Cannabis & Dreams
CANNABIS AND SLEEP
A common patient experience you may have either heard of, or experienced yourself is bizarre or vivid dreams when cutting back or quitting cannabis products. We dive into what may cause or contribute to this, and how to support your sleep.
What happens to my brain when I use THC/CBD products?
Cannabis products usually contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol CBD, two components that act on endocannabinoid receptors in our brain and body. Activating these receptors causes symptoms that vary in intensity and sensation depending on the method that the cannabis is being delivered, and the percentage or strength of each product (THC or CBD).
For THC products the impact tends to be a psychoactive element or “high” that you experience, which can feel like drowsiness, hallucinations, and short term memory impacts .
CBD products impact pain receptors, improving pain, but it has also been found to have some psychoactive elements that cause altered blood flow to the brain.
How does this impact sleep?
Like most recreational drugs, cannabis (depending on the form and dose), can impact our ability to have good quality sleep. This may sound counterintuitive because often people feel that cannabis can help them fall asleep. While it may help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep (which sometimes suits certain patients depending on their case), it also impacts the sleep cycles in our brain, drastically reducing the amount of Rapid-Eye Movement sleep (REM sleep) we are experiencing.
REM sleep is the time during our sleep cycle where we dream, process our emotions, and is important in memory consolidation.
This is not unlike other recreational substances like alcohol. Which can often help us get to sleep, but impact the quality of sleep we are experiencing.
What happens when we stop using cannabis for sleep/in general?
Long term, chronic cannnabis users often find they experience vivid, bizarre dreams or even nightmares when they quit using cannabis products. This is due to a rebound effect from that repressed REM sleep, which can cause vivid and intense dreams.
We see this in melatonin use as well, when patients experience vivid dreams with melatonin, it may be due to the fact or brain is “feasting” on REM sleep after being deprived of it from poor sleep.
If cannabis has been used to manage anxiety or stress, this may also play a role in the worsening of sleep, as anxiety, worry, stress and other mental health concerns can be tied to difficulties falling asleep. Without the cannabis to manage the symptoms of these concerns, sleep may once again be impacted.
What can I do?
If you are cutting back on cannabis, or cutting it out completely there are some things you can do reduce the likelihood of the scary dreams.
This might involve practicing good sleep hygiene, which are a set of behaviours that make our environment most conducive to sleep.
Limit Screens & Stressful Stimulus
Try putting away your phone, laptop, tablet, and taking a break from TV or any other type of screen for an hour before bed.
Limit exposure to stressful stimulus before bed (conversations, work, the news - whatever that might be for you).
Do a calming activity before bed
You have put your screens away, and you have an hour before you go to bed - now what? Try doing a calming activity before bed - and find what works for you. This could be reading, listening to a audiobook or podcast, doing a sleep meditation. drinking tea, doing your skin care routine, painting your nails, writing the next greatest novel, listening to music - whatever works for you that you enjoy and gets you off your phone, computer or Netflix.
Make your room a cave
Ensure that your room is set up for your best sleep by ensuring it is dark, cool, and quiet. Cover any windows with good quality curtains, and any lights that might be shining in your room from electronics.
Use fans, thermostats, or blankets to create a cool environment no matter what the weather is outside - our core temperature needs to drop a bit before our body is able to fall asleep, this can help with encouraging quicker time to sleep.
Finally, try to create a quiet environment for you to sleep - this might mean using ear plugs, fans, or white noise machines depending on how noisy your area is. We love these ear plugs for side sleepers.
Still have trouble sleeping?
If you have a hard time sleeping, or you were using cannabis or alcohol to help with your sleep - you may want to talk to a health care provider about the root cause of your insomnia or work with someone who has prescribing rights to medical cannabis who can guide your usage (in Ontario these rights are only held by MDs and Nurse Practitioners).
Often, sleep is disturbed as a result of anxiety, depression, stress and people feel an improvement with cannabis or alcohol because it helps reduce the uncomfortable symptoms or feelings associated. Sleep can also be impacted by chronic pain, age, hormonal changes, and other health conditions.
Getting to the root cause of why you are having trouble sleeping, is important to determine what we should be focusing our efforts on, and providing you effective tools that will manage your health concerns while also promoting a good quality sleep.
Book with one of our naturopathic doctors, to see how we can support you with your sleep.