What Science Says About CBD Dreams

To some, a dream can be a series of pleasant thoughts, images, and events tally in their minds while sleeping. To others, they are anxious and stressed ideas that awaken them. The difference can make people look for dreaming-boosting supplements like CBD to help them have a good quality sleep. The article explains CBD dreams from a scientist's point of view by highlighting the following statements: The effect of CBD on rest and plans.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical compound extracted from the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant. It exhibits beneficial properties such as anti-inflammatory, pain reliever, anxiety reduction, and calming effects on your brain. Additionally, it is a non-psychoactive compound, unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), thus very effective in tackling nightmares and bad dreams. The most famous theory about using imagination is that they help solve problems with your feelings, memories, and lost information. People are taking CBD due to its possible power on good sleep quality and hoping it can also sort their issues with nightmares. However, there are stories surrounding cannabis products like THC and bad dreams. According to science, CBD has anxiolytic and calming effects that can make it a suitable compound for your bad nightmares.

The Effect of CBD on Sleep and Dreams

CBD has gained popularity in supporting good quality sleep. Lee & Martin (2011) explained that CBD reacts with the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is responsible for maintaining body balance. CBD increases the production of anandamide which binds with body receptors, especially CB1, located in the central nervous system, to induce deep relaxation and control healthy inflammation response, which helps calm the body for sleep. Also, science explains that CBD influences GABA neurotransmitters by increasing their level in the brain. GABA prepares the body for good rest and digestive mode restoring quality sleep. Once an individual fall asleep, they probably expect a dream, but it occurs in 5 stages that CBD can have effects. Each set of dreaming/ sleeping is characterized by different brain activities and eye movement patterns.

Stage One

It is the lightest stage, and it lasts for a few minutes. One may start dreaming in a hallucination manner which depends on your day's activities. CBD affects daydreaming by making one’s muscles involuntarily contract and relax; hence a calming thought is perceived in the mind. 

Stage Two

A person is slightly under deep sleep and less likely to be awakened in this stage. It lasts for 25 minutes, whereby the heartbeat rate slows, and the body temperature cools as the body prepares for a deeper sleep. In this period, there are no dreams one can experience, but CBD makes them feel like they are floating in the cloud.

Stages Three and Four

At this stage, one is in a deep sleep characterized by no body movements and dreams. The brain waves slow down, and an individual may feel dizzy and tired if awakened. CBD, taken in the correct dosage, helps one’s subconscious brain to collect excellent and motivating thoughts and events they have experienced to induce a good dream. It is not yet proven, but science shows the interaction of CBD with GEBA neurotransmitters can affect the accumulation of thoughts in the deeper part of your mind.

Stage Five

The last stage is characterized by fast eye movements, fast breathing, and increased brain activity and heart rate. It is where the dreams reach an optimum level, and it happens approximately 2 hours after one falls asleep. The brain activities are like when they are awake, but the muscles become paralyzed temporarily. When people consume CBD, it helps them control their body pressure and brain perceptions, decreasing their heartbeats and breathing rate and inducing calming effects in the brain, allowing them to snitch control of their dreams' activity. However, according to Gatto et al. (2007), CBD does not suppress rapid eye movements (REM), but when alongside THC, it can decrease the occurrence of REM.

Scientists' Experiments on CBD Doses in Dreams Control

The research was done in 2018 on how different doses of CBD oil may interfere with an individual's dream patterns. Experiments were done in three sections throughout four consecutive nights of the subjects. The subjects were administered CBD oil through a sublingual method of consumption just an hour before bed. The CBD compounds diffuse through the mouth membranes to the bloodstream, and calming effects for sleep are felt in less than 8 minutes. Immediately after the subjects woke up, they wrote their experience in their dreams during those four days of different CXBD doses. The following are the result.

Small CBD Oil Dose: Day One

After taking five drops of CBD oil, equivalent to 12mg potency, the subject concluded that they couldn't control their dreams, and it was like being forced to watch a recorded dream movie with coherent scenes that didn't make any sense. 

Moderate CBD Dose: Experiment Two

On the second night, they consumed 25Mg, which is approximately 10 to 12 drops of CBD Oil. Scientists analyzed their reports and concluded that at this stage, one could slightly control their dream environment. A person can regulate this action by controlling their consciousness to make their movements but not all the time.

High Dose; Day Three

They reported complete control of their dreams after consuming 50 Mg of CBD. They felt like everything in their goals was happening in the real world. According to Chagas et al. (2014), highly concentrated CBD interacts with the brain receptors to help an individual subconscious feel alive and make them think they are living normally in their dream.

Overdosing: Day Four

Taking 100MG of CBD before sleep can cause some nightmares. The subject reported that they had complete control of their dreams, but the plans were terrifying, and they felt as if they were being tortured in their subconscious. It is the reason why people who misuse marijuana report cases of lack of sleep due to bad dreams and hallucinations. Scientists explain that when the brain receptors are overwhelmed by cannabinoids, it results in more and more cortisol molecules which stress an individual's consciousness of traumatic events.

CBD and Dream Recall

Mangiaruga et al. (2018) explained that medications could interfere with the memory of an individual’s dreams by suppressing the growth of brain cells during the sleeping stages. CBD can help a person vividly recall and keep track of their dreams. When a person is sleeping, CBD increases the production of new brain cells that store dream memories.

Conclusion

CBD is one of the herbal remedies under investigation by scientists on its overall effects. Little research has been done on the relationship between CBD and dreams. Dreams are majorly influenced by daily activities and what is deep in one’s subconscious. What a person dream of is what they are experiencing and what they face. CBD, apart from inducing deep relaxation and calm in the brain for deep sleep, influences how a person’s brain's subconscious aligns with its events. It blocks negative thoughts in the brain's consciousness to avoid nightmares or vivid dreams. However, a high dosage can cause nightmares since they overwhelm the brain's nerves.

References

Chagas, M. H., Eckeli, A. L., Zuardi, A. W., Pena‐Pereira, M. A., Sobreira‐Neto, M. A., Sobreira, E. T., ... & Crippa, J. A. D. S. (2014). Cannabidiol can improve complex sleep‐related behaviors associated with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson's patients: a case series. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, 39(5), 564-566.

Gatto, E. M., Roca, M. U., Martinez, O., Valiensi, S., & Högl, B. (2007). Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia in two patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 13(2), 130-132.

Lee, M. A. (2011). CBD: how it works. O’Shaughnessy’s [Internet].

Mangiaruga, A., Scarpelli, S., Bartolacci, C., & De Gennaro, L. (2018). Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams. Nature and science of sleep, 10, 1.