I've had my own experiences with cannabis that make me question if it's actually helpful, or if it could possibly hurt sleep. I also have many clients who use cannabis for sleep. So I did some research and asked some questions to get to the bottom of this topic.


My story


I occasionally will recreational enjoy edible cannabis gummies, and I have found that after I do, I often struggle to sleep either that night or a few nights afterwards. I recently had my neurotransmitters tested again and learned that I’m low in serotonin and GABA. I reached out to the lab that does the neurotransmitter testing (the M2 institute) and the owner told me that cannabis impacts GABA in the brain so it makes sense why my sleep was disturbed


Research

According to the Sleep Foundation, people who use cannabis daily are more likely to report more sleep problems than occasional users or people who do not use cannabis at all.


This is surprising, because it’s the opposite of what companies marketing cannabis claim.


When cannabinoids attach to receptors, they send messages to increase levels of adenosine and suppress the brain’s arousal system. Adenosine is the hormone that builds up in the body the longer we’re awake and makes us feel sleepy at night. 


According to Matthew Walker in an interview with Dr. Huberman, CBD tends to promote alertness at low doses and sleepiness at higher doses. CBD may help sleep by lowering body temperature, reducing anxiety and affecting the brain’s sensitivity to adenosine. 


THC impacts people differently. It acts as a sedative but can be stimulating for some people.


In the short-term, THC can help us fall asleep faster. Although Matthew Walker points out that the brain waves falling asleep with and without marijuana are different. So it’s more likely speeding up non-consciousness, but not necessarily true sleep. 


In the long term, THC leads to less sleep overall, less time spent in deep sleep, a longer time to falling asleep, and frequent awakenings. This is the exact opposite of what we are aiming for!


Side effects

Cannabis use can lead to drowsiness the next day. It can impair your memory. When you stop and go into withdrawal, you may experience strange dreams, difficulty falling asleep and less time in deep sleep. 


As you continue to use cannabis, you need more to get the same effect. 


Long-term use can reduce gray matter in the brain, where processing of sensory information, learning, speech, and more take place, according to this study.


Affects sleep stages

Short-term THC use can increase the time you spend in deep sleep, the stage where repair and rest happens. 


However, THC decreases the amount of time you spend in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when you spend more time dreaming, processing emotions, and cementing new memories. It creates unnatural sleep and can have long term consequences.  


Cannabis affects neurotransmitters

As Pam from the M2 Institute told me and this article from the American Heart Association shows, cannabis, especially THC, pushes large quantities of GABA out into the synapse. In the moment, this helps you feel calm and sleepy. 


But then you are depleted in GABA for a few days after. It can take a few days to recuperate it from your dietary proteins that contain l-glutamine. So the next day, you may feel more anxious and have a hard time sleeping, which is exactly my experience. 


This can also lead to using cannabis again to calm that anxiety.


Long term use of cannabis depletes GABA and eventually serotonin and dopamine. Long term daily use typically affects dopamine via the reward center as well as cognitive abilities. Verbal memory tends to go first. Think of the classic stoner stereotype, such as the characters in Dazed and Confused. It can also cause depression with the depletion of GABA and eventual depletion of serotonin since it will try to compensate for the low GABA.


Cannabis affects hormones

Cortisol is the primary hormone that sabotages our sleep. According to this article from ZRT Lab, it turns out that THC increases the cortisol circulating in your body. If you don't use cannabis often, this increased cortisol can cause increases in blood pressure and anxiety.


If you use it long-term, that constant cortisol increase will also minimize the morning spike of cortisol that helps us wake up and feel alert. Without this cortisol spike, you feel groggy and sleepy in the morning, what I call the “weed hangover.” 


The increase in cortisol after using marijuana can also affect a woman's libido and menstrual cycle.


THC affects the thyroid by lowering thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that is secreted from the pituitary gland. When your body doesn’t have enough TSH, it can’t make the active forms of thyroid hormones, T4 and T3, that your body needs to maintain your metabolism, heart and digestive functions, brain development and bone health. When your thyroid isn't working properly, you can have symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, depression, decreased libido and abnormal menstrual cycles. And sleep issues too! 


According to Dan Huberman, cannabis reduces testosterone, increases conversion of testosterone to estrogen and leads to estrogen dominance. And it makes us four times as likely to develop depression.


Conclusions

Of course, cannabis impacts everyone differently. From what I’ve seen in research and with my clients, THC is not good for us long-term, especially for sleep. CBD, on the other hand, may actually have some benefits.


Anecdotally, I've found that my clients who use THC to help them sleep don't see as much improvement.


The bottom line is that cannabis (of any type) is a Band-aid. It's not solving what’s out of balance in your body that’s keeping you from sleeping normally.



The way to sleep better naturally and permanently is to find out what's out of whack in your body that's sabotaging your sleep and fix those imbalances. And make sure that your mind isn't keeping from you sleeping. 



My Complete Sleep Solution program helps you restore your health so you can fall asleep quickly, stay asleep all night, and get the rest you need to have energy, be in a good mood, and enjoy your life!