It’s the weekend — finally! — and your streaming watchlist is pestering your weary head. You’ve also got a table full of snacks and goodies, and to top it all off, your bowl is packed, your blunt rolled, and a fresh dab awaits you to set fire to your weekend weed gathering. After a few hits of your preferred stoner devices, you sit back and eagerly anticipate your restful body while your mind floats into the limitless night sky above. You suddenly feel yourself freezing up, melting into the couch, and shutting down. You can buy this product in our store.
You’ve been couch locked! It affects everyone, even the most seasoned smoker, and it’s something you can’t always anticipate. Couch lock isn’t always a bad thing; some of us could use some forced rest (emphasis on the compelled!). Even if you’re not a smoker, when couch lock strikes, it isn’t always a pleasurable experience, especially if you had intended to be stoned. Have you ever smoked one of those well-known sofa lock strains? Do you even know what a couch lock strain is? What exactly is couch lock? How can you avoid or minimize its effects? Let’s get comfortable on our sofas but not light up yet because we’ll look at the events of this cannabis-wide phenomenon.
What is Couch Lock?
The term “couch lock” refers to the sensation of being physically “bound” to your sofa, as the name implies.
For people who are unfamiliar with cannabis, the sensation is difficult to describe. After all, isn’t it easy to get up and leave your sofa? In fact, going for a drink or something to eat may not be that hard of a job. To really comprehend how strong the effects are, you must first experience couch lock.
The mental sensation of couch lock isn’t limited to a physical feeling; it’s also a mental experience. In addition to being physically exhausted, your mind and emotional state are likewise slightly out of sorts.
Your limbs will feel like boulders, and despite the tremendous desire to get up, your mind will be unable to communicate with the rest of your body to make your vision a reality. It’s almost as if you’re totally numb yet fully aware that you have the ability to move and stand up at any moment, but for whatever reason you can’t.
What Causes Couch Lock?
Cannabis has a strong sedative effect, which is why it is sometimes used to help people fall asleep. Because of its powerful sedative qualities, cannabis has been shown in studies to help people with insomnia and other sleep problems. Couch lock is the result of these sedative properties, which causes users to become extremely sleepy.
There is no agreement on what chemicals in cannabis induce couch lock, but most people blame indica strains, which are known for producing powerful “body highs.” The chemical profiles of indica and sativa strains, on the other hand, are typically quite similar. Sativa strains that cause strong sedative effects can be found just as easily as indica strains.
According to Reginald Reefer of Cannabis.net, myrcene, a terpene present in cannabis and other plants (including hops, lemongrass, and thyme), is to blame. He claims that high amounts of myrcene contribute to some marijuana’s ability to keep you planted on the couch for what seem like ages as a known sedative. However, in an article in High Times, Sirius J debunks the notion that myrcene levels were lower in sativa strains (using data from the chemical profiles of 2015 Cannabis Cup entrants), which had more uplifting effects rather than strong sedation.
Overall, there is a lack of study into what makes cannabis sedative in order for us to come to a conclusion about what causes couch lock. However, the data cited by Sirius J suggest that myrcene may not be the problem.
Causes & Effects: What Is Couch Lock? What Does It Do?
The notion of a couch lock does not have an official definition because it is a term used by the cannabis community. There are certainly scientific reasons for what, how, and why cannabis can induce couch lock, but much of this research is still in progress or hasn’t yet published many “definable findings.” So, for the purpose of this article, we’ll give you a general idea of couch lock as it’s understood in the marijuana-wide world today from those trustworthy individuals you know & love that enjoy getting high.
The unmistakable sensation of melting into the couch or chair you’re resting in is a sign that you have this sort of cannabis illness. The term “couch lock” comes from the fact that you become one with the furniture, unable to move, think clearly, or sense anything.
When couch lock grips your mind and body, paranoia, anxiety, and dread are all common symptoms. We’ll discuss how to defend oneself from falling too deeply into the rabbit hole as soon as couch lock strikes, but for now we’ll concentrate on the causes and effects. Although couch lock is frightening, it’s mostly a sign of the sedative effects that some couch lock strains can have on us. Even if you’re a seasoned cannabis user, couch lock may infect your highest tolerances (pun intended). Cannabinoids and terpenes have an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to altering our brains and bodies, so categorizing or predicting what happens next can be like doing mathematics while hanging upside down.
However, some cannaseurs believe that indicas and indica-dominant hybrids are the most common causes of couch lock. Many indica-dominant strains are highly sedative, sleep-inducing or body-relaxing in general. This isn’t just limited to indicas; a number of sativas have comparable mental/physical effects as well.
So, if it’s not the strain itself, what else can we look to for predicting couch lock? Terpenes, like with so many other cannabis-related phenomena, appear to hold the bulk of the answers. Myrcene is a terpene that is commonly linked with couch lock. Because myrcene is prevalent in numerous indicas with a musky, spicy, clove-like scent and flavor, it has been dubbed “in-da-couch.”
The consensus choice for “couch locking terpene” among many cannabis aficionados, myrcene is yet another example of a cannabinoid that has been understudied. There are hundreds of cannabinoids present in the hundreds of cannabis cultivars, as well as hundreds more terpenes that we still need to fully map out and comprehend. We’ll have to take what we currently know in the cannabis sector for now until further research is done on terpenes and their effects on our minds and bodies.