The Healthing category of the Vancouver Sun newspaper features stories on all things related to health. For one, a recent article by Stelmakowich (2022) reports on a study that aimed at investigating the connection between recreationally using cannabis and sleeping well. It was discovered that cannabis users fall asleep faster as compared to drug non-users but tend to wake up more often during the night time.
The study was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors the previous week. According to Stelmakowich (2022), the sampling included 178 people aged from 18 to 35. The data that researchers gathered included demographics, cannabis use frequency, daily dosages of the drug, and accounts for the sleep state. The independent variable was the participants’ cannabis use, and the objective/subjective factors were the effectiveness of sleep, the rapidity of falling asleep, and the number of awakenings at night. In this case, the effectiveness of sleep means the percentage of time a person sleeps while being in bed, and the rapidity of falling asleep means the amount of time a person needs to fall asleep.
The research shows that, when consumed daily, cannabis negatively affected both users’ sleep effectiveness and the rapidity of falling asleep but positively influenced their waking up during the night. Stelmakowich (2022) notes that, after testing for covariates, the study’s authors stated that regression models were significant for the prediction of all the above-mentioned sleep results. Consequently, the recreational use of cannabis might be effective for falling asleep earlier; however, its increased doses do not help you stay asleep. At the same time, recreational drug use can be harmful regarding sleep effectiveness as those resorting to increased cannabis still frequently woke up at night. This information can be useful for people considering recreational drug use to improve their sleep situation and inform them about its benefits and drawbacks.
Reference
Stelmakowich, A. (2022). Higher cannabis use predicts lower sleep efficiency: Study.Vancouver Sun. Web.