Does Marijuana Disrupt Your Sleep? | Matt Walker & Andrew Huberman

Dr. Matthew Walker and Dr. Andrew Huberman discuss how marijuana affects sleep.

Dr. Matthew Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "Why We Sleep". Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

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Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.

[larrytate]

Imo The main real problem with weed aside from it slowing you down while you’re high is that once you stop using it you don’t feel enjoyment anymore in the normal activities that you usually enjoy. This does fade but it can take up to a couple months. Normal sober activities can’t compete with the party in your brain weed creates. This causes a psychological addiction. Going for a bike ride gotta get high first, going to the movies gotta get high first, staying in playing video games and Netflix gotta get high first, etc etc. Than once you stop you don’t enjoy those things nearly as much for a couple months and feel irritable. This is the part that needs more focus imo as many of my old friends felt this same feeling also making it difficult to let it go even just for periods of time.

[HkLY]

Everything disrupts your sleep. Every sleep prescription disrupts your sleep. I suffer from chronic, chronic insomnia. There is nothing that gives me restful sleep better than an indica strain of cannabis. Everything else I take I wake up more groggy. Disrupted sleep is far better than no sleep at all when you have daily work to do in a family to provide for. I don't use cannabis every single night I alternate on and off. But I need at least three good nights of sleep per week with cannabis I can get that. I've suffered immensely my entire life from insomnia and I am so glad cannabis is legal. People who criticize cannabis use for sleep usually ignore the fact that the people who are using it might be truly suffering from lifelong insomnia.

[Ceci_et_Cela]

I’ve been a user of cannabis for approximately 30 years, on a daily basis. I have not been able to remember a dream for around 6 years. Well, I have recently quit (about 6 weeks ago) due to going over seas and not being able to smoke. Since I had the most amazing dreams and just being able to remember them, it has moved me to quit for good. I feel so awake, so alive and alert now. I do not oppose cannabis and I’m not saying I will never do it again, but this feeling of being sober feels way better than I have felt being stoned. It’s like my new drug! Imagine that! I never imagined I would ever be at this point after being a defender and small time educator of cannabis.

[jaredwhite]

I'm about two weeks clean off a 20 year daily cannabis habit. I was driven to stop after recognizing how demotivated I had become over the years. The first 3-4 nights were a nightmare! 1-2 hours of sleep if I was lucky. My emotional state was in absolute shambles. But I stuck with it and I finally got some sleep, and the dreams were wild to say the least. I woke up sobbing more than once from a psychological nightmare. During the day I had to endure a huge uptick of panic attacks and much higher levels of standing anxiety than I was ever used to.

Two weeks out and I am feeling much better. Falling asleep is still challenging and I had another sleepless night 3 nights ago. I will stay on my journey of recovery. One thing I have noticed is that my house is cleaner than it has been since I moved into this place 4 years ago. I am starting to see the benefits. For anyone else out there struggling to get clean, please know it will get better, and it will get easier. Keep at it!

[barefootexpedition]

I’ve also discovered the more I work through my emotional issues the less withdrawals symptoms I have when I stop smoking. It’s not a physical response to dependency it’s an emotional dependency. Once we process the things we are numbing ourselves too the less dependency we have on any substance

[bobbyzahabi]

I stopped smoking weed 1/1/22, after smoking at least once per day for 40 years. I wanted to remember what not being high felt like. Sleep was very challenging. It did get better after 4 months and my dreams are so interesting. The fear of not having wed is worse than actually not having it. I have nothing against it, for me the time was up. I am enjoying a clean life I highly recommend it.

[macca]

My own preferences and circumstances aside, it's great to hear people discussing the different aspects of weed without trying to promote or denounce it.

[rere_bunny]

I love that they deliver the information clearly and professionally without judgement. They even mentioned that indeed there are people that consume it and are productive with good jobs and perform well.
I hate it when I go hear/read information about a subject and all people do are judge and demonize everything instead of providing actual useful information.

[Alice_Walker]

Having been a shift worker for 20 years my sleep is generally awful. I'm 43 and have recently started using a tiny bit of cannabis a few times a week. Having never smoked before I literally only need two or three inhalations. The relaxation and quality of sleep I get has been a revelation. I had forgotten that it was possible to sleep so well and feel so refreshed. I love Matt but I don't think this discussion covers the whole picture of how cannabis effects sleep.

[GrowFromLife]

Ive been smoking daily for about 6 years
untill one day I decided to stop just to test how it affects my sleep,
it has been 10 months, I stopped smoking and drinking completely - sleep is by far the #1 factor to bettering my quality of life in literally every aspect that matters to me.

[BrownGeorge-pwxo]

I started smoking Marijuana since my teenage, got addicted to cigarettes. Spent my whole life fighting Cigarettes addiction. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Got diagnosed with insomnia. Not until my husband recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.

[Graybeard_]

I'm 61. I was a bad sleeper from about the age of 8 or so. By bad I mean an excessively light sleeper. The basic rule for me was, if I had been asleep for four hours or more, and I woke up, I was done sleeping for the night. I simply could not go back to sleep. At 14 I got high for the first time. It didn't take long for me to discover that on any of the days that I got high, I slept like a baby. I woke up refreshed and fully recharged. Through the years there were many times that I quit marijuana for long stretches, and usually about two weeks into my cessation in smoking pot, my sleep issues would return. I have never been a heavy pot user, and only rarely have I used pot as a sleep aid to get to sleep. If I have have two nights in a row where I have not slept well, I will take one tiny hit of pot before bed, and I am usually asleep within ten minutes and sleep the full night. I do not need to smoke pot every single night. It seems that as long as I get high two or more times a week, my sleep pattern is good. I have found that pot enables me to easily manage my sleep. My use of pot has never increased over 46 years. While I do enjoy getting high for the recreation aspect, it has always felt like a wonder drug for me in terms of sleep.

[BernarMwangi]

I stopped using marijuana a few days ago and the amount of anxiety that I have been experiencing is a lot, considering I have never been the anxious type, coupled with the vivid dreams. Also, the quality of sleep has gone down to less than 4 hours, from an average of 7.5 hours a night. However, I am taking it a day at a time and I know I will conquer in the long run.

[jackcawley]

My life's hit a massive roadblock I've lost my business and my girlfriend in the same week, I've been watching your videos to find inspiration and get back on track, I've smoked daily for 20 years now, it's time to make a change. Thank for your great work

[Camilliamahal]

I smoked a very long time, I did it to escape myself when younger then it turned out to be a “habit” a crutch I would use as a excuse from spiritual connection to relaxation. I can honestly say there is nothing like a clear mind, the feeling in my mindbody the sleep, them skin revitalization, the healing of my emotions is nothing a toke can take me to. I don’t regret using it as I did back then as it served a purpose, but that too has passed. I stopped drinking at 29 well over a decade and shortly after that smoking cigarettes and then the grass. Nothing like being pure as when I was born. The last one was harder to quit but the universe dealt me a deck of cards where literally over night I gave it up after decades. We are powerful beings when we focus and discipline our energy and thoughts.

[Chance-ryhq]

Like anything else, moderation is the key. Keep it to a couple times a month, once a week at most. It’s something to look forward to, and enjoy occasionally.

[rneryverwatch]

I've been a super light sleeper my entire life and falling asleep has always been a challenge. When I first start smoking regularly, I would tell people "it just helps me sleep, it's wonderful!". It wasn't until I had to quit and clean out for a drug test that I realized the issues pot had caused me. Like this video describes, the REM sleep/dreams after I stopped were intense... but that's assuming I could even fall asleep. For 2 weeks sleep was just me lying in bed tossing and turning, wide awake, realizing "wow I legit need weed to fall asleep now... this sucks..." It does go away, but it's aggravating to get through when you first stop using.

All that said, just speaking for myself, nothing destroys my sleep like alcohol. Sure, it'll knock me out when it's time for bed, but then I'll frequently wake up through out the night. At least with weed I was actually falling asleep and staying asleep, even if I wasn't getting REM sleep.

[U.s-epa]

I absolutely love thc for sleep. Have had insomnia since I was really little. I have absolutely crazy vivid dreams and THC calms these down to where I don't feel like I've been through an insane movie all night.

[arronmccann]

As a person that used to smoke everyday 3-4 times a day and usually right before bed I couldn’t agree more with what their saying, I quit over a month ago and for about a week it would take me an hour to go to sleep but that changed thankfully and now the dreams during my REM sleep are intense, mostly just wired vibes but one nightmare where I woke up and went on my phone to forget about it, but just last night I had a wonderful lucid dream where I was flying through my house. It’s crazy how much my brain is taking advantage of me not smoking anymore and making me dream, and my sleep quality is definitely better, I can sleep for less hours now and still feel like I got 8-10 hours for sleep if I was smoking.

[zyouer]

I grew up in a war zone, basically had no childhood, had a rough life, immigrated to USA at 14, had a rough life trying to learn English and adapting to American culture, and how materialistic kids were in school.
I have anxiety and high level of stress, some might call it PTSD, anyway, I sleep about 2 to 3 hours a night and it really sucks.
So once a week I take couple of hits on Saturday night and I wake up Sunday at 10am.
I have been doing this for couple of months now, AND I wish I had done it years ago.
It has helped me!