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Can Cannabis Help You Sleep? Here’s the Science | Jen Walsh | TED

Can cannabis actually treat insomnia? It’s complicated, says sleep physiologist Jen Walsh. While the plant has been used across time and cultures, there’s been little scientific research on how it impacts sleep disorders like insomnia. That’s precisely where she and her team come in. Learn about the world’s first study into the potential of medicinal…

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Can cannabis actually treat insomnia? It’s complicated, says sleep physiologist Jen Walsh. While the plant has been used across time and cultures, there’s been little scientific research on how it impacts sleep disorders like insomnia. That’s precisely where she and her team come in. Learn about the world’s first study into the potential of medicinal cannabis as a safe, accessible treatment to help us all rest easy.

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64 Comments

64 Comments

  1. @pumpthewater419

    April 20, 2024 at 11:50 am

    Yup, it can

  2. @Mkbshg8

    April 20, 2024 at 11:52 am

    Great for sleep on occasion but the more regularly you smoke the adverse effects creep in, and it is addictive.

  3. @jessicalocke9943

    April 20, 2024 at 11:54 am

    Nothing works better for sleep than a low dose gummy of a pure indica, not sativa.

  4. @2023lvj

    April 20, 2024 at 11:56 am

    *hits blunt*

  5. @TheJamiedickie

    April 20, 2024 at 12:10 pm

    My research: 17years of daily testing – Yes. Absolutely. 100%. Avoid pure sativa strains. Your welcome.

  6. @Demontoastslayer

    April 20, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    My migraines go from 9/10 pain and vomiting , to a 3-4 and no vomiting after one hit. Nothing else has helped like marijuana has

  7. @gyomen

    April 20, 2024 at 12:29 pm

    can we stop this seemingly exponential glorification of cannabis use? for a long time it hasn’t been just a plant anymore due to extreme genetic modification. not to mention that to say that “it’s” natural doesn’t mean jack. Deadly Nightshade is natural too and you don’t do that either.

    it has incredibly adverse side effects

  8. @RyeRob.

    April 20, 2024 at 12:34 pm

    Nice pizza joke. We need to keep stereotyping, to assert dominance over these cannabis users.

  9. @MWSCologne

    April 20, 2024 at 12:47 pm

    We need more and better research. It has the potential to help a lot of people (definitely not all) and has relatively low and tolerable side effects. Also: Big Pharma will be mad that they are not selling so many opiates any longer!😊

  10. @chipper7711

    April 20, 2024 at 12:53 pm

    You partnered with a pharmaceutical company to research the effects of a drug? And you want to be taken seriously???

  11. @bartolol

    April 20, 2024 at 1:29 pm

    Nope. Blocks REM sleep.

    • @SimaRuDuDu

      April 20, 2024 at 6:59 pm

      for me it increases rem sleep, i have crazy dreams on weed

  12. @redpandat5272

    April 20, 2024 at 2:19 pm

    When it happens let us know. My husband has severe insomnia and my mother uses CBD medicinally for chronic pain and her disabilities.

  13. @mikeflair6800

    April 20, 2024 at 2:23 pm

    CBT for anything does not work. Why? It is treating a symptom, not the root cause. A joint gets more to the root, IMO.

  14. @patriciadobkin4860

    April 20, 2024 at 3:19 pm

    I have chronic insomnia along with Restless Leg Syndrome. Dayvigo (10 mg – a relatively new med) helps me fall asleep and increase REM sleep.
    When I wake up at 4 or 5 am after being awake on and off during the night (on average 1 hr), a mix of CBD-THC oil (1 mm) helps me fall back asleep but I do wake up groggy.
    I monitor all of this with a FITBIT. Insomnia is hard to live well with.

  15. @fran6b

    April 20, 2024 at 3:32 pm

    A huge qualitative research (within a heuristic methodology) could be interesting to study the effet of cannabis on sleep. There are so many cannabis users out there who could share their experience with cannabis and sleep. As a single person testimony wouldn’t say much, thousands of them will certainly. Then you’ll have data on heavy and light users within a variety of different usage contexts. and then, with those analyzed data, you can design very precise and more complicated research with only few participants.

  16. @Retrosenescent

    April 20, 2024 at 3:40 pm

    Definitely helps with FALLING asleep, but it impairs the deeper levels of sleep and prevents a well-rested feeling

  17. @kastierV

    April 20, 2024 at 3:41 pm

    i surprised that study with 24 participants belongs to those largests…

  18. @Psychefire

    April 20, 2024 at 4:09 pm

    The study size is ridiculous to apply to a bigger population. People have become paranoid and hurt people whilst under the influence of weed. What benefits one person has a negative consequence on another…

  19. @rikachiu

    April 20, 2024 at 4:21 pm

    Edibles help me sleep 7-8 hrs a night. I can’t live without it.

  20. @joshismyhandle

    April 20, 2024 at 4:43 pm

    What a waste of 11 mins. Thank goodness it was on 2x

  21. @postcardstotheedge

    April 20, 2024 at 5:12 pm

    It is obvious that she has no in depth knowledge of cannabis. Depending on the strain such as Sativa or Indica will be either a body or head result. . As someone who uses cannabis for my Complex PTSD, it far surpasses any pharmaceutical option. Also there has been extensive research on cannabis in Israel for many decades. That is how the Endocabinoid System was realized. No profit for Big Pharma means a muzzle on information.
    Happy 420 folks!

  22. @asasdfdd1238

    April 20, 2024 at 5:12 pm

    No one is talking about the depersonalization the community is so biased

    • @MrGreen-io6jc

      April 20, 2024 at 6:37 pm

      I had depersonalization ~10 years ago, after i’ve tried cannabis it went away

  23. @1223132132132132

    April 20, 2024 at 6:47 pm

    What a misleading title. She’s talking about weird drug they made in their lab and did one study lol. Cannabis plant is already the most studied plant on Earth. To date, there are now over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature pertaining to cannabis and its active compounds.

    And what have we learned from these 20,000+ studies? Not surprisingly, quite a lot. For starters, we know that cannabis and its active constituents are uniquely safe and effective as therapeutic compounds. Unlike most prescription or over-the-counter medications, cannabinoids are virtually non-toxic to health cells or organs, and they are incapable of causing the user to experience a fatal overdose. Unlike opiates, cannabinoids do not depress the central nervous system, and as a result they possess a virtually unparalleled safety profile, it’s safer than coffee.

  24. @johnaldchaffinch3417

    April 20, 2024 at 7:31 pm

    Matthew Walker’s team found that it reduced REM sleep, so the quality of sleep would be worse than a normal night’s sleep.

  25. @TheNiteinjail

    April 21, 2024 at 7:02 pm

    She descibes a protocol that delivers the THC completely differently (ingested) then makes jokes about having a joint (smoking).

    This would be like describing the driving habits of North America by watching 24 hyrbrid Honda drivers in Fesno only.

  26. @orionvassi

    April 21, 2024 at 8:12 pm

    Cannabis interrupts the REM stage and many heavy smokers stop dreaming. You’re not really sleeping, more like being passed out. And you’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night when you come down. It’s better to come down first before sleeping or eating.

  27. @philiptamer8995

    April 21, 2024 at 8:23 pm

    It DOSE !!!!!!! AFTER my wife died I developed SEVERE INSOMNIA and a friend gave me a little pot and I dropped off IMMEDIATELY !!!!!!!!!!

  28. @The_Hagseed

    April 21, 2024 at 10:30 pm

    “It’s illegal to drive a vehicle under the influence of marijuana.”
    “But why?”
    “Because it makes you tired.”
    “Then shouldn’t governments make sure businesses pay their employees enough where they don’t have to work multiple jobs in a single day just to scrape by in life? I feel safer driving next to someone who just took a few hits rather than next to someone who’s tired from just working the last 16 hours straight and in a rush to get home.”

  29. @OCMRick

    April 21, 2024 at 11:03 pm

    11 Minutes and 30 seconds to cover 1 or 2 minutes worth of information :/

  30. @Lily-cx1vo

    April 21, 2024 at 11:47 pm

    Its benefits differs greatly from person m person. I started taking it for arthritic pain relief, but I had a different experience than my friends who suggested it and who had only positive experiences. For me it helped with my pain, sure, but it also radically changed my personality, triggering paranoia and make my existing anxiety and depression worse, along with making my mood swings far more severe. I became addicted and didn’t even know due to the urban myth that it’s not addictive. It took me far longer than I should have to recognize the negative impact it was having and it nearly ruined my life.

    I’m far from anti-THC. I write this because I believe if someone wants to try it, they should be extra self-aware and educated in the possible positive and negative effects.

  31. @harristech6807

    April 22, 2024 at 12:05 am

    Its great for sleep but lets talk about how it interferes with REM stages. I never dream, and boy if I dont smoke, i have some of the nastiest vivid dreams lol. I know this is about insomnia though..

  32. @jetter820

    April 22, 2024 at 12:43 am

    My 30 years of research says it definitely helps with sleep.

  33. @iahlee

    April 22, 2024 at 1:09 am

    I sleep like a baby

  34. @makeguyver8596

    April 22, 2024 at 1:12 am

    The amount of childish rhetoric in this “scientific talk” is so disappointing, yet not at all surprising.. how many decades will have to pass before people can talk about cannabis like adults who haven’t been brainwashed since childhood. As someone who has used it for 30+ years, constantly everyday, I know more about its effects than my own doctor. I am so glad I didn’t pay attention to the misinformation put upon me as a child. Using common sense and anecdotes from those around me I started using cannabis at 16 and it made and continues to make my life better everyday. I’m not a useless bum, I retired at 40 and I’m not driven to consume pizza any more than when I’m cold sober. The inability of scientists to discover the truth and to speak truth to power aboit cannabis has to be the single most embarrassing look science has ever dawned. I hope they improve as the years grow on them and they have to turn to cannabis or lest they wander into the arms of big pharma.

  35. @elainemunro4621

    April 22, 2024 at 1:21 am

    It helped me get off antidepressants, lost 30 pounds, and back to my usual weight. Feeling so much more content with life.

  36. @blockchainprofessor.x

    April 22, 2024 at 1:26 am

    The only downside is the suppression of dreaming. Being a creative person and not being able to get into a lucid dream, after smoking, is a bummer.

  37. @Rnue

    April 22, 2024 at 1:30 am

    Has science caught up with spirit yet?

  38. @niacal4nia

    April 22, 2024 at 1:50 am

    It can also cause schizophrenia among younger people

  39. @jackbenimblejack1

    April 22, 2024 at 3:56 am

    This Ted talk put me to sleep…. A couple dozen people doesn’t make a viable study to talk about for a Ted talk

  40. @vslaykovsky

    April 22, 2024 at 5:37 am

    Happy 4/20 everyone btw

  41. @offgridas

    April 22, 2024 at 5:45 am

    As a Oz a week smoker of 25+ years I’d say it will definitely put you to sleep, if it’s decent nug but in the long term it’ll mess with the quality of said sleep. Ive quit many times over the years and I get ruthless insomnia for about 3 weeks and then my sleep largely goes back to normal, but much better quality and waaaaaay more dreams.

  42. @AnRodz

    April 22, 2024 at 7:30 am

    The talk made me sleep haha

  43. @thuta7208

    April 22, 2024 at 12:05 pm

    Man I can’t understand most of the words especially the long ones 😭

  44. @paulg3012

    April 22, 2024 at 4:52 pm

    Got to keep that grant money rolling in.

  45. @ericelias2185

    April 22, 2024 at 4:58 pm

    Yes it can, but get an Indica high percentage. Nothing complicated really😅

  46. @charlesgallagher1376

    April 22, 2024 at 5:32 pm

    Sativa keeps me awake and my mind races. Indica helps me relax and sleep.

  47. @hardcoreherbivore4730

    April 22, 2024 at 7:34 pm

    Struggled with insomnia since childhood. Discovered cannabis in high school and I’ve been self medicating ever since.

    The only time I’ve spoken about my use with a doctor, they merely compared it with alcohol.

    Fortunately, it’s totally legal in Canada. 🍁

  48. @hugsdontwork2283

    April 22, 2024 at 8:10 pm

    Add another vote to the ‘I dream way less which is worth the price of admission alone’ pile

  49. @Gabachazo

    April 22, 2024 at 8:37 pm

    For sleep , L-Theanine and Ashwagandha…. Knocks em flat!

  50. @gautammisra8753

    April 23, 2024 at 12:08 am

    Also most of my friends below 40 have had heart attacks
    They were regular users of Cannabis

  51. @abpob6052

    April 23, 2024 at 12:30 am

    Steer clear of products containing even trace amounts of THZ. Only use oils so you can exactly control the dosage. Start small and slowly work your way up. The goal is to assist with your issues not put you in a coma.

  52. @eugeneport1748

    April 23, 2024 at 5:16 am

    Also helps with nausea/vomiting having nothing to do with cancer/chemo.

  53. @Angelfmatos

    April 23, 2024 at 11:26 am

    Like the sentiment! However Bad study. How do you blind an intoxicant? Ie if your placebo doesn’t make you high. It’s not a great placebo. Sounds like research-as-advertisement-for-a-proprietary-blend-company-I- want to start

  54. @Taylor-qy5gp

    April 23, 2024 at 4:27 pm

    My goodness.

  55. @Winteryears

    April 23, 2024 at 4:42 pm

    I live in Canada and am able to grow legal weed, thank god. I’m 71 and have the various issues of the laboring classes at that age. I don’t know that the weed lets me sleep more, nor directly moderate pain issues…I don’t think. I think that what it does is let me bear it, like a slight veil. Though it is not something I’d recommend for getting things done. Planning, maybe. 😉

  56. @OtitisGrimm

    April 23, 2024 at 11:21 pm

    Do edibles.

  57. @ScionOfKefka

    April 24, 2024 at 2:21 am

    I’m sorry, but 24 participants for 14 days is not a particularly large study, especially for something that you’re saying is suffered by between 1 in 6 and 1 in 3 people depending whether you want to give the benefit of the doubt to only count the chronic sufferers.

  58. @moritalas

    April 24, 2024 at 2:52 am

    My quality of life is now 8/10 with cannabis. And now, after 20 years of beeing a criminal, my country GER just legalized it.

  59. @TheZig726

    April 24, 2024 at 6:46 am

    Cannabis saved my life.

  60. @ImmortalIdeas

    April 24, 2024 at 9:22 pm

    It helps me sleep.
    And i dont remember dreams.
    And i awake in a good mood.

  61. @gwilkins4617

    April 24, 2024 at 11:25 pm

    Weed was toxic to me.. I’ll never touch the stupid ever again..

  62. @alias7343

    April 25, 2024 at 9:35 am

    I read that as “Can cannibals help you sleep?”

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