Cannabis and Sleep

 

'Many a poor sore-eyed student that I have heard would grow faster, both intellectually and physically, if instead of sitting up so very late, he honestly slumbered a fool's allowance.'

 

 - Walking, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.

 

 

'Cannabis can be a splendid sleep aid, which is why many consumers keep a go-to favorite by their bedside. Even people with the most stubborn insomnia can find their escape to the dream world with a nice sedating indica. While most consumers are aware that cannabis can help you get a good night’s sleep, there’s a lot more to that relationship than you might think. For example, did you know older dried cannabis makes you sleepier than fresh bud? And did you know that marijuana inhibits dreams?'

- Leafly

 

 

'The researchers found that overall, cannabis helped seniors get, on average, an 30 extra minutes of sleep. Those being studied used smartphones and actigraphy watches to log their sleep patterns, similar to the way sleep patterns are logged by smartwatch devices. The patients recorded when they fell asleep and woke up and if they took the watches off.' 

 

- High Times

 

Good sleep is sleep that covers the different sleep cycles, enabling a person to wake up rested and refreshed. Usually something like 6 and a half to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is said to be sufficient for an adult. Sleep is the time when the body and mind recharge and heal. The mind, during sleep, processes information that did not get attention during waking hours, helping the sleeper to come to terms with the past, present and future.

In today's connected world, it is very difficult for a person to disconnect from his or her devices, work, and distractions, so as to have a good night's sleep. With the advent of the smartphone, many people find it difficult to disengage from the constant flow of information that is reaching their finger tips. This is an issue with both adults and children alike. Long hours spent without sleep affects the body's biorhythm and plays havoc with one's appetite, metabolism, energy levels and immune system, making a person more susceptible to various kinds of illnesses. Inability to calm the mind, when one lies down to sleep, makes a person spend a restless night in bed. To tackle this, people are resorting to sleeping pills, sedatives, alcohol, and other dangerous drugs like benzodiazepines to fall asleep. The problem with all this is that the sleep that one undergoes under the influence of these drugs is unnatural sleep, in addition to the dangerous long term side effects that these drugs produce. A significant number of people have not woken up from the sleep induced by these medications.

Cannabis users have long proclaimed the plant's ability to produce sound uninterrupted sleep. Many people start using cannabis after they experience its ability to tackle insomnia. This, and its analgesic, anxiolytic and stress-relieving properties,  are some of the major reasons why the elderly are the fastest growing age group these days adopting cannabis where it is been legalized. High Times reported that - 'The researchers found that overall, cannabis helped seniors get, on average, an 30 extra minutes of sleep. Those being studied used smartphones and actigraphy watches to log their sleep patterns, similar to the way sleep patterns are logged by smartwatch devices. The patients recorded when they fell asleep and woke up and if they took the watches off.'

More middle-aged persons are preferring cannabis to alcohol or opioids at the end of a hard day's work. In the past as well, cannabis was widely used by India's laboring classes, who formed the vast majority of society, as a way to relieve fatigue after a hard day's work, and to get a good night' sleep and rest.

There have been statements from various medical bodies talking in favor and against cannabis. Yet the proof lies in the increasing number of people signing up for cannabis, and their feedback, in terms of how cannabis has brought sound sleep and rest back into their lives. NORML reports that  -'Patients frequently report consuming cannabis to treat sleep-related issues, particularly insomnia, according to survey data published in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep. Researchers affiliated with the University of Sydney surveyed 1,600 Australians regarding their use of medical cannabis. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed acknowledged consuming cannabis to mitigate symptoms of a sleep disorder, typically insomnia. Most respondents said that cannabis greatly improved their sleep quality. A majority of respondents also said that they decreased their consumption of benzodiazepines and alcohol following their use of cannabis – a finding that is consistent with other studies.'

Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the much maligned cannabis compound that most people regard as public enemy number one, the compound that most people want banned even if the rest of the cannabis plant is legalized, the most medicinal cannabis compound, is one of the key compounds in cannabis that aids in good sleep. Speaking of his experience with accidentally dosing on 10 times the normal amount of THC, a user writes in Leafly - ''I noticed a few other things. In addition to my perma-grin, the pain in my hips from the previous day’s workout was gone. The tension in my neck and shoulders from sitting at a computer for most of the day was nowhere to be found. While 10 mg might have just taken the edge off, 100 had me feeling as light as a feather. When the time to sleep finally came, I clocked 10 hours of shuteye, something I haven’t done in years. No cold sweats, no meltdowns, no emergency room visits—just relaxation, a quiet mind, and a seriously deep rest.''

 

If you dosed ten times the normal amount with synthetic pharmaceutical sleep medicine, or even alcohol for that matter, why, if you dozed even five times the normal amount, you could very likely end up sleeping permanently. That is the safety profile of cannabis as an aid to sleep. This is especially relevant when one considers that most users of sleep medicine are the elderly, who are likely to forget whether, or how much, sleep medicine they have consumed, and so greatly increasing the risk of overdosing. Also, the consumption of synthetic pharmaceutical sleep medicine, is one of the common ways of committing suicide. Cannabis, as sleep medicine, would take this option for suicide out of the picture.Prolonged use of synthetic pharmaceutical sleep medicine is addictive, and most physicians warn their patients against using these medicines over long periods of time.

Most synthetic pharmaceutical sleep medicines are not suitable for children, and neither is alcohol. Until the 19th century, in India, before cannabis prohibition began, cannabis was administered to children, as sweetmeats or the beverage bhang, to enable them to sleep. This was particularly in the case of restless or hyperactive children. As supporting evidence we see the following witness statements from the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1895: Mr. F. Levy, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Salt and Abkari, Southern Division, says "Majum is, however, said to be given to children to make them sleep"; Hospital Assistant Chinny Sreenivasa Rau, Prapanna Komity, L. F. Hospital, Bobbili Vizagapatam District, states that "A confection called kutimajuma is given to children for producing sound sleep, good appetite, and as a remedy in dysentery"; Surgeon-Major H. W. B. Boyd, Superintendent, Colaba Lunatic Asylum, Bombay, says "It is not usual to give these drugs to children, but in exceptional cases bhang is used in the form of bala golee, viz., pills mixed with aromatics, for colic in infants, and also as a sedative in restlessness of new-born infants"; Surgeon-Major G. T. Thomas, Civil Surgeon, Moulmein, says "Children in Upper India are given these drugs to induce sleep." In places in the U.S. and Europe, where cannabis has been legalized for medical purposes, it is used to treat autism and extreme forms of epilepsy in children, as well as to provide relief for young children suffering from terminal cancer. This is especially so when all other forms of treatment have failed to improve the condition of the children, some of whom are tiny infants. In most of the above conditions, the intent is to enable the child to sleep and get rest.

Related articles

The following list of articles taken from various media speak about the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of yours truly at the time of reading the article. 

'Patients frequently report consuming cannabis to treat sleep-related issues, particularly insomnia, according to survey data published in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep.

Researchers affiliated with the University of Sydney surveyed 1,600 Australians regarding their use of medical cannabis.

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed acknowledged consuming cannabis to mitigate symptoms of a sleep disorder, typically insomnia.

Most respondents said that cannabis greatly improved their sleep quality. A majority of respondents also said that they decreased their consumption of benzodiazepines and alcohol following their use of cannabis – a finding that is consistent with other studies.

Those who reported consuming cannabis were most likely to acknowledge using THC-dominant cannabis products.'

https://norml.org/news/2023/04/27/survey-patients-frequently-report-using-cannabis-to-combat-sleep-disorders/

'Investigators affiliated with Luther College in Iowa and with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota reviewed data from 34 human trials assessing the use of CBD on insomnia symptoms.

“All studies reported improvement in the insomnia symptoms of at least a portion of their participants,” authors reported.

They concluded, “The results of our systematic review suggest that CBD alone or with equal quantities of THC may be beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of insomnia.”

Randomized, placebo-controlled trial data published in December reported that the short-term use of plant-derived cannabis extracts is well-tolerated and effective in patients diagnosed with insomnia. Patients in the study were administered either extracts containing 10mg of THC and 15mg of CBD or placebo for two weeks. Those receiving cannabis extracts experienced improved sleep quality by up to 80 percent and “60 percent of participants no longer classified as clinical insomniacs at the end of the two-week intervention period.”'

https://norml.org/news/2023/04/06/literature-review-cbd-beneficial-for-treating-insomnia/

'Results: Overall, cannabinoids were perceived to be efficacious across all genders and ages, and no significant differences were found among product forms, ingestion methods, or gender groups. Although all strain categories were perceived as efficacious, predominant indica strains were found to reduce insomnia symptomology more than cannabidiol (CBD) strains (estimated mean difference 0.59, SE 0.11; 95% CI 0.36-0.81; adjusted P<.001) and predominant sativa strains (estimated mean difference 0.74, SE 0.16; 95% CI 0.43-1.06; adjusted P<.001). Indica hybrid strains also presented a greater reduction in insomnia symptomology than CBD strains (mean difference 0.52, SE 0.12; 95% CI 0.29-0.74; adjusted P<.001) and predominant sativa strains (mean difference 0.67, SE 0.16; 95% CI 0.34-1.00; adjusted P=.002).

Conclusions: Medicinal cannabis users perceive a significant improvement in insomnia with cannabinoid use, and this study suggests a possible advantage with the use of predominant indica strains compared with predominant sativa strains and exclusively CBD in this population. This study emphasizes the need for randomized placebo-controlled trials assessing the efficacy and safety profile of cannabinoids for the treatment of insomnia.'

https://www.jmir.org/2021/10/e25730

'Many a poor sore-eyed student that I have heard would grow faster, both intellectually and physically, if instead of sitting up so very late, he honestly slumbered a fool's allowance.'

 

 - Walking, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.

'Cannabis can be a splendid sleep aid, which is why many consumers keep a go-to favorite by their bedside. Even people with the most stubborn insomnia can find their escape to the dream world with a nice sedating indica. While most consumers are aware that cannabis can help you get a good night’s sleep, there’s a lot more to that relationship than you might think. For example, did you know older dried cannabis makes you sleepier than fresh bud? And did you know that marijuana inhibits dreams?

Get ready to learn a thing or two about the ways cannabis can help or hinder your nightly hibernation.'

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-and-sleep

'Conclusion
Two-weeks of nightly sublingual administration of a cannabinoid extract (ZTL-101) is well tolerated and improves insomnia symptoms and sleep quality in individuals with chronic insomnia symptoms.'

https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sleep/zsab149/6296857

'I noticed a few other things. In addition to my perma-grin, the pain in my hips from the previous day’s workout was gone. The tension in my neck and shoulders from sitting at a computer for most of the day was nowhere to be found. While 10 mg might have just taken the edge off, 100 had me feeling as light as a feather.

When the time to sleep finally came, I clocked 10 hours of shuteye, something I haven’t done in years. No cold sweats, no meltdowns, no emergency room visits—just relaxation, a quiet mind, and a seriously deep rest.'

https://www.leafly.com/news/health/i-ate-10-times-more-thc-than-i-planned-heres-what-happened

'We found that the majority of individuals from all groups used cannabis to address pain and improve quality of sleep. While PwMS reported lower baseline levels across all five outcomes, we found that the reported effects of cannabis were largely comparable across the groups. We also found that cannabis benefitted persons with sleep and digestive issues regardless of condition, whereas persons who used opioids in addition to cannabis were less likely to experience an improvement in any of the outcomes. This comparative evaluation suggests that cannabis’ effects are not specific to MS, arthritis, or cancer as much as they impact processes common among these distinct conditions. We also found evidence that cannabis may be a viable alternative to opioids for those with these conditions and experiencing pain.'

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/5/532

'Neuropathic pain (NP) is a major health problem that results in a high degree of suffering, physical and psychosocial impairments and exorbitant health care costs. Additionally, patients who suffer from NP experience sleep disturbances. Only a restricted number of drugs are available for treating NP associated insomnia, and side effects are common. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) possess both analgesic and hypnotic effects. However, their mechanisms of action in models of NP are not fully understood yet. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated that animals with a NP condition also develop sleep perturbations characterized by a decrease in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and an increase in wakefulness. Successively, we investigated the effects of CBD and THC in both chronic pain and comorbid insomnia.'

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/rn301615d

'Analysts affiliated with CB2 Insights, a chain of medical cannabis evaluation clinics operating throughout the United States, assessed data from over 61,000 patients seeking medical cannabis evaluations in 12 states over a 17-month period (November 2018 to March 2020).

Patients seeking medical cannabis authorizations were most likely to report their primarily condition to be related to chronic pain (39 percent), followed by anxiety (14 percent) and post-traumatic stress (8 percent). Patients also frequently reported suffering from comorbid conditions for which they sought relief, including insomnia and depression.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/02/11/analysis-medical-cannabis-most-commonly-recommended-for-treating-chronic-pain-conditions

'The researchers found that overall, cannabis helped seniors get, on average, an 30 extra minutes of sleep. Those being studied used smartphones and actigraphy watches to log their sleep patterns, similar to the way sleep patterns are logged by smartwatch devices. The patients recorded when they fell asleep and woke up and if they took the watches off.'

https://hightimes.com/news/cannabis-use-associated-better-sleep-seniors/

'In this pilot study, seventeen (11 HIV+, 6 HIV-) adults aged 50–70 who consumed cannabis completed four daily smartphone-based surveys for 14 days, in which they reported their cannabis use (yes/no) since the last survey. Participants also wore actigraphy watches during the 14-day period to objectively assess sleep quality (i.e., efficiency, total sleep time, and sleep fragmentation). In linear mixed-effects models, cannabis use was significantly associated with greater subsequent total sleep time (ß = 0.56; p = 0.046). Cannabis use was not related to a change in sleep efficiency (ß = 1.50; p = 0.46) nor sleep fragmentation (ß = 0.846, p = 0.756) on days with cannabis use versus days without cannabis use. These preliminary results indicate cannabis use may have a positive effect on sleep duration in middle-aged and older adults'

https://publications.sciences.ucf.edu/cannabis/index.php/Cannabis/article/view/59

'The full scope of the dangerous interaction of chemicals is as yet little known, but disturbing findings now come regularly from scientific laboratories. Among this is the discovery that that the toxicity of an organic phosphate can be increased by a second agent that is not necessarily an insecticide. For example, one of the plasticizing agents may act even more dangerously than another insecticide to make malathion more dangerous. Again, this is because it inhibits the liver enzyme that would normally 'draw the teeth' of the poisonous insecticide.

What of other chemicals in the normal human environment? What, in particular, of drugs? A bare beginning has been made on this subject, but already it is known that some organic phosphates (parathion and malathion) increase the toxicity of some drugs used as muscle relaxants, and that several others (again including malathion) markedly increase the sleeping time of barbiturates.'
 - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962


'And no matter the outcome, the study will do little to curb people selling CBD products. If the pudding does do something, CBD oil brands will have a paper to add to their marketing arsenal. If the special puddling doesn’t do anything for people with chronic pain, it will be easy to ignore; manufacturers can easily word claims about products’ benefits vaguely enough to avoid out-and-out false advertising. But more importantly, once something is in the public imagination as being useful, it’s hard to oust it. CBD has benefited from early studies that suggest legitimate uses from pain management to anxiety to insomnia. It doesn’t matter much that these are typically small, and often in rodents. There’s also the simple fact that it comes from marijuana; that it would do something positive seems logical, in the same way that buying face creams boasting antioxidants seems logical, even though they may only wind up being present in trace amounts. One only really has to note that a product has CBD in order to sell it. '
https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/unfortunately-the-cbd-horse-is-pretty-definitively-out-of-the-barn-so-to-speak.html


'Current users and PU [past users] took MC [Medical Cannabis] to address pain (65.30%), spasms (63.30%), sleeplessness (32.70%), and anxiety (24.00%), and 63.30% reported it offered “great relief” from symptoms. Participants reported that MC is more effective and carries fewer side effects than prescription medications.

Conclusions
Medicinal cannabis is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for a number of SCI[Spinal Cord injury]-related symptoms.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41394-019-0208-6


This also implies reduced use of opioids, benzodiazepines and analgesics...key factors in increased fatalities among men in recent years in the US..

 'Among those who acknowledged using cannabis for medical purposes, 49 percent reported doing so to treat anxiety. Forty-seven percent of respondents said that they used cannabis for insomnia, 42 percent said that they did so to treat chronic pain, and 39 percent said that cannabis eased their depression.

 Respondents most preferred method of cannabis ingestion was inhalation.

 Women, more frequently than men, reported using cannabis to address symptoms of post-traumatic stress, insomnia, anxiety, and migraines. Men were more likely to report using cannabis as a mood stabilizer.'
https://norml.org/news/2020/04/30/survey-cannabis-often-used-to-mitigate-symptoms-of-anxiety-insomnia-and-chronic-pain

"What did you first notice when you started to use it?" asked CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula.

"I think you start to feel it a bit over time and then you realize, 'Oh, wow, I slept a lot better that evening. I didn't wake up in a panic thinking about my long to-do list for the next day,'" Hunt said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbd-oil-cannabidiol-rise-in-popularity/


'Unlike widely used anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs such as benzodiazepines and SSRIs, the acute administration of an anxiolytic dose of CBD does not appear to interfere with the sleep cycle of healthy volunteers. Future studies should address the effects of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle of patient populations as well as evaluate the chronic effects of CBD in larger samples of patients with sleep and neuropsychiatric disorders.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5895650/

'472. There are a few other effects of a beneficial character which are referred to by certain witnesses. They are, however, of a less important character and less generally contemplated than those which have been already considered. Thus the drugs are said to be used sometimes to prevent insomnia and to relieve anxiety, as the consumer of alcohol sometimes takes a "night cap before going to bed" or a glass of wine when he is of heavy heart. The drugs are said to be cheering in their effects, and to be prized by many on this account.'
CH. X. Effects - General Observations, Report Of The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1893-94, https://digital.nls.uk/74464868


'Based on the available evidence, it is the position of the AASM (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) that medical cannabis should not be used for the treatment of OSA (Obstructive sleep apnea). The AASM also advises state legislators, regulators and health departments that OSA should not be included as an indication for their medical cannabis programs. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanistic actions of medical cannabis and its synthetic extracts, the long-term role of these synthetic extracts on OSA treatment, and the harms and benefits.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5886446/


'Gallagher also declined recommendations to add muscular dystrophy, Tourette’s syndrome, eczema and psoriasis as qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program. She agreed to add obstructive sleep apnea.'
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/top-n-m-health-official-rejects-use-of-marijuana-for/article_176f9075-5694-5703-b27d-fdc2e4484182.html


'Main Outcome Measures: Sleep and anxiety scores, using validated instruments, at baseline and after CBD treatment.

Results: The final sample consisted of 72 adults presenting with primary concerns of anxiety (n = 47) or poor sleep (n = 25). Anxiety scores decreased within the first month in 57 patients (79.2%) and remained decreased during the study duration. Sleep scores improved within the first month in 48 patients (66.7%) but fluctuated over time. In this chart review, CBD was well tolerated in all but 3 patients.

Conclusion: Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders. Controlled clinical studies are needed.'
http://www.thepermanentejournal.org/issues/2019/winter/6960-cannabis.html


'The researchers from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Oncology Research Center at HealthPartners/Park Nicollet found that patients with cancer who enrolled in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program reported significant improvement in symptoms, including reduced anxiety, lack of appetite, depression, disturbed sleep, fatigue, nausea, pain and vomiting, within four months of starting the medication.

“It is encouraging to see this evidence that Minnesota’s medical cannabis program is helping cancer patients,” said Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “In addition to helping people with qualifying conditions, the program was designed to help advance scientific understanding of the treatment potential of cannabis. These latest findings demonstrate that the program is making valuable contributions toward that goal as well.”'
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNMDH/bulletins/23cc6d0


'Evening cannabis smokers in general report more restful sleep. Using cannabis allows most people a more complete rest with a higher amount of “alpha time” during sleep as compared with prescription or sleep-inducing patent sedatives. Prescription sleeping pills (the so called “legal, safe and effective” drugs) are often just synthesized analogs of truly dangerous plants like mandrake, henbane and belladonna. As late as 1991, doctors, pharmacists and drug companies were fighting off new legislation to restrict these often abused compounds (L.A. Times, April 2, 1991). Unlike Valium, cannabis does not potentiate the effects of alcohol. It is estimated that cannabis could replace more than 50% of Valium, Librium, Thorazine, Stelazine, other “-zine” drugs and most sleeping pills. It is unconscionable that, over the past two decades, tens of thousands of parents have committed their own children, aged 11 to 17, to be treated by massive doses of so-called “-zine” drugs in order to get them off pot, at the urging of parent groups, the PDFA, the feds and administrators and doctors from federally approved, private and high-profit drug rehabilitation centers. Often, “-zine” drugs do work to stop these youths from using pot. They also stop a kid from loving his or her dog, too – and children stand a one-in-four chance of suffering from uncontrollable shaking for the rest of their lives.* But at least they’re not high. *The U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that 20-40% of “-zine” drug users have or will develop permanent lifetime palsies (shakes), November 1983. These prescription neurotoxins are chemically related to the pesticide and warfare nerve gas Sarin. Hundreds of private drug-rehabilitation centers and their leaders keep this policy alive and in front of the media, often quoting discredited reports from NIDA or DEA (see Chapter 15, Debunking Gutter Science) – because they earn fat profits selling their useless or destructive “marijuana treatment” for children.' - The emperor wears no clothes by Jack Herer


'“Several countries permit the use of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions such as back pain, sleep disorders, depression, post-injury pain, and multiple sclerosis,” the document says. “The evidence presented to the Committee did not indicate that cannabis plant and cannabis resin were liable to produce ill-effects similar to these other substances that are in Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV may not appear to be consistent with the criteria for Schedule IV.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/un-launches-first-ever-full-review-of-marijuanas-status-under-international-law/