For centuries, cannabis has been used by many communities to aid sleep. However, given that both its benefits and side-effects are not always clear-cut, anyone who intends to use it as a sleep-aid should do so with caution.
Cannabis for medicinal and recreational use has been legalized in Canada, and across the US, several states have already legalized the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Other states are moving with great speed to legalize the drug.
As cannabis becomes more accessible to millions of people, a lot of people ask themselves the question of whether it could be used as a sleep aid.
So, does it really help with sleep?
Cannabis gives you a relaxed mind that can help induce sleep. At least according to research conducted in the 1970s where researchers sought answers to whether or not cannabis induces sleep. It’s important to mention that studies on cannabis and sleep are relatively scarce due to the legal status of the drug.
As the drug gains widespread adoption following its change of legal status in some US states, more people are changing their attitude towards it and are increasingly interested in knowing more about its medicinal value.
The cannabis plant consists of many elements, but the most popular are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD is known to be non-psychoactive, meaning that it cannot get you high. On the other hand, THC is a psychoactive element that causes the feeling of a high. Since CBD has already proved to have some medical benefits, it’s not a surprise that most research on cannabis seems to focus on this in particular.
What do studies say?
One study was conducted on two types of participants: those with sleep difficulties and those without. Here researchers found that consuming cannabis reduced the time before falling asleep for both of these groups.
In another study carried out in 2014, researchers were looking at the relationship between people who lose their sleep due to anxiety (as is the case with post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD) and cannabis. At the time, five states had approved the use of medical cannabis in order to manage PTSD. Researchers found out that most people with PTSD were using cannabis to fall asleep. However, they noted that the long-term effects of cannabis usage was unknown and recommended that more research in this area was needed. Another 2017 study also noted that the efficiency of cannabis in treating insomnia remained unclear and that more studies were needed in this area.
When researchers subjected rats with anxiety to CBD, they found out that they were getting deeper sleep. However, yet another study seems to contradict this one. An earlier study conducted on humans only found that THC acted as a sedative, while CBD kept participants more alert.
A 2016 study found out that young adults who had no reported sleep disorders were negatively affected by cannabis use as they reported to have lower-quality sleep. After this study, researchers recommended large-scale research in order to figure out the effect that cannabis had on sleep.
As it stands, most of the evidence points towards that cannabis helping sleep is anecdotal. As such, there’s a need for further investigations to find out whether the benefits are real or not. It won’t be such a surprise to learn that cannabis was only helpful to people with sleep disorders like insomnia.
Should I take cannabis for sleep?
Most cannabis users use it alongside tobacco, a known carcinogen. Cannabis use is also known to have other negative impacts such as addiction and deterioration of mental health in people who already have pre-existing anxiety disorders.
It’s worth noting that although cannabis could help with sleep, taking it daily as a sleep inducer is not recommended as it could lead to addiction. Importantly, there are long-term natural remedies for sleep difficulties worth exploring.
These include:
- Observing consistent sleep cycles by going to bed and waking up at a given time each day.
- Sleeping in a dark and quiet room.
- Not eating large meals an hour before going to bed.
- Doing regular exercises
- Avoiding coffee and caffeine especially in the immediate hours before going to sleep.
Takeaways
If you choose to use cannabis in order to induce sleep, it’s advisable that you pick a consumption method that best fits you. This varies from person to person as everyone has his or her preferences.
Finally, anyone looking to use cannabis to deal with their sleep problems should consult a doctor.