According to the National Sleep Foundation, 50 to 70 million US adults experience symptoms of a sleep disorder. About 30 to 40 percent of the population will experience insomnia at some point and up to 15 percent of adults will deal with chronic insomnia. With sleep disorders impacting such a large portion of our population, let's talk about how cannabis can help these disorders.
Contemporary Scientific Research has measured what people have known and experienced since ancient times: cannabis has relaxing and sedative effects. In particular cannabis makes falling asleep easier. On average cannabis helps a patient fall asleep 15-30 minutes earlier. It also shortens time spent in deep slow wave sleep, and also shortens time spent in REM sleep (Dreaming). Researchers have also found that it can help breathing while sleeping.
The reason cannabis helps sleep disorders are in the 100+ cannabinoids and terpenes that are in the plant. First the three most prominent cannabinoids; CBD, CBN, and THC, all have effects on sleep. CBD is the non-mind altering cannabinoid that promotes relaxation and also balances or counters the high that is delivered by other cannabinoids. It is known to reduce daytime sleepiness, promote alertness, and reduce anxiety without affecting sleep-wake cycles. CBN has strong sedative effects which are enhanced when joined with THC. It also serves as an anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving characteristics. CBN is created through time as THC ages. THC is the main psychoactive cannabinoid. It can provide pain relief and have heavy sedative effects. THC may improve breathing while sleeping and is a potential therapy for sleep apnea. THC has been found to alter time in stages of sleep. This can be very helpful for symptoms such as PTSD as it can reduce the time in REM sleep and lengthen time in slow-wave sleep.
Come see us at Native Harvest and our budtenders would love to spend the time to help you make an educated decision on our products to find the right medicine that can help you today.
