Reply #40: IGNORE ANY MJ RESEARCH BY GABRIEL NAHAS! THC: Best sleep medicine!

[gulfcoastliberal]

He is a paid shill of the NDCP and his "research" is bullshit and full of lies. My dad, a very respected medical sleep researcher, did human studies of the effects of marijuana on sleep. It is the only substance in the world that actually increases "deep" aka "stage 4, delta-cycle" sleep. REM sleep, commonly believed as the best sleep, is actually a very light stage of sleep and not as important as stage 4 - you dream in every stage of sleep, not just REM. THC: the only substance that increases deep sleep. Period.

Here's one citation:

THC does not differ from conventional hypnotics in reducing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (136). THC in doses ranging from 61 to 258 *g/kg produces in normal subjects increments in stage 4 sleep and decrements in REM sleep, but without the characteristic REM rebound which follows chronic treatment with hypnotics. When THC was administered p.o. as a solution in doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg, our subjects fell asleep faster after having mood alterations consistent with a "high." Some degree of "hangover" the day following was noted from larger doses (42). Another sleep laboratory study showed that a dose of 20 mg of THC given p.o. decreased REM sleep. After four to six nights of use, abrupt discontinuation of THC produced mild insomnia but not marked REM rebound (52). REM rebound may not be apparent after low doses of THC. However, very high doses (70 to 210 mg) reduced REM sleep during treatment and were followed by marked REM rebound after withdrawal (48).

Feinberg, I., R. Jones, J. Walker, C. Caveness and E. Floyd. 1976. Effects of marijuana extract and tetrahydrocannabinol on electroencephalographic sleep patterns.
Clin Pharmacol Ther 19:782-794.