#37 - Marijuana and Sleep: The Drugs Don't Work, They Just Make You Worse

The explosion of both medicinal and recreational marijuana use (as well as its derivatives) has led to the obvious question: Does marijuana help an individual sleep better? If you pay attention to those who sell it, the answer seems to be a resounding yes...but is that true. In this episode we will:

• learn about marijuana and the chemical cannabinoids that are often proclaimed to be sleep-promoting
• understand that in many ways, using marijuana for insomnia is no different than other pills and its success leans heavily on how we measure sleep success...or how it "works"
• touch upon older research about marijuana
• learn the differences between transient sleep effects and the sleep effects of long-term use
• explore cultural conversations and myths about marijuana use, in particular that it's helpful in pregnancy
• discover the misperceptions surrounding marijuana use in college
• uncover how the bottom line of some studies can be affected by pharmaceutical companies trying to develop novel sleep therapies
• look ahead to potential therapies for conditions like REM behavior disorder and Restless Legs Syndrome

Produced by: Maeve Winter

More

• Twitter: @drchriswinter
• IG: @drchriwinter
• Threads: @drchriswinter
• Bluesky: @drchriswinter
• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!