Are you thinking of using cannabis for sleep?
Insomnia is one of the most common sleep problems in the world, affecting around 30 to 40 percent of all adults, with around 10 to 15 percent of adults experiencing some chronic variant.
Strikingly, this number climbs even high even in older adults and the elderly, with its prevalence at around 50 to 60 percent. These numbers don’t lie, a large number of people are indeed having issues with falling asleep and remaining in a deep sleep.
The negative effects of insomnia include fatigue, lack of focus, trouble with memory, and moodiness to name a few.
More and more people are utilizing cannabis and weed products as a medicinal treatment to their sleep problems, and many of them report that cannabis allows them to relax at night and achieve a deeper sleep throughout the night.
To find out how cannabis can ease you into a better sleep, keep on reading!
Cannabis for Sleep
Cannabis has a vast array of medical applications, with sleep aid being one of the most popular and enticing ones. For generations, cannabis has acted as an effective remedy to sleep problems like insomnia and stress or anxiety-induced restlessness.
Having been introduced to the limelight thanks to its recent legalization in many areas throughout North America, we’ve devised a list to show you how cannabis may affect your sleep:
Cannabis as a Relaxant
Of the many things cannabis is known for, it’s most famously known for being the “stoner’s” drug of choice for its relaxing and couch-locking effects.
Of course, this plays into its effectiveness with getting insomniacs to sleep. Certain strains can provide a full-body “massage” or sensation that can help reduce any symptoms of chronic pain, soreness, or discomfort that may have a role in disturbing sleep.
Cannabis as a Stress Reliever
Aside from its physically soothing properties, cannabis also provides its therapy through the mind. For people who are overthinkers, anxiety can be a plague to their sleeping routines.
As it is well documented, restlessness can occur from a variety of different factors. However, stress and anxiety are two big components when it comes to preventing a full state of relaxation.
To get a full night’s worth of sleep it isn’t enough to just have your body relaxed, your mind must be calm as well. This is where cannabis shines. It has anti-anxiety and stress-relieving properties that can help put you in the correct state of mind before going off on a snooze.
Cannabis Eliminates Insomnia
As we’ve mentioned above, cannabis is able to put us into the ideal state to initiate sleep. It’s able to simultaneously calm the mind and relax the body so that falling asleep is an easy task. For those who have to deal with insomnia, cannabis may be an option worth considering.
Cannabis as a Sleep Disturbance
While it has been known that cannabis does have an effect on sleep and tends to significantly help those with insomnia, it currently isn’t clear to see whether these effects are positive or negative in nature.
That said, cannabis does definitely have its benefits in the short run, however, our understanding of how the herb affects the health of long term sleep is still somewhat limited.
According to a study conducted in 2017, it was found that the cannabinoids CBD and THC had therapeutic potential in regards to their effects on sleep. The research pointed out that CBD may be able to effectively treat insomnia while THC would potentially be able to decrease sleep latency.
While this is great news for those who suffer from these ailments, it was also found that THC might impair sleep in the long term, and that CBD might stimulate properties if taken in large doses.
Although the understanding of cannabis and its effects on sleep are still in its infancy, a study has found that cannabis reduces total REM sleep, but increases the total duration of Slow-Wave Sleep (deep sleep).
As with any tool used to enhance function, there comes the point where the benefits are no longer present. That said, using cannabis as a crutch may even lead to building tolerance, especially if relied on as a constant means to fall and remain asleep.
Sleep and Your Health
The average human spends on average about one-third of their lives sleeping (about 229,961 hours).
While for some, sleep may not seem like a big deal, we spend an absurd amount of time in this resting phase. During this phase, we are simultaneously repairing our bodies, consolidating our memories, and processing the slew of information we’ve acquired throughout the day.
Sleep is an essential process not only for our physical recovery, but also for our mental and emotional health.
Here are some of the reasons why being well-rested is beneficial to you:
Healthy Sleep Strengthens the Immune System
As we’ve mentioned, our sleep is a recovery and processing phase where we undergo repairs that upgrade and replenish our body and mind.
Those who can get enough sleep are less susceptible to illness since their immune system releases infection-fighting antibodies and proteins called cytokines.
When dealing with stress or sickness, your body needs to increase the release of cytokines and antibodies to combat these stressors. Lack of sleep can inhibit the release of these agents, allowing the stress and sickness to build up.
Healthy Sleep Helps you Stay at an Ideal Weight
Studies have shown that lack of sleep can alter the hormone levels that play a critical role in our satiety and stress management. All of which have a relatively direct relationship to calories consumption and the likelihood of binge eating.
Lack of sleep is associated with reduced Leptin (the satiety hormone) and increased Ghrelin (the hunger hormone) as well as increased cortisol levels (the stress hormone).
Healthy Sleep Removes Irritability
Healthy sleep allows us to repair not only physically and mentally, but also emotionally. Those who get enough sleep (around 7 to 8 hours) can enjoy the benefits of a better mood and an enhanced ability to get along with people much better.
Proper sleep can help tame irritability and in turn, strengthen the relationships with those who are most important to you by removing trivial emotional outbursts.
Does Cannabis For Sleep Work?
The average adult needs about 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day to maintain healthy functioning. It goes without saying that sleep is essential to our health and survival, and not enough of it can cause serious detriments to our well being.
While cannabis may be used to ease the short term struggles of insomnia and other sleep problems, people with these issues should only use cannabis medicinally as a supplement as there is limited validity as to whether cannabis is beneficial to long term sleep patterns.
Sweet dreams!
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