• Cannabis Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules

Cannabis and insomnia

Kl519

Kl519

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
2,150
Hi. Can anyone explain why cannabis helps people sleep? Please don't say "because it makes you sleepy." I am looking for a more specific answer please.

The reason I'm asking is because I am currently using it specifically to help me sleep, so I am wondering if there are any other safe alternatives besides shitty sleeping pills that I simply refuse to take? Has anyone else gone through this?

My insomnia first started in high school when I was 16, and I remember this specifically because my friends and I were on AIM and helping each other complete our semester projects in just one night. Thankfully it was successful, but after this point I got so use to being active, awake and alert after midnight that I tend to actually function better during this time. So I have just not been able to break my insomnia without the aid of weed. :( This was a whopping ~15 years ago.

I have read many articles and tried following whatever directions I could, but I think my insomnia is just too strong because my biological clock has been totally reversed. About the only thing that works is if I'm doing strenuous, physical activity for a very long time to the point that I pass out when I get home, but even then I'd sleep around 1am.

I know legalization will be coming soon to my area, but in the end I simply do not want to rely and become dependent on it until I have to walk with a cane.

I am fairly certain the total number of sleepless nights have reduced my life span, so I would definitely like to hear responses from anyone who has been through the same, or something similar. What did you do to fix this?

MANY thanks. =D :D
 
I can definitely empathise, i had the same problem for about 4 years.

Short answer, smoking less (not daily) coupled with meditation and exercise helped me get out of this habit long term. Also read up on 'sleep hygiene'- stuff like having a bedtime routine that remains the same etc. A big part of this is not using computer screens or phones for an hour or two before bed (or in bed). Melatonin is apparently also worth pursuing but i don't have any info or firsthand experience.

Another important factor was how it was linked to anxiety for me. I would stress out if i had no bud because i would think i would get no sleep, this would then make the whole situation much worse as i would be stressed and unable to sleep in addition to having no weed. Eventually i just told myself i had to get over it, and the biggest step in this process was just letting go of the stress related to being tired and out of it the next day if i couldn't knock myself out.

I won't say it didn't suck for a week or two but that's honestly about as long as it took for me to start sleeping through most of the night again (this was the period where meditation and exercise were most useful).

This was all after trying kava tablets and benzos (which worked to some degree but are not long term solutions). Essentially, i think it is just about forming better sleep habits and maintaing them on a regular basis, while also providing your body with enough stimulation to warrant sleep. The meditation is excellent at stopping annoying racing thoughts.

And if you're anything like me, get off the damn computer!

Hope some of this helped and good luck

Also sorry to answer your question about why it helps sleep, i think just because it's a central nervous system depressant? Don't know enough about the mechanism of action to be more specific
 
Some strains help, others don't. Strong "head high" sativas actually make me feel more awake, but I've had some strains that are very potent hypnotics...one in particular, "Critical Mass", put me out like a light every time I smoked it. It got to the point where I'd only smoke it shortly before bed because otherwise I'd just take a nap in the middle of the day. That shit was more effective than the Ambien I currently take. Good ol' strong indicas.
 
Thank you for these responses. I will surely try those methods, treedweller. I do exercise and I'm quite fit/in shape, but maybe I need to pick up a sport again because running gets old.

I do have anxiety too. Nothing major, but major events tend to incite plenty of anxiety in my head. It just doesn't show because people say I tend to look emotionless most of the time, but inside there's plenty of it. Stress and worries are things I really don't show.

Anyway, thanks a bunch.
 
Even weed I wouldn't want to make a habit out of for sleep. I hate insomnia. IMO it's worse than anxiety and mood drops. What I do is lay still and clear my head. It works but you gotta be a calm, patient person. Once you keep tossing and turning it's like impossible to sleep.

Sometimes I can't sleep without weed though and it takes 1-2hrs to KO.
 
Cannabis makes me alert. When it comes down, I can sleep.
 
I drink a cup or two of lemon balm tea and shut the PC or phone off two hours before bedtime to lie in bed and read, find it really helps get through the first rough night or two starting a tolerance break. Lemon balm is a well-known GABA antagonist so it helps to bring on the calm needed to drift off to sleep instead of just lying in bed tossing and turning.
 
Lemon balm tea, huh...I'll try that out some time. Thanks. I gather that's it's healthy too. :)

Thank you.
 
Erikmen said:
Cannabis makes me alert. When it comes down, I can sleep.
Click to expand...

That's what it was like for me when I used cannabis. Unless I was coming down, or was basically at baseline but had drank a beer or two I couldn't sleep while stoned. But very strong edibles sedated me to the point where I thought I was going to pass out.

If you have insomnia get into meditation, do some cardio exercise during the day even if it's just taking a walk daily, avoid caffeine in the late afternoon evening, and some people find chamomile, lavender, lemon balm/lemon verbena, and rooibos when steeped for 10 minutes in hot water to be relaxing before bed.

Also, avoid using your cellphone, computer, etc. for at least 2 hours before bed like thujone posted.

Get into a regular sleep cycle as difficult as it can be, try to wake up and go to bed at the same times each day and night.
 
I've had problems with insomnia for a while now. Ideally, you would figure out what the root cause of your insomnia is and fix that instead of adding in other things to compensate. For example, your hormones could be off: not enough melatonin being produced because you're getting exposed to too much blue-colored light after dark, not enough tryptophan in your diet, or other reasons. or maybe too much cortisol at night because you're stressed out, or your body's ability to break down hormones is compromised. Another problem could be chronic inflammation, maybe even in a way that you don't notice it obviously, like in your gut, because your diet is bad, or your intestinal bacteria is out of whack, an autoimmune disease, etc.

As far as weed goes, it stimulates the body to produce melatonin, and for some it also helps clear the mind of thoughts (though sometimes this is only with some strains or an hour or two after smoking and the high has calmed down).

Some general recommendations I can make:
- avoiding screens and other sources of blue light for a couple hours before bed is great. You can also get orange-colored glasses, or there's an app that changes color schemes based on the time of day called f.lux.
- get enough exercise during the day. this is really important for some people
- eat a good diet, or at least cut out the worst crap like candy and soda.
- try meditating. or yoga if you want a meditative-type exercise
- accupressure mats are pretty popular for insomnia, you could try that out.

ask yourself which of these is factoring into your insomnia (1) not feeling sleepy (2) restless/overactive mind (3) pain
for (1) you need to do things to improve your melatonin situation
for (2) you need calming things, like meditation, yoga, calming herbs and supplements. i like min-tran by standard process and L-theanine
for (3) you gotta resolve the pain :p
 
ManRider said:
I've had problems with insomnia for a while now. Ideally, you would figure out what the root cause of your insomnia is and fix that instead of adding in other things to compensate. For example, your hormones could be off: not enough melatonin being produced because you're getting exposed to too much blue-colored light after dark, not enough tryptophan in your diet, or other reasons. or maybe too much cortisol at night because you're stressed out, or your body's ability to break down hormones is compromised. Another problem could be chronic inflammation, maybe even in a way that you don't notice it obviously, like in your gut, because your diet is bad, or your intestinal bacteria is out of whack, an autoimmune disease, etc.

As far as weed goes, it stimulates the body to produce melatonin, and for some it also helps clear the mind of thoughts (though sometimes this is only with some strains or an hour or two after smoking and the high has calmed down).

Some general recommendations I can make:
- avoiding screens and other sources of blue light for a couple hours before bed is great. You can also get orange-colored glasses, or there's an app that changes color schemes based on the time of day called f.lux.
- get enough exercise during the day. this is really important for some people
- eat a good diet, or at least cut out the worst crap like candy and soda.
- try meditating. or yoga if you want a meditative-type exercise
- accupressure mats are pretty popular for insomnia, you could try that out.

ask yourself which of these is factoring into your insomnia (1) not feeling sleepy (2) restless/overactive mind (3) pain
for (1) you need to do things to improve your melatonin situation
for (2) you need calming things, like meditation, yoga, calming herbs and supplements. i like min-tran by standard process and L-theanine
for (3) you gotta resolve the pain :p
Click to expand...

Wow, lots of info to absorb. Thanks. Definitely 1 and 2, and also my alertness is heightened at night. I recognize that this happens for most people during day time. Or that's the way it should be.

I've had a recent doctor's visit, and I guess I'm okay. I just need to quit smoking cigs. x_x it's hard as hell though. And that's a whole other topic too.

But yeah, I'll try to integrate all of this stuff. Ty.
 
melatonin can help a ton. you say you don't like pills but when you smoke your body releases a bunch of melatonin which is one reason smoking can make you sleepy. when im doing a t break or just didnt smoke for a day i cannot sleep without it. hope it helps
 
Theory is that the cannabinoid system & the body's natural cannabinoid Anandamide helps to regulate sleep in some way. I don't think there are any safer alternatives to cannabis for insomnia. Cannabis edibles, or milk drinks might be more effective for sleep & probably less damaging than smoking.
 
Cool. Thanks for all of the responses, not a single one went unnoticed. New information is always great. :)
 
Kl519 said:
Cool. Thanks for all of the responses, not a single one went unnoticed. New information is always great. :)
Click to expand...

Hey, I didn't read through all the responses here (there's a couple rather long ones) but, if it hasn't been mentioned, have you tried taking melatonin for your sleep problems?

I take 5mg nearly every night and I'm out like a lamp about an hour, hour and a half later.

I used to take diphenhydramine (50mg-100mg) every night for literally years, but then I started to have weird chest pains and blood pressure issues that disappeared whenever I wouldn't take the stuff so I had to find a new sleep aid for my sleeping difficulties.



Seriously. Melatonin. It's a godsend. 5mg on my 130lb self and it works every. Single. Night. I started out with 2mg about a year ago and I slowly upped it to 5mg instant release doses. Only problem with long-term melatonin usage is that it's something your body produces naturally to regulate your sleeping cycles. If your body gets too used to melatonin from external sources like pills or gel caps, it may start to become less efficient (or, in extreme cases) incapable of producing the stuff on it's own. I feel like that would take some serious long-term usage to get to that point, though.
 
I found that Melatonin combined with Vitamin B-3 gave me very nice lucid dreams.

I was very careful not to combine Melatonin with other drugs even cannabis, as I was not sure if it was safe to do this. So I have no experience with this.
 
Damn Kl519, sorry to hear about your insomnia. It can bell hell. I know, because I ave severe chronic pain and don't sleep everyday. I'm glad weed helps you. When I was younger weed used to cause insomnia for me.

You ever hear of that gene tat causes some people to be "night owls"? I don't recall the name of the gene, but it actually causes some people to live on a different sleep schedule/cycle. There's a certain percentage of people that have it and it causes them to not only stay up all night, but they feel better and do better when they're on a "night shift shift" schedule.

I'm not sure why some people can sleep better when smoking weed and why others can't. I think for some people it allows them not only to relax, but it allows them to clear their mind, so they're not up all night thinking about "s**t". It also changes your brain patterns (and brain waves), but I don't know enough about that to give an explanation. You could probably Google it though, if you wanted to read up on it.
 
you're probably a night owl friend :) two types of people in regards to functioning during certain times: morning efficient people and night efficient people. depending on which one you are, you will function better during this time. you'd do better in night school if you're generally a night owl. it's a good way to maximize your abilities.

also i have found melatonin safe to mix with many substances from cannabis to LSA. though it doesn't add anything to the experience although i find it combined with cannabis helps greatly too. also valarian root, 5 htp, choline, catnip, and chamomile all help a restful sleep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top