People Think Cannabis Makes You Lazy. Data Shows Users Train More
Researchers have produced a study that demonstrates a link between using cannabis and doing more exercise each day. Cannabis use was also associated with more people smoking and drinking.
The information came from a national study that tracked how much cannabis, alcohol, and cigarettes users used and how much activity they got each day for 28 days. This study used the daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) method for cannabis research for the first time. EMAs are meant to record what people think, feel, and do when they are in their natural surroundings.
The study employed data from a nationwide 28-day survey that asked participants to fill out daily ecological momentary assessments to find out how much cannabis they used, how much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) they did, how many drinks with alcohol they drank, and how many cigarettes they smoked. The analysis included only participants who reported cannabis usage on at least one day during the research period (N = 98). The researchers utilized generalized linear mixed models to look at the links between cannabis use and health and substance use behaviors on the same day, taking race, biological sex, and age into account.
The study’s results showed that people who used cannabis every day also exercised more. Participants engaged in physical activity for approximately 3.5 minutes longer on days when cannabis was consumed compared to days when it was not.
It was also found that people who used cannabis drank more beer and smoked more cigarettes each day. When individuals used cannabis, their alcohol consumption rose by 0.45 drinks, and their smoking increased by 0.63 cigarettes.
The researchers determined that cannabis consumption was associated with heightened physical activity, with increased alcohol and cigarette usage.
“This study was one of the first to use EMAs to look at the links between daily cannabis usage and same-day alcohol, PA, and cigarette use. Overall, findings indicated that daily cannabis use is associated with higher engagement in these daily health and substance use behaviors. More research is needed to figure out how cannabis use is connected to these and other behaviors.
These new results back up past studies that show a link between using cannabis and doing more exercise or work, which goes against the perception that people who use cannabis are lazy and don’t want to do anything. Research done in 2024 by experts at the University of Colorado discovered that runners who took cannabis said it made their experience better. “The main conclusion is that using cannabis before working out tends to make you feel better and enjoy the workout more, whether you use THC or CBD. Researchers said, “But THC products in particular may make exercise feel harder.”
A study that came out in 2024 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science also indicated that people who use cannabis regularly are driven and eager to do things that need effort.
Michael Inzlicht, a professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough who was part of the study, stated, “Historically, the cannabis literature tended to focus a lot on the negative medical effects of chronic use.” “People think that chronic cannabis users are somehow lazy or unproductive.” But this study found that people were willing and able to put in the same amount of effort when high as they were when they weren’t.
How do you interpret these findings? Do you also tend to exercise more when you consume cannabis? Let us know in the comments.
