Cannabis as a sleep medicine.

[The Caterpillar]

Well guys, I'd say that if there's one way that I self medicate with marijuana is that I use it as a sleeping aide. All my life I have had a hard time sleeping, it's one of my oldest memories. When I started smoking though, I would get a completely full night's rest, and I realized how important it is to get a good night's sleep.

So now, even when I don't really have the time to stay up for a while and be high, I will usually just smoke a bowl before I go to bed. It seems to work pretty well, but what do you guys know about it? Are there any big drawbacks or concerns for this?

[darksideofthemoon]

the only drawback i can come up with is not being able to enjoy yer high.... although the full night's sleep is totally awesome:D


Actually i find... If i go to sleep stoned... i wake up stoned... does that sound wierd?

[slangshot1]

ive heard that sleepin high can mess with like the RIM phase of sleeping or something but on a comedown its easy as hell to sleep

[The Caterpillar]

ive heard that sleepin high can mess with like the RIM phase of sleeping or something but on a comedown its easy as hell to sleep
So would this mean that as long as you wait to come down after you smoke to go to sleep, that you're fine? Because I've smoked right before bed many times and I still seem to get a good rest.

And DarkSideoftheMoon, nah that doesn't sound weird, I get that a lot myself!

[seancourt]

ive heard that sleepin high can mess with like the RIM phase of sleeping or something but on a comedown its easy as hell to sleepyou mean REM, meaning rapid eye movement sleep. There are 4 sleep cycles, 1,2,3,4 and then u go into REM sleep. Baking before bed is cool, i always sleep really deeply when i go to bed stoned.

[Tainted]

ive heard that sleepin high can mess with like the RIM phase of sleeping or something but on a comedown its easy as hell to sleep
REM sleep, but yeah I've always wondered whether you go into REM sleep or not with weed. I've never been able to find anything saying either way.

[fitzy21]

yea, if i'm gonna use it as a sleep aid, i only need to smoke a small amount, maybe 3-4 hits, not too much. and i get a really nice sleep out of it.

[Groovy Toker]

I don't use it has a aid.. but I have been goin to bed stoned.. for the best 3-4 months.. and im fine.

[passittotheleft]

Do you like Lord of the Flies darkside? haha But I doubt that smokin before bed would mess you up.

[seancourt]

i think when ur drunk and on certain drugs, maybe all u don't go into REM sleep, i could be wrong though

[STON3R]

im about 2 smoke before i hit the hay right now.

But just so u know u can become dependent on it just like a sleep medication.Iv done this for a long time and when i dont do it i find it hard 2 fall asleep

[LuMpYtRiChOmEy]

When you smoke Herb it causes your body to release large ammounts of melatonin, tens of times more than your body usually uses. Melatonin is essential to reaching the REM state while assleep. Your body can only make so much melatonin so if you smoke all day and the Herb makes your body produce all kindsa melatonin durrin the day you wont have enoughf resourses to make more for night time and you wont have enoughf to fall into REM and dream with while you sleep.

[LuMpYtRiChOmEy]

You could go to the drugstore and getcherself a li'l bottle of melatonin for before ya go to bed. :)

[deadonceagain]

smoking may make you fall asleep but it does effect the REM stages and causes you not to get the right amount of sleep your body realy needs so smoking weed to sleep realy isnt the best idea i may work once in a while but if you do it every night it will give you more negitive effects then positive

[LuMpYtRiChOmEy]

smoking may make you fall asleep but it does effect the REM stages and causes you not to get the right amount of sleep your body realy needs so smoking weed to sleep realy isnt the best idea i may work once in a while but if you do it every night it will give you more negitive effects then positive Thats rite :) ! Even if you just smoke every day and not perticularly at night it can still affect your sleep. Just like you said, it interferes with REM sleep. Most daily Herb smokers dont get any REM sleep at night and therefore have no dreams. I think some heavy smokers get REM's intha daytime while their awake. Every once in a while if ya wanna dream ya could take some melatonin from the drug store. Mabey I'l take one tonight and have some dreams :) .

[The Caterpillar]

So what ways should I try and find to sleep? Because I have such a hard time sleeping and it's so important to get a full amount of regular rest.

So you can buy melatonin from the store? How well does that work? Can you give me some more details on that?

[seancourt]

So what ways should I try and find to sleep? Because I have such a hard time sleeping and it's so important to get a full amount of regular rest.

So you can buy melatonin from the store? How well does that work? Can you give me some more details on that?Well even though there addicting, if you really do have a problem with falling asleep you might need a prescription to sleeping pills, but it's better to find a way to become tired for sleep without any drugs. If you always use a drug to aid you in falling asleep, you will most likely become dependant on it, without it you probably won't fall asleep, or have a very hard time falling asleep.

[omgimmatt]

i usually smoke a j before i sleep makes me sleep better

[deadonceagain]

Thats rite :) ! Even if you just smoke every day and not perticularly at night it can still affect your sleep. Just like you said, it interferes with REM sleep. Most daily Herb smokers dont get any REM sleep at night and therefore have no dreams. I think some heavy smokers get REM's intha daytime while their awake. Every once in a while if ya wanna dream ya could take some melatonin from the drug store. Mabey I'l take one tonight and have some dreams :) . thats one of the main reasons why i take breaks so that i will have dreams

[LuMpYtRiChOmEy]

I just take the melatonin :) !

[thomyorke]

Actually i find... If i go to sleep stoned... i wake up stoned... does that sound wierd?
word man

the other night i smoked a bowl n a half at like 4AM n i was so tired i jus went to bed...woke up around noon n still felt stoned

[Tainted]

So what ways should I try and find to sleep? Because I have such a hard time sleeping and it's so important to get a full amount of regular rest.

So you can buy melatonin from the store? How well does that work? Can you give me some more details on that?
I don't know very much about it myself, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin . They have a good deal of information there, but a lot of it's on the chemistry and whatnot. Google.com, doubt it will be hard to find information.

You can find that it at nutrition and health shops, like GNC. Totally over-the-counter, in America atleast.

[LuMpYtRiChOmEy]

From what I understand melatonin is a chemical that your body makes at night when you go to sleep for the benifit of REM sleep. Melatonin is what gets ya into REM. Herb seems to cause your body to manufacture and release mass amounts of this chem regardless of what time of day it is so when a person smokes Herb all day, they run out of melatonin and they dont have the physical resources to make any more at night and therefore you cant fall into REM sleep and dream. The melatonin works great. I smoke heavily threwout the day and every once in a while when I feel relaxed enouf to sleep deeply I take a melatonin and I have dreams. Works like a charm!

[Skip]

I have insomnia and cannabis has helped me to sleep DEEPLY, and long, so it is a BIG benefit.

I believe the problem with dreaming is not that you don't dream (cause I know I still have lots of dreams when I smoke before sleep), but just that you can't remember them due to short term memory loss, a well documented side effect of smoking cannabis.

So basically you wake up and can't remember the last dream, just like you can't remember a lot of things when you're high.

And yes, you usually do wake up high if you smoked enough the night before. This too can be a beneficial effect, depending upon your personal situation. It does take me a couple of hours (and cups of coffee) before I'm back to "normal" (ugh!).

[MikeE]

My experience is that weed keeps me awake. I get mellow and slower, but I stay awake longer.