Almost everyone has experienced a bad night of sleep. Ten percent of us suffer from chronic insomnia. Treating insomnia is a multi-billion-dollar industry of over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids. These products, without exception, have side effects, show tolerance with repeated use, and do not produce normal sleep patterns. Consequently, many people wake up very tired after a relatively poor night’s sleep and wonder how they can improve their sleep the next time they go to bed. A series of studies have found evidence that using cannabis products during the day increases the probability of getting a good night’s sleep.
A recent study demonstrated that using cannabis during the day after a bad night of sleep led to an improvement in same-night sleep quality. The observed improvement in sleep quality on cannabis use days, as compared to non-use days, was statistically significant and considered to be practically and clinically meaningful, with one important caveat: the outcomes in sleep quality were self-reported. The studies did not confirm the self-reports using standard electroencephalographic methods. That being said, the subjects consistently reported better sleep quality. The effect of same-day cannabis use on sleep quality varied as a function of each participants’ presenting degree of insomnia at the beginning of the study. Essentially, the most sleep-deprived subjects reported the most benefits. In addition, long-term improvements in sleep quality were dependent on the continued use of cannabis. Using cannabis during the day was only effective for the same night.
Two other recent studies have corroborated these findings and discovered that same-day cannabis use after a poor night of sleep was associated with improved sleep quality, fewer nightmares, decreased sleep latency, longer sleep duration, and fewer awakenings. Nevertheless...
Using cannabis to fall asleep right before bed is not a good idea. People who use cannabis to help them fall asleep were 1.9 times more likely to report moderate to severe problematic cannabis use. Most importantly, using cannabis just before bedtime does not produce normal sleep. Cannabis reduces the amount of REM sleep, the time when dreaming usually occurs, and increases the amount of time spent in non-REM sleep, or deep sleep. The brain requires REM sleep. Repeated nighttime reductions in REM sleep will lead to impaired thinking abilities and depression during the day. To read more about sleep cycles, go here.
In contrast...
The brain’s own endogenous cannabis-like neurotransmitter molecules, called endocannabinoids, modulate the human sleep-wake cycle. Endocannabinoids are composed of a large family of fatty molecules; the two main ones are called AEA and 2-AG. AEA and 2-AG exhibit diurnal fluctuations in the brain that are in opposite directions of each other. [To read more about the brain's cannabis system, go here.]
AEA is higher during the dark, and 2-AG is higher during the day. The activity of the enzymes that produce these cannabinoids also fluctuates throughout the day. The data suggest that 2-AG involves promoting wakefulness. In contrast, AEA increases both non-REM and REM sleep depending on which cannabinoid receptor is stimulated.
Stimulating one type of receptor increases non-REM sleep while reducing both wakefulness and REM sleep. AEA facilitates the release of adenosine in a brain region that controls the onset of non-REM sleep. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that turns the brain off. Adenosine levels increase in the brain while we are asleep. The presence of this neurotransmitter is the reason why we wake up drowsy in the morning.
The reasons why we do not sleep well at night are complicated. Some people use cannabis-containing products to help them fall asleep. Unfortunately, cannabis-induced sleep is not normal and does not produce restful sleep. The reason is that our endocannabinoid neurotransmitter system controls all phases of sleep and wakefulness in complicated ways. Exogenous cannabis in the form of gummies or vaping is simply not capable of reproducing a normal pattern of endocannabinoid function. A series of recent studies have shown that using cannabis products during the day, rather than in the evening before bedtime, can significantly improve sleep architecture. The mechanisms that underlie this paradoxical effect, as well as the most appropriate doses and timing, are still being investigated.