


Scientists have identified more than 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. There are two main components to cannabis I’ll focus on today that are important to sleep: cannabinoids and terpenes. Cannabis also appears to shorten time spent in REM sleep, likely as a result of one of its primary active ingredients, THC (more on this important component of cannabis in a minute.)Ĭannabis contains many different natural chemicals that affect sleepĬannabis has dozens of different natural chemical compounds that have effects on sleep, and sleep cycles. This research falls aligns with other studies that show cannabis use reduces the time it takes to fall asleep, and lengthens time spent in deep, slow wave sleep. Among this group of strong sleepers, cannabis helped them fall asleep even faster, by 15 minutes. The study also included a group of people who were able to fall asleep without difficulty. Among people with active difficulty falling asleep, cannabis use resulted in an average of 30 minutes less time in falling asleep. 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. In particular, cannabis makes falling asleep easier. Contemporary scientific research has measured what people have known and experienced since ancient times: cannabis has relaxing and sedative effects. The cannabis plant has been used for centuries as a sleep aid. I thought I’d take some time to go over some information that may be helpful in understanding how cannabis can affect sleep and sleep-related issues, and whether cannabis is something to consider for your sleep problems, in consultation with your physician.Ĭannabis helps insomnia and other sleep problems

I’ve had a lot of patients and others of you ask me about using cannabis for sleep.
