There will always be those days where we don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything and we just want to lead an unproductive day, otherwise called laziness.
While there are several factors that contribute to laziness which aren’t all controlled, there are some factors that are a result of habits and lifestyle like smoking cannabis. Whatever your reason is behind smoking cannabis, it can potentially contribute to laziness, which is the opposite of what you should be doing to lead a productive life.
In this article, we’ll be talking about how smoking cannabis affects being lazy.
Smoking cannabis and laziness are linked together as cannabis affects the area of the brain responsible for motivation and productivity, which is called the striatum. Long-term usage of cannabis can reduce the dopamine levels in your brain, which is the hormone responsible for making you feel good and happy.
Studies show that cannabis makes us lazy
The striatum is the part of the brain responsible for motivation so it’s only natural that when this part of the brain is affected, there’s a huge tendency to become lazy. Scientists have proven that there’s a direct link between smoking cannabis and laziness as long-term consumption of the drug can lower your dopamine levels, which is responsible for feeling good.
When you regularly smoke cannabis, whatever the reason may be, this can often result in an unproductive day without any direction. Smoking cannabis is known as an unhealthy habit that if you’re not careful enough, can hinder your productivity and motivation.
Furthermore, smoking cannabis can also trigger feelings of apathy, which result in the lack of caring that you’re leading a lazy life.
Does cannabis affect your workout plans?
The more you expose yourself to cannabis, the less likely you are to get motivated to work out. Even without the motivation factor, cannabis affects a lot of your mental functions, and the more you are dependent on smoking cannabis to feel good, the less likely you are to have enough energy to stick to workout plans.
Since your dopamine levels are also being reduced with each time you smoke cannabis, you won’t have that feel-good emotion that encourages you to work out. Not to mention, similar to nicotine, smoking cannabis can endanger your lungs and overall cardiovascular health, which is a significant aspect you need to take care of to stick to workout plans.
You can barely get through a workout with enough endurance and strength if you have poor lung function and heart.
Reasons cannabis contributes to laziness
1. The “high” feeling
When you smoke cannabis, you get the “high” feeling that comes with it, which gives you a euphoric and relaxed feeling. The effect can wear off between one to three hours and as long as you’re in this state, you can’t focus on anything but the feeling of being high.
It’s difficult to get up and force yourself to be productive when you’re in the middle of this feeling because not only is your judgment affected, but this goes even for your mental functions like your concentration or focus.
Unlike everything said above, when you smoke cannabis, an instant wave of dopamine hits you, and only in the aftermath of taking it will you feel the sudden lack of this feel-good hormone in your brain.
2. It affects mental health
Studies have shown that there’s also a link between cannabis and mental health. If you already suffer from mental health problems like depression and anxiety, cannabis can make your mental health worse than it originally was.
Even if you don’t currently suffer from any mental health problems, smoking cannabis can cause a decline in your mental health. When your mental health isn’t functioning well and you’re suffering from depression or anxiety, you have a higher tendency to be consumed with laziness and it’s even more difficult for you to become motivated and productive.
Depression is defined as the feeling of emptiness and hopelessness for a lengthened period while anxiety is defined as being consumed by several emotions, all at once. Even if cannabis can potentially help with this, the aftermath can cause it to become worse over time rather than prevent it.
3. It distorts your thinking and perception
Since cannabis gives you the “high feeling,” as mentioned earlier, it can distort your thinking and perception. You can’t have the mental clarity to get up and be productive when you can barely think clearly and this is just one of the factors that can contribute to laziness.
It can even distort your sense of time and tighten your senses, which means you’re not in the right mental state to do anything, even on the chances that you suddenly gain the motivation to be productive. It takes more effort for you to remember things and focus and your mental capacity is everything when it comes to productivity.
This goes on even for 24-hours right after you stopped smoking cannabis so the aftermath will still affect your concentration and attention span right after.
4. It hurts your physical health
Smoking cannabis can affect both your physical and mental health, which becomes a primary hinder to your laziness. When you’re not actively taking care of your body, cannabis affects your lungs, respiratory system, and the entirety of your cardiovascular health.
This means you won’t be able to build healthy habits like exercise even if you wanted to, and exercise is one of the proven ways to counter laziness. When your physical health is endangered, the more likely you’ll have the lack of motivation and energy to lead a productive life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I hope this article was able to shed insight on everything you needed to know on how smoking cannabis can affect laziness. If you can prevent it, you shouldn’t smoke cannabis to take care of your productivity and motivation accordingly. Otherwise, cannabis will affect your entire mental functions, including the area that’s responsible for your motivation and energy levels.
