Using cannabis for insomnia - is it more powerful than, Melatonin/Chamomile/Valerian?

[Mjäll]

I have chronic mild insomnia with the occasional sleepless night but more typically 3-7 hours of sleep. Always had trouble getting to sleep, and after 25 years of age developed a tendency to awake prematurely aswell.

Cannabis helps me fall asleep, but doesn't keep me from awaking prematurely. Also it seems to suppress REM sleep*, likely resulting in a less complete or less efficient rest. Can't say i've noticed a huge difference either way compared to sobriety, however. Probably it gives me around 1 extra hour of sleep, but lower sleep quality evens it out. I use cannabis for recreational purposes and not for sleep, although the daydreamy* hypnagogic and knockout effect from large doses is a big part of the recreational value for me.

Overall i find the medical potential of cannabis to be overestimated, likely in a collective subconscious attempt to justify using. To me, recreational drug use doesn't need justification.

Melatonin works great for me, both for adjusting the sleep cycle and for sleeping longer. This thread made me consider getting some melatonin again.

*It's almost like cannabis enables you to dream awake, at the expense of dreaming asleep.

 

[Darksidesam]

i think the main bonus of weed mainly high doses of CBD weed it seems (im going to experiment with some CBN) is falling asleep . Not many pills help me to even fall asleep id need at least 20mg diazepam (and i have no tolerance to that i dont take it anymore) i would consider my insomnia worse than mild as well

 

[Ganjcat]

it's certainly healthier

 

[Bagseed]

Does it really help?

I believe it really depends on the user. some people like tired of crap above you, don't really find it that helpful as a sleep aid because of the mental effects (racing thoughts, psychedelic quality). some say it also depends on the strain, but you see that there is no absolute answer here.

I lie somewhere in the middle, sometimes it makes me sleepy, sometimes it keeps me awake. not a reliable sleep aid for me.

 

[SmokinBuddha]

Cannabis is great for sleep however it does cause you to have lower sleep quality. Ever wonder why you don't dream on weed?

Say whaaaaaat? Hell, I dream pretty much every night and that's after a bowl or two or a few rips off a vape right before bed.

 

[SmokinBuddha]

depends on the strain though right?
All sativas seem to stimulate my mind and can keep me awake where as indica is like tucking me into bed and i just relax better

Yes it does. A dispensary in my area carries their own proprietary strain of K.O. Pink and that shit puts me out. 1 bowl kills the pain, 2 bowls knocks out the brain.
As for sativas and indicas, most of my experience has been similar to yours although I've run across the odd sativa that was more sedating than stimulating and some indica strains that don't really make me tired, they just make me feel mellow and relaxed yet sociable at the same time. Pink Kush is one of them.

 

[SmokinBuddha]

I have chronic mild insomnia with the occasional sleepless night but more typically 3-7 hours of sleep. Always had trouble getting to sleep, and after 25 years of age developed a tendency to awake prematurely aswell.

Cannabis helps me fall asleep, but doesn't keep me from awaking prematurely. Also it seems to suppress REM sleep*, likely resulting in a less complete or less efficient rest. Can't say i've noticed a huge difference either way compared to sobriety, however. Probably it gives me around 1 extra hour of sleep, but lower sleep quality evens it out. I use cannabis for recreational purposes and not for sleep, although the daydreamy* hypnagogic and knockout effect from large doses is a big part of the recreational value for me.

Overall i find the medical potential of cannabis to be overestimated, likely in a collective subconscious attempt to justify using. To me, recreational drug use doesn't need justification.

Melatonin works great for me, both for adjusting the sleep cycle and for sleeping longer. This thread made me consider getting some melatonin again.

*It's almost like cannabis enables you to dream awake, at the expense of dreaming asleep.

As I stated above, for me cannabis doesn't interfere with me dreaming in the least. As for people "justifying" use of it for medicinal reasons, it's 100% legal in my country and yet I still have a prescription for it. No justification needed. I have three spinal fractures and nerve damage in my right leg. It's either high potency weed or opioids to treat the pain. As long as it's effective for them, I'll bet most people would take weed over opioids. Plus, at least cannabis isn't a fast track to liver and kidney damage.

 

[Mjäll]

As I stated above, for me cannabis doesn't interfere with me dreaming in the least. As for people "justifying" use of it for medicinal reasons, it's 100% legal in my country and yet I still have a prescription for it. No justification needed. I have three spinal fractures and nerve damage in my right leg. It's either high potency weed or opioids to treat the pain. As long as it's effective for them, I'll bet most people would take weed over opioids. Plus, at least cannabis isn't a fast track to liver and kidney damage.

About the dreaming thing, i guess it's dosage dependent and gradual. I used to smoke ~2grams per day and i still had dreams, but they were way less intense and my dream recall was not as sharp as normally. Let's say the dreams were attenuated to like a 25% - still more than many people who rarely recall their dreams despite living sober, but undeniably blunted as compared to my own baseline. Since then i've lowered my doses and stopped using every day. Now my dreams are at like 80%. A very crude and tentative measurement of course. Anyway, my thinking is you could have a somewhat attenuated dreaming without it being noticeable enough to pop out. It could of course also be true that some people are not affected at all with regards to dreaming and sleep quality.

I'm glad to hear weed helps you with your pain issues. I didn't mean to claim that no-one has a medical use for cannabis, so i'm not invalidating your experience. I also agree that cannabis is likely a less impairing/invasive option than opioids. Even so, i stand by my general point regarding the politics of this.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

About the dreaming thing, i guess it's dosage dependent and gradual. I used to smoke ~2grams per day and i still had dreams

Interesting, I guess everyone is different.

If I smoke any amount of cannabis, or any cannabinoids (d8, thc-o, etc) I will not dream at all, ever. Takes about 30 hours of sobriety from it and the dreams flood in.

I've gone many many years of my life without ever dreaming due to cannabis. Every time I quit, the dreams begin again. Been like that for 20 years. Not nightmares, just extremely vivid dreams.