If you’ve ever taken a hiatus from your regular CBD routine, you may have noticed one strange thing once your eyes close for the night: your dreams are changing.
Why Do We Dream?
Dream come with sleep. If you are sleep not well, you quite possible dream at that night. Sleep has different stages: there's REM sleep and non-REM sleep. From light sleep to deep sleep, and then REM sleep, which is dreaming. If you're in deep sleep, it's not easy to recall the dream when you're dreaming in REM sleep. However, if you're in very short, poor quality sleep, or light sleep, then you will be in REM sleep that the dream you can recall. So, for some poor sleepers, it can feel like they've been dreaming all night.
Our emotional and mental states impact the content of our dreams. Some people even experience strange, intense dreams from eating dairy or spicy food in the late evenings. What this boils down to is that our dreams are not completely separate from our waking life. Lifestyle habits from stress levels, how much sleep you're getting, exercise, food, and supplements may have a direct impact on the quality of our dreams.
We can even consciously impact our dreams through psychological techniques such as lucid dreaming, where you can experience a state of mind where you're fully conscious while dreaming. People use lucid dreaming techniques to make impactful life decisions, gain insight into their subconscious minds, and even stop recurring nightmares.
Do Dreams Affect Our Sleep Quality?
Some studies show that dreaming affects sleeping quality to some degree. First, the generation of dreams shows that sleep is still in a relatively shallow level which is easy to be disturbed by the external environment, then affecting the quality of sleep. Second, the subconscious is still active, and that means your brain have rest deprived which can greatly decrease sleep quality. Third, nightmares or other highly stimulating dreams can wake people up suddenly and affect the quality of sleep.
How CBD Change Our Dreams?
CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that may have a slightly different effect on REM sleep compared to THC. One study found that CBD efficiently blocked anxiety-induced REM sleep suppression but had little effect on non-REM sleep.
Some people report a reduction of dream activity after taking CBD before bed. The effects of CBD on dreaming likely rely heavily on the individual. Some people dream more vividly; others experience less dream recall after using CBD.
People who use CBD, they tend to suppress REM sleep, they have less REM sleep. And when they have less REM sleep you’re going to have less dreams because dreams only happen during REM sleep. So, for a long time people didn’t recognize this, but once people stop smoking suddenly there’s a rebound phenomena where people can have quite vivid dreams.
In 2019, in the Permanente Journal investigated the effects of CBD on sleep and anxiety in a larger sample of participants, including those with anxiety and sleep complaints. The study found that the majority of participants experienced improvements in sleep and reduced anxiety levels within the first month of CBD treatment.
How CBD Improve Our Sleep Quality?
CBD (cannabidiol) is a compound derived from the cannabis plant that has gained popularity for its potential health benefits, including its ability to improve sleep quality. CBD may help improve sleep quality in those ways:
Reducing Anxiety: CBD has been shown to have anxiolytic properties, meaning it may help reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. Anxiety is a common cause of sleep disturbances, and by reducing anxiety, CBD may help improve sleep quality.
Promoting Relaxation: CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in our bodies, which plays a role in regulating various physiological processes, including sleep. CBD may help calm the nervous system and promote relaxation, which can help facilitate falling asleep and staying asleep.
Alleviating Pain: CBD has been shown to have analgesic properties, meaning it may help reduce pain. Pain, whether acute or chronic, can disrupt sleep and lead to poor sleep quality. By alleviating pain, CBD may help improve sleep quality by allowing individuals to sleep more comfortably.
Regulating Sleep-Wake Cycle: CBD may also help regulate the sleep-wake cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a natural internal clock that regulates our sleep-wake cycles, and disruptions to this rhythm can negatively impact sleep quality. CBD may help regulate the circadian rhythm, promoting a more consistent and restful sleep pattern.
Reducing REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD): CBD has been found to be effective in reducing symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), which is a sleep disorder characterized by disruptive and often violent movements during REM sleep. By reducing RBD symptoms, CBD may help improve overall sleep quality.