Effect of Marijuana on Sleep Patterns of Young Adults - Essay Example

? Effect of Marijuana on Sleep Patterns of Young Adults EFFECT OF MARIJUANA ON SLEEP PATTERNS OF YOUNG ADULTS Potential therapeutic effects of marijuana include pain relief and sleep quality alterations. This has been attributed to the hypnotic effects of the drug. This study investigates the effect of marijuana on sleep patterns. Current studies have been conducted using doses that are, in use, to relieve pain. Cannabinoids in marijuana are understood to be the principal psychoactive constituents of marijuana through cannabinoid receptors in the brain (Shapiro, 2011). While the cannabinoid constituent may be free of central brain activity, it may possess potential therapeutic characteristics due to its anti-convulsant and myo-relaxant characteristics. In addition, the THC constituent in marijuana has attenuation effects such as tachycardia and euphoria. The mechanism of cannabinoids in effecting these changes is not clear since it is not possible to explain them through receptor binding (Shapiro, 2011). For the purpose of this study, THC alone will be studied in the process of sleep and sleep latencies, in the morning, after administration of marijuana. Research Question What are the effects of marijuana on the sleep patterns of young adults? Hypothesis Marijuana causes reduced sleep latency and increases sleepiness. Methodology The subjects who were incorporated in the study were between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, weighing between sixty and ninety kg for males and fifty and eighty kg for females. Their body mass index was supposed to be below thirty. The subjects were also required to have little incidence of medical history and were removed from the study if they had familial history of insomnia or daytime sleepiness, schizophrenic illnesses, and emotional or psychiatric problems (Solowij, 2010). Those taking more than 14 U of alcohol a week, smoking more than five cigarettes a day, and taking over five caffeinated beverages a day were also excluded. Inclusion required blood pressure measurements, oral temperature measurements, and hearty rate measurements. Those with blood pressure over 140/90 and a heart rate below 40 during rest were excluded. All subjects were required to use barrier methods during sex during the study, and that if they were on hormonal treatments, then they could not discontinue its use. The subjects consisted of four females aged between 20 and 22 years and 4 males between 24 and 30. The females weighed an average of 61.3kg and the males weighed an average of 74.7 kg. They were also social marijuana users and reported not using the drug for 30 days before the study, which was confirmed by a drug screen. The subjects also did not have any history of caffeine, tobacco, or alcohol abuse, confirmed by a drug screen that included tests for amphetamines, cocaine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and opiates (Solowij, 2010). Their alcohol intake was also below 8 U/week for females and 20 U/week for the males. The independent variable for the study is sleep while the dependent variable is marijuana. The research study was a placebo-controlled and double blind experiment with observations of THC and CBD effects on sleep patterns the day after administration. There was a night for adaptation and four nights for the experiment that were separated by one week. The participants were required to sleep at their usual time, and refrain from catnaps and exercise during the day before the experimental nights and were also required to refrain from exercise at least twelve hours following the experimental nights. The participants were chauffeured to the sleep lab for the experimental nights. During the adaptation night, the participants were familiarized with the experiment and to confirm that they possessed a normal pattern of sleep. Caffeine and alcohol ingestion was prohibited during the adaptation night for twenty-four hours with smoking prohibited five hours before the sleep-over (Solowij, 2010). The participants were administered with four treatments; 20 g of marijuana, 15 g of marijuana, 10 g of marijuana, and 5 g of marijuana, administered together with a placebo. The participants slept in light proofed, single, temperature controlled, and sound attenuated rooms (Solowij, 2010). Blood samples were obtained, at nine in the evening, to estimate the levels of marijuana in their system the following morning. Blood samples were also taken to aid in measuring marijuana levels in their plasma. Heart rate and blood pressure were also measured during, before, and after 30 minutes of drug administration. The questions requested participants to rate their sleepiness levels on a one to ten scale before and after they had slept. O referred to poor sleep, and 10 referred to excellent sleep. The subjects were also asked to estimate the time that they fell asleep and the duration of their sleep. Following each overnight sleepover, cognitive tasks were used to measure performance, as well as feelings of fatigue, sleepiness, and mood. The participants were also presented with a series of thirty different sheets, which had two hundred random digits that were arranged in rows of 10 on both sheet sides. Below each digit, the participants were expected to put the desired symbol as indicated via code at the top of the sheet (Solowij, 2010). The participants were given two minutes for every side with each session’s total recorded. Sleep latency was measured by requiring the participants to lie in bed and attempt to sleep (Solowij, 2010). They were then observed until twenty minutes after the lights were put off. Adverse effects of the drug were also recorded, and consideration made if in case they were recognizable to the drug, as well as details that documented their onset, severity, cessation, and relation to the treatment. Results There were no recorded differences between the participant ratings of sleepiness before treatment administration. There were also no differences in their assessments of onset, quality, or duration of sleep following administration of the placebo. There were no recorded effects of the 10 g of marijuana on sleep. The data also failed to show any significant variations for the participants in the case of rapid eye movement latency. The participants, however, reported feeling sleepy thirty minutes after they woke up and suffered decreased early morning sleep latencies. They also reported mood changes several memory aspects seemed to be impaired, and they remembered fewer words correctly during the delayed and immediate recall tests. For the 15 g dosage, the participants showed evidence of decrease in the third stage of sleep, and at the higher 20 g dosage, the wake up time saw an increase. At the lower 5 g dosage, there were no recorded changes in performance, fatigue, sleepiness, and mood during the next morning. With the 15 g and 20 g doses, the participants reported to feeling sleepy, fatigued, and undergoing mood swings. For the lower doses, the participants did not report any changes in memory test performance, although they did record a lowered reaction time during the digit recall test. No adverse effects were recorded that would have necessitated the withdrawal of any of the participants. All eight of the participants did at least report one adverse effect event. On inspection of these events, it was discovered that the higher doses that is, 15 g and 20 g, were most likely associated with symptoms that were linked to the neural system. Discussion The human sleep cycle has five stages, which are differentiated by the activity of the brain. The first phase of sleep begins, immediately one falls asleep, and the brain is still highly active, although its activity is in decline (Solowij, 2010). When an individual enters the second stage of sleep, brain activity slows down noticeably. The third and fourth stages of an individual’s sleep are characterized by very low brain activity, during which time the rate of breathing, the heart rate slow down significantly. During the fourth stage, the individual undergoes a back cycle to the third and second stage. However, instead of the expected return to the first stage, the individual will enter into the stage known as the rapid eye movement sleep stage. THC in marijuana, which is the major psychoactive constituent in bhang, has an effect on the rapid eye movement sleep stage, as well as brain activity during sleep. Smoking marijuana, and, in effect THC, causes a reduction in brain activity during sleep, as well as the rapid eye movement sleep stage (Solowij, 2010). In this experiment, it was found to decrease the period of REM with a higher dosage leading to a bigger decrease. The study also noticed that those participants taking large doses of marijuana find difficulty in falling asleep and when they did, they found it just as hard to stay asleep. They also exhibit restlessness. References Shapiro, C. (2011). Forensic aspects of sleep. Chichester : Wiley. Solowij, N. (2010). Cannabis and cognitive functioning. Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Press. Read More