Not sleeping well? Or maybe you’re sleeping too well. If you’re a cannabis user and you’re worried that your cannabis consumption has been affecting your sleep, then this article is just for you.
The use of herbal nightcaps and other natural sleeping aid has been widely accustomed in Eastern medicine. Prominently, ancient Chinese pharmacology has used cannabis mixed with datura to create a substance called a “sagacious sleep powder” or it’s more commonly known in China as shui sheng san. This is because they believe in the positive benefits that cannabis has on acting as an aid for sleeping.
Western culture is slowly catching up with the increase in research to find out exactly how cannabis and sleep correlate to one another. If you are used to using cannabis you may be familiar with having either negligible dreamscape during your sleep or the other end where you’d have bizarre and extreme visuals during the night.
This may make you wonder. Should you be bothered about this? How does cannabis affect your dreaming or sleep cycle exactly? Well, that’s what we are here to talk to you about today.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DREAMING
Before we continue we need to briefly understand how dreaming works. First, we need to know that the sleep-to-wake cycle has four significant phases. Typically, a person would spend five percent (5%) on stage one which is known as the lightest part of the four phases. After this comes stage two of the sleep-to-wake cycle, this phase is usually seen as the time where your heart rate and temperature drop. Most people would generally spend most of their time sleeping in this phase.
The third stage or stage three of the cycle is known as the deepest phase of your sleep. There have been studies that have shown that if you were to be woken up during this stage you’d more likely woke up in a terrible mood and inattentive to your environment. Additionally, most of the tissue repair and growth that the body undergoes happens during this phase. Last but not the least, stage four or the REM phase is the time your body spent dreaming. REM is a mnemonic for rapid eye movement. The REM phase usually lasts for two hours, less or more depending on how long you sleep.
Dr. Jordan Tishler who is the President and CEO of the Association of Cannabis Specialists and an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School has stated the importance of sleep, and the REM phase in particular. What you may not know is that dreams aren’t a simple part of your sleep-to-wake cycle, instead, it’s an integral part of the restorative process and the memory and learning apparatus from the information that you’ve gathered throughout the day. Most importantly, Dr. Tishler highlighted that the deprivation of REM could result in mood alterations and cognitive dysfunction.
CANNABIS AND HOW IT AFFECTS DREAMING
Let’s be clear, there is no black-and-white or direct answer to the question of how cannabis affects your sleep cycle. This is due to the lack of research that has been done on the topic to create a definitive answer. However, there have been researches done that shows that cannabis can decrease or suppress the REM phase of your sleep. Basically saying that it lessens or removes the dreaming part of your sleep.
THC in particular has been seen affecting how long this cycle is. Based on research, THC cannabis users have been reported to have shorter REM cycles. However, the data that has been gathered through these researches aren’t easily replicable to make a determinant answer.
So to the question of whether suppressing the REM phase is good or bad, the answer that Dr. Tishler can give is only, it depends.
On the other hand, the other cannabinoid that is often present in most cannabis products is CBD. Unlike THC, CBD provides the same effects minus the sense of high to the user. The results of research done between THC and CBD have also been different. Significantly, CBD cannabis users report having more vivid, lucid, and positive dreams. Additionally, they are also said to be able to recall their dreams with more details.
HOW TO PROTECT THE REM PHASE AS A AVID CANNABIS CONSUMER
If you are worried that you are damaging your sleep-to-wake cycle then it’s important to get checked by a specialist. However, it is important to remember that if you are using cannabis to help aid you in your sleep, then having vivid or lucid dreams from CBD-infused cannabis products is better than insomnia.
While, if you aren’t fond of these bizarre dreams then THC-based products may be for you. But remember, that you must never cycle through REM suppression and REM rebound. REM rebound occurs as a result of extensive use of cannabinoids which results in these vivid dreams.
Now that you know how cannabis affects your sleep and if you are interested to get the best quality products in the market then look no further than Sativa Bliss. To help aid your sleep, we at Sativa Bliss offer a wide variety of cannabis products from, flowers, oils, vapors, edibles, topicals, and more.
Check out our website for more information! Happy dreaming!
