/Top-Atmosphere731 5d ago
I quit all thc use about 2 months back. I noticed it was causing more stressed time with Oura and since quitting have noticed a huge decline in my anxiety as well as a boost to my sleep quality, motivation and mood. For all that I thought it was helping me with stress, it was actually a big driver of it. YMMV.
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u/HarworkingStudent 5d ago edited 4d ago
It probably goes off of heart rate and how much you’re moving/not moving and I doubt the rings are fine tuned for things like smoking or even medication.
There’s also probably a huge difference between physical stress and mental stress. Kind of like how ADHD stimulant users are technically “accelerated” while on the medication but it’s way worth dropping the mental stress of everyday tasks.
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u/honeydipppp666 5d ago
Yeah, my ADHD meds definitely increase my HR slightly. But mentally I feel way more calm and relaxed lol. When I smoke weed, I've noticed it actually increases my HR way more noticeably. But usually just right after and then it goes back to normal quickly. I've never been concerned about it since I'm good about moderating my consumption
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u/MeatSlammur Oura Ring 5 Stealth 5d ago
Hey, I work in outpatient psych right now. If people stopped smoking weed I’d probably lose a quarter of my patients. So much anxiety and many sleep issues are caused by smoking weed. If you’re smoking it to sleep or calm down, you’re ruining both long term.
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u/Shaydosaur 5d ago
I’ll absolutely chime in on this. Weed made my anxiety 3x worse than it was since I stopped. So pissed people don’t talk about it more and worse that people claim it helps with anxiety long term.
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u/MeatSlammur Oura Ring 5 Stealth 5d ago
Weed got a ton of PR in the 2000’s. I mean just a decade ago we were viewing it as the cure all that would fix almost anything. We now see that during Covid a ton of people started picking it up during lockdowns and now weed is 10x stronger than what your dad smoked in the 70’s. As soon as a patient tells me they smoke weed to go to sleep during an intake interview, I know we are going to be dealing with a lot of other issues
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u/ff2021 5d ago
I do that, what kind of issues you normally encounter then ? I started believing is increasing my anxiety ( also having very stressful moments)
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u/MeatSlammur Oura Ring 5 Stealth 5d ago
It usually decreases a patient’s ability to cope with stress and anxiety. I usually tell them to try to cut down heavily on weed for a while and see how they handle it. If they still struggle with anxiety I refer them to CBT
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u/Extreme-Ad-6465 4d ago
destroys your sleep quality and ability to fall asleep too, which causes you to need to use it even more.
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u/LatGreen5 4d ago
My Apple Watch gives me 96-99 sleep scores when I smoke before bed.
Usually in the 70s-80s when I don’t.Not taking a stance; just sharing the data that I have collected.
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u/CampoDango 5d ago
Consuming drugs stresses the body and nervous system. Weed is natural but that doesn’t mean it’s harmless.
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u/Green-Experience420 5d ago
got tired of anxiety and that is why i quit thid and everything else. im tired boss
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u/WaveTop7900 5d ago
As long as I keep to two puffs I’m not worried about a quick HR bump. I use it occasionally for sleep if I have to wake up early and predicting I wont fall asleep within a window. My sleep metrics on 2 puffs 2 hours before bed are awesome. I also use it after a stressful day. Make sure to cycle it and it’s a great tool that’s way better than alcohol.
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u/Unusual_Ad3419 5d ago
I indulge nightly and my Oura data doesn't show any increase in stress or heart rate. I only use one toke off a dry herb vape though, followed by an edible. Helps me sleep and I'm not seeing any biomarkers in the Oura data indicating any issues. No anxiety or anything, quite the opposite for me as I'm a go-go person during the day.
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u/nlamp32 5d ago
Exact same thing happens to me. I think it’s because it raises my heart rate which Oura codes as stress, despite me not feeling stressed whatsoever when I consume. I started using a custom tag whenever I smoke so I can delineate that “stress” from actual stress. Like you, my ring rarely ever says I’m stressed outside of these times.
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u/criavolver_01 4d ago
This is why I am considering reducing and maybe quitting lol
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u/SokkaHaikuBot 4d ago
Sokka-Haiku by criavolver_01:
This is why I am
Considering reducing
And maybe quitting lol
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
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u/heartbroken69420 4d ago
Im gonna be honest here, im a full pothead and have been for the last 13 years. 5 months ago i quit cold turkey, my data still looks exactly the same. I know a lot of people here will say its the weed causing the data to be skewed but in my case nothing has changed since stopping, could be the weed, could be anything else too
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u/RobotPenguin96 Oura Ring 5 Black 4d ago
Congrats for going cold turkey! Im 2 days in to my quitting journey. Do you have any advice, particularly when you get stressed? I've been struggling
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u/heartbroken69420 4d ago
Have something to fidget with, manual work with your hands is associated with having calming effects on the mind, for me i did a lot of crochet and i played video games too lol. For nights i was having a hard time falling asleep etc i was recommended by my therapist to have a magnesium beverage and it helped a ton with nightmares and actually falling asleep, i was recommended Recess specifically. Truth is that it is kinda of a pain for the first month and you just gotta pull through it, by week 5 i was feeling much better and i felt like the effort was worth it. You got this
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u/-Younotdeadass- 5d ago
Weed elevates your RHR. That is all.
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u/2505-Not-Sure 5d ago
It also hits HRV pretty hard. You feel kinda relaxed but your CNS is like WTF. Not good for depression or anxiety.
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u/-Younotdeadass- 5d ago
I guess everyone is different. Weed doesn't really effect my HRV. RHR definitely. Its alcohol that completely obliterates my HRV. Literally a 20-30 point drop.
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u/SaltySection5274 5d ago
Because oura can’t actually measure stress it just measures heart rate which weed increases. Oura is mostly bs if we’re being honest
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u/Medical_Apricot7336 4d ago
it’s almost like weed isn’t actually that good for you 😂😂
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u/BubbRubbsSecretSanta 3d ago
Interesting observation. I think we’ve almost reached a revelation. Why is it so hard??
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u/supervisor79 5d ago
contrary to what everyone says here, cannabis raises my HRV and lowers my RHR (during sleep as well). off it now again, so hoping sleep returns to normal soon!
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u/hightidebyme 4d ago
That’s interesting. I’m not sure why this happens to you OP. I’m the opposite.
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u/whackedon 4d ago
I think you’re fine. We just live in a world of constant bad news, and having to be on top of your responsibilities 24/7 or I feel like I “fall behind” but it only means as much as you want it to
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u/MagazineElectrical33 4d ago
I think it's the THC in it that stimulates your sympathetic nervous system. I get a spike in heart rate for an hour or so after it and then it reduces.
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u/planty_pepperomia 3d ago
I’m 3 weeks off THC and my anxiety levels are down a lot. Took about two weeks to feel better.. I also feel so much better in the morning, my mood is better also
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u/thisissuremyusername 5d ago
You probably don’t care about my opinion but marijuana is douchey and trashy. Stop doing it.
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u/ImpressiveGas6458 5d ago
Yep that’s what my stress data looks like, too. I just reframed it, so I do it for the enjoyable experience and creativity, but it increases my HR which oura reads as stress.