“Vivid dreams” – this is the most common response I receive when asking cannabis smokers about the withdrawal symptoms they’ve experienced.
Does marijuana affect the ability to dream? If so, in what ways?
I did a bit of online research into the matter but I couldn’t find much more than a few posts on dream forums. I decided to dig a bit deeper into the matter as this question has piqued my interest for quite some time.
Yes, smoking marijuana does affect your quality of sleep, namely it hinders your body’s ability to produce REM sleep (the stage where intense dreams usually occur). Smoking before sleep will alter your sleeping patterns, thus altering your dreams.
In 1975, Feinberg, et al. did a study on the effects of THC on REM sleep patterns in human subjects. They had this to report:
Electroencephalographic readings and eye movement were recorded in experienced marijuana users under placebo and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Four subjects were studied for 3 baseline nights, 3 nights under initial dosage of 70 mg/day, the last 3 nights of a 2-wk period of 210 mg/day, and the first 3 nights of withdrawal. Three other subjects were studied only during the latter 2 conditions. Administration of THC significantly reduced eye movement activity during sleep with rapid eye movements (REM) and, to a lesser extent, the duration of REM itself. Withdrawal led to increases above baseline in both measures but the “rebound” effect was greater for eye movement. Stage 4 sleep tended to increase on drug, but this effect was not statistically significant. On withdrawal, stage 4 sleep decreased significantly; this change was marked only on the first withdrawal night. The functional or biological significance of these changes is unclear. Nevertheless, these are the most marked effects of THC on brain electrical activity demonstrated thus far.
As someone who has smoked cannabis before, I can attest to the findings of this study. When I sleep after smoking, I tend to have less nightmares (or at least I don’t recall them). This makes sense since many vivid dreams or nightmares occur during REM sleep.
Another thing to consider is why smokers tend to sleep longer on average. I believe that our bodies require a certain amount of REM sleep in order to feel refreshed and healthy. If you smoke before going to bed, you will probably sleep for a longer duration of time since your body could not achieve the same quality REM sleep while high. I can’t yet prove this theory but it seems plausible.
Since smoking marijuana reduces the ability to achieve REM sleep, it must also affect the ability to lucid dream.
I have had almost zero lucid dreams after smoking marijuana. I have had a couple but they’ve only been after long hours awake and lack of sleep from the previous night.
Smoking marijuana may alter short-term memory. Short-term memory is integral to recalling your dreams as your wake up. Even if you can pull of a lucid dream while stoned, you may not remember it the next day.
So as a tip, if you are trying to achieve lucid dreams then you should not smoke marijuana. At the very least, do not smoke at night.
And in no way am I condemning the smoking of marijuana. Smoke if you desire, just remember that it can screw with your ability to dream, or at least recall your dreams.
Sources: Feinberg, I., Jones, R, Walker JM, Cavness, C, March, J. (1975). Effects of high dosage delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on sleep patterns in man. Clin Parmacol Ther. 1975; 17(4):458-66.
I believe people have these sorts of dreams when they haven’t gotten stoned for a while as the system’s way to make up for what is missing. Marijuana makes ordinary reality dreamy. It taps into the part of your mind that’s like that.
That said, I still dream when I’ve been stoned for an extended time, though I never have had “lucid” dreams except when I’ve been coming down from LSD.
Thanks for the comment. I agree that cannabis does seem to make waking life dream-like and when a habitual smoker abstains from smoking for a few days it is usually followed by a rush of vivid dreams.
LSD does have an interesting effect on dreaming. Although it is nearly impossible to sleep while on acid, on the come down many people have told me they experienced their first lucid dreams or OBEs. I’ve actually done one experiment with this and found it much easier to lucid dream even a day or two after the effects of the LSD have worn off. It could be entirely physiological but I believe part of it is the “opening of the mind” psychological effect that lingers on after tripping, allowing you to look at things in waking life from another perspective. I believe this carries on to the dream world and makes you question whether or not you are asleep, thus allowing you to become lucid.
Guess I’ll need to write about the effects of LSD on dreaming.
[...] on the other hand, has similar REM suppressing abilities but far less side effects (more about marijuana and REM sleep). I’ve had excellent success treating SP with medical marijuana. It is not necessary to smoke [...]
Lucid dreaming after taking LSD definitely (for me even 20+ years later) has aided me in my ability to not only experience lucid dreaming with great ease, it allows me to “feel” the dream with a realism that is so unbelievable I feel as though my “dream spirit” can freely leave and return to my body. The “dream spirit” also has the ability to “transfer” memories from anytime of its eternal existence adding to the realism experienced while in a lucid dream state.
I believe LSD is just a short cut to simple lucid dreaming. Meditation is the natural way to get there.
The link between LSD and lucid dreaming is one I’d like to explore in greater detail. In my experiences taking LSD, I have noticed a sharp increase in my interest and ability to lucid dream. I don’t know if the chemical structure of the LSD influences the brain’s capacity to become conscious while dreaming or if the revelations LSD brings about lead to a greater awareness of the self which in turn cause an increase in one’s interest in lucid dreaming which in turn causes more lucid dreams. I’ve noticed that for weeks following a trip, I have a greater chance of becoming lucid than normal.
Unfortunately, these questions may go unanswered for quite some time due to the general stance on LSD held by the governments of the nations with the capabilities to carry out such scientific studied. Self-gathered evidence and anecdotes aren’t enough to affect the scientific communities standpoint on such matters.