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![]() Entourage Oil has been used successfully to assist with developing and maintaining a beneficial sleep protocol. Such a protocol is like a blueprint that maps the ideal list of activities that a person needs to follow in order to maintain an optimum sleep outcome. The protocol serves as a guideline that create good sleep habits for the medium to long term. Yes - this is going to take time - but good sleep is worth the effort! Entourage Oil was developed for this purpose, and has since been shown to be able to assist with firstly changing the current sleep outcome and then over time, works as an influence that may help with an enduring shift to a more regular habitual and favourable sleep pattern. Developing a positive sleep pattern using elements of the suggested simple protocol will take some time - it is not the ubiquitous sleeping pill method - and is focused on a long term, holistic solution. How better to explain a process than by describing a case study? This case study is the second part of a three part series of sleep related articles that we are sharing in order to assist people with becoming involved in the process of improving the quality of their sleep. The first article discussed in more detail the “anatomy” and physiological activity that takes place during a good night’s sleep, below is one person’s experience. Caveat Entourage Oil was developed following a personal near-death event due to an underlying epileptic state. While that event and the subsequent journey resulted in a commitment to managing sleep by using the cannabis extraction that became Entourage Oil as part of a holistic strategy, managing epilepsy is not the topic of this article, it is mentioned to establish the the seriousness of the intention behind the writing. Our story presented here and in this three part series is one of personal holistic appreciation, and our intention is to present an idea, something that worked for another person. The individuals approach to sleep should be considered responsibly and according to own lifestyle and circumstances. This article is in no way prescriptive, nor are we offering any medical advice and as such appears without prejudice. The Basics Of a Sleep Protocol… In an ideal world we would be able to live without stress but unfortunately stress and it’s negative effects are part of the modern human condition. Perhaps the most important side-effect of stress is the impact feeling stressed has on a person’s sleep. This cost is very high, so the first step towards a good nights sleep is finding ways to keep stress out of the bed-room. This includes exclusion of a TV and limited use of devices that are distractions from the intention and purpose of the bedroom which is sleeping. Put the phone on Aeroplane Mode. Reading an entertaining book for a measured 30 minutes before sleep is a good way to begin preparing to fall asleep. Stephen King does not come to bed with me, but that’s just me! If you are inclined towards books then choose carefully what you read (!), with a bedside light only, in a predominantly darkened room. Thick curtains block unwanted light and act as sound mufflers. Aim for peace and quiet - earplugs are fantastic to cut out nocturnal noise. If you live in a bright apartment with lots of external light, an airline eye-mask might help with darkness. When it becomes darker, our eyes message the brain, which in turn, then gets ready for sleep. The brain naturally releases a hormone called melatonin. The use of a Red light is also becoming very popular, used in the last hour before lights out in a bedroom. Try to tick as many of these boxes as you can and make this change over time but also remember that you are human and should be flexible and forgiving if you break the habit or list of protocols every now and then. Aim for a dark quiet room, with a balanced temperature, adequate oxygen flowing, an inviting comfortable bed and minimal or no disturbances during your dedicated sleep time. Get rid of the bright flashing digital clock or hide it under the bed if you use one of those as an alarm clock! The last thing you need is to wake up unexpectedly in the early morning, and flashing next to your pillow, like the sword of Damocles, is the clock timer reminding you to stress yourself with sleep related calculations - how much longer have I got to sleep? etc - instead of calm “go back to sleep” with meditations and deep breathing. Person PD - a Case Study! We use the acronym for Police Detective as a simple way to confidentially name our case study. At the time when he decides to give Entourage Oil a chance to help him improve the quality of his sleep, PD is in his early forties and is not a recreational Cannabis smoker. There is an element of bias on the side of not wanting to be associated with Pot Smokers involved in PD, who happens to be a commercial artist and a competitive cyclist, but we explain that Entourage Oil contains a whole “orchestra” of Cannabis ingredients and these will work together in harmony, internally to bring his system closer to homoeostasis. These anticipated effect of Entourage Oil is different to the experience of a cannabis joint smoker who has burnt away the Entourage of “musicians” contained in the plant material, and in truth, lost the many of the multiple Essential Oils that have been preserved in Entourage Oil. What is the difference between smoking a joint and taking measured drops of Entourage Oil? At the average temperature of the joint coal, burning upwards of 700 deg C, when puffing, that burning temperature, reduces the joint smoker’s benefits to the experience of a fantastic soloist - a piano or a violinist - who is playing alone in the inhaled smoke. That active ingredient becomes boosted when burned really hot, and is called THC as the solo player in this metaphor. Entourage Oil is extracted no hotter than 145 deg C, and this is purpose is to avoid ingredient degradation. By gentle heat extraction, our lab tests have shown that the widest range of ingredients becomes available to the person taking the olive oil based drops. An internal process found in all mammals called the Endo-Cannabinoid System, then becomes hyper-active. When one smokes a joint there might be trace elements of the original list of ingredients that are naturally present, at different concentrations, in cannabis, but the heat of the joint has either removed them or left them as mere trace elements. We are not suggesting that the sound of 1 great musician is not powerful and without benefits, we are merely making a clear distinction between the wholesome sound of a full, conducted orchestra, whose intention is to produce the Entourage Effect vs the more singular application of the smoked format. The point is - Entourage Oil and smoking a joint - are not the same thing. If the Entourage effect and the Endo-Cannabinoid System are new to you we suggest a visit to http://www.entourageoil.co.za where we have dedicated information on the origins and science behind these concepts. Entourage Oil is, for the most part, Extra Virgin Olive oil, is ingested using the dropper pipette supplied with the bottle. Using this measured dropper technique, over a period of three months, PD was successful in shifting his sleep patterns from unfulfilled and inconsistent and to a more positive and recharged sleep pattern. Developing a Sleep Protocol On a macro level sleep can be viewed as something that needs to be approached as a habitual measured activity that can be reset over time. There does not appear to be a holistic fix that works over-night, that does not come with unwanted side effects. PD was happy to commit to at least 21 days of focused Entourage Oil usage, where he had a reasonable approach to being consistent with ticking the bedroom environment “boxes” and sticking to the times discussed below, so that he could look back at three week intervals or 21 days, and review his progress and make any adjustments. We accept the inherent differences from person to person’s lifestyle and environments, but you can prioritise and aim at a sensible target sleep duration that over time is expected to produce improvements. Eight hours is what current experts like Prof Mathew Walker, director of UC Berkeley’s Sleep and Neuro Imaging Lab, who wrote the New York Times best selling book WHY WE SLEEP: Unlocking The Power Of Sleep And Dreams in 2017, agree is the gold standard for restorative sleep. Seven hours is still amazing, especially if you are one of those who struggle along with four to six hours of nightly sleep, so seven might be a more realistic target. In the first 14 days PD, who previously ranged between four and six hours sleep on average, was delighted with an average improved duration of six hours sleep initially. His average day was spent drinking 4 to 5 cups of coffee to fight tiredness especially later in the day at work. He reported being grumpy at home and even aggressive when driving and socialising. Our experiment was intended to develop a new routine over time that he would be reasonable, but consistent with the methodology over time. His target was to break the habitual inconsistent poor quality of sleep pattern that had become ingrained like so many people experience, by aiming at increasing the allocated duration of sleep to around seven hours. A person on seven hours can expect to wake up restored and feeling rested especially when compared to his usual four to six hours. He also includes in the morning before work, a regular hour and a half of road cycling, three times a week. This regular exercise ticks another important box in the list of possible activities that one should aim towards doing as practice in order to to get the mix (Protocol) right. The Protocol - in development For at least five nights per week PD committed to adherence to a schedule that looked something like this: 22h00 - General lights out, bedroom time with no screens, TV or devices. He reads from 22h00 with a small bedside light only, then last toilet call and lights out at 22h30 to 22h45. 05h45 - Alarm clock set time allowing time on the bike. NB - There is opportunity for at seven hours of quality sleep in the allocated time. Unlike some people, PD had trouble going to sleep and on top of this, found that he would also wake up too early in the morning, before the alarm, and then suffer the brain-tired consequences later in the next day. We understand that Entourage Oil takes around an hour to and hour and a half to be felt (60 to 90 minutes). Research shows that amongst other benefits, THC is helpful to assist with going to sleep. The amount of THC present in one 0.5ml drop of Entourage Oil is less than 0.00035 % yet this micro-dosage has been shown, through empirical evidence, to have a remarkable effect on inducing sleep. Also present in Entourage Oil are a number of essential oils, one in particular is called Myrcene. Myrcene, which is also present in Mango, Hops and Basil has been shown to have sedative effects. When THC and Myrcene play in the same entourage, THC’s potential for producing anxiety, is moderated. Pinene, an essential oil that is also found in the resin and bark of pine trees, has been shown to be helpful in clearing the head, while having a calming effect. The Japanese appreciate a restorative walk in the forest, exposed to Pinene in the air, which they amicably call Pine Forest “Bathing”, or Shin-jin Yoku, practised for it’s relaxing meditative effects. The logical harmony of Pinene playing alongside THC, and Myrcene, is self-evident. By example the presence of this combination of ingredients found in Entourage Oil, working together, balancing each others “effects”, result in an outcome is what the scientist who first observed this biological effect, Prof Raphael Mechulam, called the Entourage effect. This effect might peak between five and seven hours, depending of dosage, and in doing so, assist with the internal balancing act that takes place across multiple functions, in the sleeping human body. PD took one drop at 22h00 for the first two weeks, so that he could have an initial benchmark on the effect. He was understandably wary of his tolerance and adopted our motto of “Less is More”. His sleep was deeper and he reported not dreaming or at least no recollection of dreams in that first two weeks. The most remarkable feedback, which is not uncommon, in spite of the waking time still being too early - around 05h00 - was that he reported feeling more rested when he did get out of bed. He was positive with the output on the bike during the morning rides, and so was enthusiastic to continue to titrate his dosage, with incremental increases, to see if there were further improvements to be had. In week three he increased his dosage to three drops, but did this between 20h00 and 21h30 and reported that he would become drowsy while reading, before lights out at 22h30. So taking the drops earlier helped with Objective A) actually going to sleep! The duration of sleep improved too and by week five PD was happy to report more than 6.5 hours sleep on a regular basis. At the end of week seven PD decided to try five drops, taken around 21h00. After 3 days of five drops, he was struggling to focus on the words (!) while reading, especially as he got closer to the time of lights out at 22h30. He slept well but woke up around 05h00, ready to go, but this improvements was not ideal. PD had possibly passed the “sweet spot” in his effective dosage and was now showing signs of an undesired inverse effect. We had established that PD’s optimal Entourage Oil dosage was 3 drops, taken around 21h00, and so he reduced his dosage and continued for another month with the three drop regime. Over the following two months he was able to maintain his new sleep pattern and began to titrate the dosage down, 1 drop less per week. Three weeks later, some four months into the Protocol, PD was not taking Entourage Oil on a regular basis any more. He did take the oil on nights were his routine was upset by abnormal stress, late night socialising and travel, and on recommendation, 3 drops every 5 hours during a bout of the flu, that incidentally cleared up within 3 days of taking drops. This is an example of the personal, holistic attention required to work towards breaking a negative sleep pattern. Each individual will have their own process using Entourage Oil, and will need to adjust their consumption of drops accordingly. We believe the outcome is definitely worth the effort! Our follow up, third article will discuss some fascinating but wider range of sleep issues including how “the Science” can present confusing messages, relative to sleep benefits and other therapies, depending who is talking, and how the negative dogma still prevails with the multiple aspects of cannabis healing. Further Learning References The Endo-Cannabinoid System is best explained by Dr Rachael Knox | TEDxPortland | The endocannabinoid system and the revolution of one. , a Fantastic spirited presentation – Highly recommended! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJbOQ9P2NYQ The Entourage Effect - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3165946/ Using Cannabis As A Sleep Aid A Good balanced article on Cannabis and sleep, plus interesting other sleep related information. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-aids/cannabis-and-sleep
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