Cannabis for Insomnia

Today we are going to talk all about Cannabis for Insomnia.  We will address CBD and THC separately as each of these components of cannabis can have different effects on treating insomnia and we want you to be informed about your options.  To understand cannabis for insomnia, we must first truly understand what insomnia is.

What is Insomnia?

According to guidelines from a physician group, insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so.  Racing-thoughts, pain and tossing and turning can keep people awake for hours on end.  People with insomnia can feel frustrated with their sleep and usually experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• fatigue,
• low energy,
• difficulty concentrating,
• mood disturbances,
• and decreased performance at work or at school.

One in four Americans experiences insomnia each year and out of those people, about 25% of them report it to be acute or chronic.

30 to 35% have brief symptoms of insomnia. 15 to 20% have a short-term insomnia disorder, which lasts less than three months. 10%-25% have a chronic insomnia disorder, which occurs at least three times per week for at least three months.

THE CBD ROUTE – Cannabis for Insomnia

Cannabidiol — also known as CBD — is one of the main cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. Cannabinoids interact with your endocannabinoid system, which helps your body maintain a state of balance and stability or homeostasis.

Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD isn’t psychoactive, meaning it won’t get you “high.” Instead, it has a range of health applications and there is some research and anecdotal evidence that suggests that CBD can also help you get a good night’s sleep. Here’s what you need to know about using CBD for sleep.

If your insomnia is caused by external factors or related conditions, CBD may help by treating the causes of sleeplessness.

Research published in 2019 looked at whether CBD could improve sleep and or reduce anxiety. The study involved 72 subjects, with 47 experiencing anxiety and 25 experiencing poor sleep. The subjects were each given 25 milligrams (mg) of CBD in capsule form each day. In the first month, 79.2 percent of the patients reported lower anxiety levels and 66.7 percent reported better sleep.

Pain, which may also cause sleep problems, can be helped by CBD as well. A 2018 review in Frontiers in Pharmacology noted that there’s a fair amount of evidence to support the claim that CBD soothes pain. The authors note that by reducing chronic pain, CBD can improve sleep.

Other research tells us that CBD affects the sleep cycle. Research from 2014 looked at four patients with Parkinson’s disease. It found that CBD improved the symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a disorder in which a person acts out their dreams. RBD is associated with poor sleep and nightmares.

Even studies that conclude that CBD can improve sleep aren’t always able to say why. Most studies emphasize that we need more research on CBD before we fully understand how it affects our sleep.

However, as mentioned above, many researchers say that CBD improves sleep because it tackles the root causes of insomnia.  As more research is done on CBD, we’ll learn more and more about why and how it can help us sleep.  Original Article.

THE THC ROUTE – Cannabis for Insomnia

The cannabis plant has been used for centuries as a sleep aid. Contemporary scientific research has measured what people have known and experienced since ancient times: cannabis has relaxing and sedative effects. In particular, cannabis makes falling asleep easier. One recent study found that cannabis shortens the time it takes to fall asleep, both for people with sleep problems and people who fall asleep without trouble. Among people with active difficulty falling asleep, cannabis use resulted in an average of 30 minutes less time in falling asleep. The study also included a group of people who were able to fall asleep without difficulty. Among this group of strong sleepers, cannabis helped them fall asleep even faster, by 15 minutes.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis. THC is what gives the high that’s associated with cannabis use. THC can provide pain relief, and is also useful in reducing nausea. Research shows THC has sedative effects, and can make it easier to fall asleep. There’s also emerging evidence suggesting that THC may improve breathing during sleep, which makes THC a potential therapy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

THC appears to alter time spent in stages of sleep. Specifically, THC has been found to reduce time spent in REM sleep and increase time spent in slow-wave sleep.

Because of this diminished time in REM, THC reduces dreaming. That can be helpful to people who have conditions such as PTSD that involve frequent, disturbing dreams and nightmares. People may experience fewer dreams when using cannabis regularly. After stopping, its common to experience a burst of dreaming. That’s part of what’s known as REM rebound—an increase in REM that happens after REM has been suppressed.

Changes to sleep cycles are one factor to consider when evaluating whether, and how long, to use cannabis. All sleep cycles are important for healthy rest and functioning. Alterations to our nightly sleep architecture, especially over the long-term, can deprive us of the full restorative effects a night of sleep is biologically designed to provide.  Oringial Article.

Your Journey with Cannabis for Insomnia

Ultimately the decision is yours.  We have clients who prefer to use CBD because they specifically do not want the “high” associated with THC, and just as many clients who prefer the feeling of euphoria as they drift off to sleep.

Of special note:  if you do elect to use THC for insomnia, always select an INDICA strain of marijuana.

Here at CalmEffect, we can help you with either Cannabis route.  We carry a wide variety of high-quality, 3rd party-tested CBD products that we can ship right to your door.  If THC is your preference, we can help you get your legal use card in your state.