Marijuana Improves Sleep And Cures Insomnia

Struggling to sleep? Suffering from Insomnia and tired of taking the prescription drugs which cause you more discomfort in your daily struggles? Well, there may be a new way to battle sleepless nights– a dose of medical marijuana.

Over the past 20 years, the majority of the world have had a negative perception of marijuana but with a turn of events the secrets of the plant are being unlocked and gaining some serious attention.

The recent discoveries with regard to the effectiveness of medical marijuana has enabled doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients to treat many different conditions, including Insomnia.

Practitioners from the progressive medical community, who testify to the effectiveness of the medical cannabis, are now suggesting that marijuana can help improve sleep and cure Insomnia for those who suffer from it.

This isn’t, however, groundbreaking news– marijuana has long been acknowledged by marijuana advocates as a safe and effective choice of medicine for insomnia.

So how does marijuana aid insomnia? First, we need to understand what insomnia is.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a common problem and is resulting in millions of people experiencing sleeplessness at night.

Insomnia can be a result of anxiety, depression, stress and many other causes.

For example, according to the article written by Cunnington, D., Junge, M., and Fernando, A., Insomnia: prevalence, consequences and effective treatment, surveys of the Australian population have shown 13%–33% of the adult population has difficulty either getting to sleep or staying asleep.

Below are the major criteria for a diagnosis of insomnia:

Not enough sleep or lack of quality sleep. Symptoms: difficulty getting to sleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking up early in the morning.
Lack of sleep causes significant distress impacting social, occupational, educational, academic, behavioral, or other important areas of functioning.
Sleep difficulty occurs at least three nights per week for at least three months despite enough opportunity to get some sleep.
Insomnia does not co-occur with another sleep disorder.
The insomnia is not explained by coexisting mental disorders or medical conditions.

Basically, suffering from Insomnia can be debilitating and impact your daily life including relationships.

There are many remedies, medications, and therapies which patients try to overcome this problem. Even alternative methods are considered such as:

Sleep Specialist
Psychiatrist to discuss the anxiety or depression that may be causing insomnia
Dietary choices

It is not until recently that marijuana has been openly discussed as an option, despite research dating back many years ago showing evidence of its potential.

A recent study by the Alberta University in Canada, which was based on marijuana aiding appetite for cancer patients, also found that the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) improved their sleeping patterns, compared to those who were not THC receivers.

In addition to this, a study conducted in 1973 on the effects of THC on sleep regulation also supports the effectiveness of medicinal marijuana for Insomnia. It could, in fact, decrease sleep deprivation and increase sleep to the third stage which is the transitional phase between light sleep and a very deep sleep.

Can marijuana improve sleep and cure Insomnia?

Marijuana can trigger sleep through the endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for the medicinal effect of marijuana and has been well-known to take part in the sleep-wake cycle. Some scientists say that the cause of insomnia may be due to the dysfunctional endocannabinoid system, hence, many believe that in treating insomnia, cannabis improves sleep.

Although there are already a number of over-the-counter (OTC) medications made available for the public to aid insomnia, prescription sleeping pills often have the tendency to give you unpleasant side effects when taken.

With new findings surfacing about marijuana medicinal properties, it is possible that marijuana can cure insomnia without the undesirable side effects of prescription sleep aids such as addiction, anxiety, depression, blurred vision, extreme fatigue, and others.

How to best consume medicinal marijuana to aid sleeping

According to MediCann, edible or ingested cannabis needs an hour to kick in but lasts for up to 6-8 hours. As a result, an edible cannabis product, if taken about an hour prior bedtime, can work very well to help have a good night sleep.

Is there a risk for using marijuana as a treatment?

It is important to take note that just like any other drugs if taken over a long period, when you stop taking it, there may be withdrawals that can last a few days or weeks. You should manage your intake responsibly.

You may experience symptoms such as:

Difficulty falling asleep,
difficulty staying asleep, and;
the phenomenon is known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) rebound which often induce strong, clear images in the mind.

We covered the issue of marijuana as an addictive substance in the article “Is Marijuana Addictive” which gives you a good insight into tolerance and managing your use to avoid any withdrawal.

Time for bed

There are a lot of medical marijuana users that are satisfied with its results when it comes to insomnia. According to a testimonial from the CBD crew organization, a patient stated:

“ I’ve been fighting anxiety and insomnia for my whole adult life, after grown and finally harvesting the strain. I sleep better and am able to medicate while doing daily tasks and activities.”

Moreover, another user who suffered from anxiety and insomnia shared:

“I have had some smaller problems with anxiety and insomnia every now and then these last years. This is all gone now”

These testimonies, shared by medical marijuana users, are reassuring that this plant could be the key to managing insomnia and improving sleep patterns for those in need.

Nowadays, treating insomnia is not as hard as it used to be. It is safe to say that cannabis for insomnia is an effective and safe way to attain a good sleep throughout the night without having a hard time experiencing the unpleasant side effects of other over-the-counter sleeping pills prescription by your physician.

Would you opt for marijuana as sleep enhancer to cure your insomnia?

isack cole

With a passion for trends, skating, surfing and travel combined with my passion for the legalisation of Cannabis, I have now found a home at Greendorphin.
My previous experience was writing for large Media Companies but I am now thrilled to be writing about a niche I am most passionate about. Working with Greendorphin is a dream come true and I now join the mission in educating the masses about the miracle plant, Cannabis