sleep aid

We added weed to the viral Sleepy Girl Mocktail, here’s what happened

weed sleepy girl mocktail

The trends of 2023 included the return of the boho aesthetic and the continued revelry of the clean girl aesthetic. Somewhere among the latter sits the Sleepy Girl Mocktail (the “girl” here is genderless). Holistic health practitioner Calee Shea created the drink, which was propelled into further internet fame when content creator Gracie Norton added magnesium into the mix.

This simple drink promises a wicked good night’s sleep, so I obviously got curious about how it would perform if there were weed in it. So, in line with recent coverage of legal psychedelic mushrooms and cannabis kanna mints, I tried it. Before embarking on the journey with me, I want to know what gives the Sleepy Girl Mocktail such staying power.

Power of the Sleepy Girl Mocktail

The original Sleepy Girl Mocktail from Calee Shea uses the power of tryptophan, found in cherry juice. Tryptophan encourages the body to produce melatonin, which can make a person sleepy. That recipe calls to muddle a lime, rosemary, and ginger, add tart cherry juice, and pour sparkling soda over to taste.

Later in the year, Gracie Norton shared her version, which included tart cherry juice, powdered magnesium, and flavored soda water. Magnesium has been shown to possibly reduce cortisol, a stress hormone, which allows the body to create more melatonin. Reducing cortisol also regulates the central nervous system, aiding in falling asleep and staying down until morning.

Trying a Sleepy Girl Mocktail with Weed

These drinks have only gained popularity, and now the concept tends to include any beverages with magnesium. As the trend persisted, I decided to host an experiment, trying the drink with and without weed. I tried the classic cherry juice, soda water, and magnesium drink. A few nights later, I used Cann Lemon Lavender as the soda water.

The non-infused version had me pass out so hard, it alarmed my husband. At that point, I was a little scared to try the drink with weed. But let’s back up and set the stage.

I don’t sleep well. It is sometimes hard to fall asleep, but my biggest issue is waking up every few hours and rolling around until morning. This is one of the reasons I love weed; it helps me get to sleep. So, when I saw this little drinky drink that promises the most legendary rest, I had to try and include my main girl: marijuana.

Mixing up the traditional version, I learned the hard way that over-stirring soda water flattens in. Also, cherry juice has a flat sweetness that requires some zing. I would add lime if I made it again with plain soda. As far as the sleep goes, I passed out before I meant to.

My husband was bringing me a late-night snack, and I fell asleep before delivery, which surprised me. Even more surprising, he tried to wake me multiple times before he succeeded. I also stayed soundly asleep until around 3:30 am. Still, usually I’d wake up all night long, but this drink had me snoozing soundly until dawn.

weed sleepy girl mocktail

A few nights later, I made the same recipe but with the Cann. The sharp, astringent lemon lavender flavor was just what the drink needed. Infusing the Sleepy Girl Mocktail knocked me out faster and harder. What’s more, I didn’t wake up groggy as I do with some edibles for sleep. Alone, the 2.5mg THC, 5mg CBD Cann drink wouldn’t make me fall asleep, lending some of the work to magnesium might take away some of the next day’s hangover.

The only issue with these drinks is that I woke up at 3 a.m. wide awake both nights, but this could be a me-thing. Cortisol should be at its lowest at midnight and kick back up at three in the morning. However, cortisol levels in those with PTSD or complex PTSD might not decrease. Constant cortisol can manifest as three AM wakeups. Let’s blame the trauma for that, not the Mocktail.

Drink this mocktail for better sleep

In the vast world of cannabis sleep products, very little impresses me anymore, but the Sleepy Girl Mocktail left me stunned, shocked, and surprised. I’m not only happy to say that this worked for me but also that I’ll probably be making cherry magnesium drinks on the regular.

Like everything, my experience with the weed Sleepy Girl Mocktail might not mirror your own, but it’s worth sharing. This little drink had some power over a woman who has rarely slept well for over a decade–that’s saying something.

Anyone looking for more natural methods for easy, restful slumber might want to grab some cherry juice and see what happens. Just ask your doctor first if you’re taking prescription medications.

Cara Wietstock is senior content producer of GreenState.com and has been working in the cannabis space since 2011. She has covered the cannabis business beat for Ganjapreneur and The Spokesman Review. You can find her living in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, son, and a small zoo of pets.