Cannabizzz May Not Be the Sleep Aide Some Thought It Was
About 1 in 8 Americans use marijuana either medically or recreationally—and both groups use it to accomplish a broad range of goals. The University of Texas at Dallas did a study last year to inform the medical users and their prescribing physicians who are using it to help with sleep issues that its effectiveness might have a surprise ending.
Some users swear by a regular late-night toke to help them cross over into dreamland. But the UTD study showed that those who become dependent on cannabis to fall asleep are at risk of developing a tolerance that requires higher dosing levels to get to sleep, and this was shown to keep the continuous and prolonged users awake longer and to negatively impact their sleep quality once they finally nodded off (which has its own list of follow-on effects, like problems with memory).
Going back to counting sheep probably isn’t the answer, but the snowball effect of nightly bedtime stories from Mary Jane might not be the long-term solution either. If you are having trouble sleeping contact your provider to discuss what might be going on and solutions that can help.
