Nightcaps come in all shapes and sizes.
Some people like to have a drink before bed, and others prefer taking a nice long toke.
But both substances affect your sleep, andsleep is a major component of your physical and mental health.
Most adults need somewhere aroundseven or eight hours of sleep every night.
But theres a big difference between being unconscious for eight hours and actually getting restful sleep.
Your body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and energy use all decrease across the board.
Your muscles are still active and you might still produce reactions to environmental stimuli.
Essentially, you are falling asleep.
NREM 2 (N2): Drifting toward deep sleep.
Youre harder to awaken, and conscious awareness of your environment goes away.
This stage accounts for about half of your sleep time.
NREM 3 (N3): Deep sleep or slow-wave sleep.
Environmental stimuli are no longer likely to produce any reactions.
REM (rapid eye movement): Also known as the dream state.
Your muscles become paralyzed and your breathing and heart rate become unregulated.
This stage accounts for about a quarter of your sleep time as well.
Ideally, the process goes in this order: N1, N2, N3, N2, REM.
You could literally be wasting your time unconscious, and making your day tomorrow more difficult.
Talk about a crappy deal.
Both alcohol and marijuana can alter those sleep stages.
How Alcohol Affects Your Sleep
Alcohol is the original nightcap, and for obvious reasons.
Its actuallyproven to help most people fall asleep.
It wears off in the middle of the night so your arousal threshold changes.
As Verma explains, however, the effects dont last forever.
Your body is still attempting to process the alcohol and remove it from your system.
Participants were given a nightcap for five consecutive nights, followed by four recovery nights.
AsVerma has told us in the past, consistency is the key to getting good sleep.
Still, theres enough to draw a few conclusions.
For starters, Verma explains that marijuana also messes with your REM sleep.
That means the more you consume, the less likely you are to dream.
Longer sleep onset latency, reduced slow wave sleep and a REM rebound can be observed.
Essentially, your body begins to go through mild symptoms of withdrawal.
The withdrawal period could last anywhere from a couple days for occasional users to several weeks for daily users.
This all leads to a gnarly catch-22:
If you start, youll get great restat first.
None of this is to say that marijuana is bad.
Many doctors even prescribe it for insomnia and anxiety-related insomnia, where its legal for consumption.
And when you cant sleep at all, some sleep is still better than none.
If youre a recreational user, however, its all about moderation.
