When it comes to getting a good night’s rest, many cannabis imbibers turn to their favorite indica to help catch some zzzs. While the indica does have a mellowing effect on most, the pot is also working in conjunction with melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone in our brains that play a large role in our sleep patterns.
While melatonin helps us to achieve the all important REM sleep cycle of dreamland, cannabis is notorious for quashing dreams in many users. People from all walks of life anecdotally report that they just don’t dream as much, if at all. Of course there are exceptions. I dream vivid action movie-style and know others with active dream lives as well, but for the majority of heavy weed smokers, dreams are elusive at best.
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It turns out that people are turning to forums like Erowid to report their experience taking melatonin supplements with their nightly cannabis. Apparently, smoking after taking melatonin not only helps you to drift off into dreamland (a little higher than usual), it also helps you to experience—or at least remember— dreams, which could theoretically mean that the person is getting a better form of rest.
People are finding that they are also able to wean off of benzo type drugs using melatonin and cannabis together. The biggest side effect that both methods share is a rough time getting out of bed in the morning. But other than that, melatonin and marijuana are both tame, naturally occurring substances, while we all know the dirty laundry lists of side effects that come with most Big Pharma productions.
The coolest part about getting your dreams back or intensifying them with these two combined supplements is that the slight psychedelic effects of cannabis can increase the dreamer’s visuals and warp them into funhouse mirrors and detailed landscapes. Some report lucid dreaming as well, where you’re aware that it’s a dream and are able to manipulate what’s going on within.
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Melatonin supplements also come in handy when there isn’t any weed to be had. When you’ve either run out or had to stop for awhile, melatonin steps in for your preferred strain and helps you fall asleep gently, working with the naturally produced melatonin you already have to put you to bed in no time flat.
