Some people who smoke cannabis before bed often struggle to recall their dreams the next morning. But there’s a simple reason why marijuana users tend to have less dreams.
This phenomenon can be explained by how marijuana affects the sleep cycle, specifically a stage known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
During the night, the brain cycles through 4 different stages of sleep, spending the most time in deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep) and REM sleep. The amount of time spent in these two stages is closely related. In fact, studies show that cannabis lengthens the time the brain spends in deep sleep, which leads to less REM sleep.
Deep Sleep Vs REM Sleep
It’s not clear whether the effect of marijuana on REM sleep is actually harmful. In fact, experts are still not sure why we need REM sleep.
While more research is needed, it’s possible that the ability of cannabis to increase deep sleep, even at the expense of REM sleep, might turn out to be a good thing. Getting into Lucid Dreaming can help produce vivid dreams even after smoking weed.
We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping and some of us still don’t have it down.
You would think that something that involves a lot of nothing would come easy but a lot of us have bad sleeping habits that can lead to joint pain, spinal issues and disease.
Sleep is when the body heals and regenerates and even though we may not be actively conscious the brain still sends many signals through the spine to our organs.
Healthy Sleeping Positions
Sleeping Solo
Sleeping With That Special Someone
The key to maintaining a healthy sleeping position, whether you are flying solo or snuggling with a fine dime piece, is a neutral spine.
Dreams are best interpreted by you and in the context of your particular dream.
Your recent mood and waking life experience can also play a part in your analysis.
Common Dream Symbols
Animals
often represent the part of your psyche that feels connected to nature and survival. Being chased by a predator suggests you’re holding back repressed emotions like fear or aggression.
Babies
can symbolize a literal desire to produce offspring, or your own vulnerability or need to feel loved. They can also signify a new start.
Being chased
is one of the most common dream symbols in all cultures. It means you are feeling threatened, so reflect on who is chasing you (they may also be symbolic) and why they are a possible threat in real life.
Clothes
make a statement about how we want other people to perceive us. If you dream symbol is shabby clothing, you may feel unattractive or worn out. Changing what you wear may reflect a lifestyle change.
Exams
can signify self-evaluation, with the content of the exam reflecting the part of your personality or life under inspection.
Death
of a friend or loved one represents change (endings and new beginnings) and is not a paranormal prediction of any kind. If you are recently bereaved, it may be an attempt to come to terms with the event.
Falling
is a common dream symbol that relates to our anxieties about letting go, losing control, or somehow failing after a success.
Faulty Machinery
in dreams is often caused by your language centers being shut down while asleep, making it difficult to dial a phone, read the time, or search the internet. It can also represent performance anxiety in life.
Food
is said to symbolize knowledge, because it nourishes the body just as information nourishes the brain. Food for thought?
Demons
are sneaky evil entities which signify repressed emotions. You may secretly feel the need to change your own behaviors for the better.
Hair
has significant ties with sexuality, according to Freud. Abundant hair may symbolize virility, while cutting hair off in a dream shows a loss of libido. Hair loss may also express a literal fear of going bald or becoming unattractive.
Hands
are always present in dreams but when they are tied up it may represent feelings of futility. Washing your hands may express guilt. Looking closely at your hands in a dream is a good way to become lucid.
Houses
can host many common dream symbols, but the building as a whole represents your inner psyche. Each room or floor can symbolize different emotions, memories and interpretations of meaningful events.
Killing
in your dreams does not make you a closet murderer; it represents your desire to “kill” part of your own personality. It can also symbolize hostility towards a particular person and the desire to see them suffer.
Marriage
may be a literal desire to wed or a merging of the feminine and masculine parts of your psyche.
Missing a flight
or any other kind of transport is another popular dream, showing your frustration over possibly missing out on important opportunities in life. It’s most common when you’re struggling to make a big decision.
Money
can symbolize self worth. If you dream of exchanging money, it may show that you’re anticipating some changes in your life.
Mountains
are obstacles, so to dream of successfully climbing a mountain can reveal a true feeling of achievement. Viewing a landscape from atop a mountain can symbolize a life under review without conscious prejudice.
Nudity
is one of the most common dream symbols, revealing your true self to others. You may feel vulnerable and exposed to others. Showing off your nudity may suggest sexual urges or a desire for recognition.
People
(other dream characters) are reflections of your own psyche, and may demonstrate specific aspects of your own personality.
Radios and TVs
can symbolize communication channels between the conscious and subconscious minds. When lucid, ask them a question…
Roads
aside from being literal manifestations, convey your direction in life. This may be time to question your current “life path”.
Schools
are common dream symbols in children and teenagers but what about dreaming of school in adulthood? It may display a need to know and understand yourself, fueled by life’s own lessons.
Sex
dreams can symbolize intimacy and a literal desire for sex. Or they may demonstrate the unification of unconscious emotions with conscious recognition, showing a new awareness and personal growth.
Teachers
aside from being literal manifestations of people, can represent authority figures with the power to enlighten you.
Teeth
are common dream symbols. Dreaming of losing your teeth may show a hidden fear of getting old and being unattractive to the opposite sex.
Being trapped
(physically) is a common nightmare theme, reflecting your real life inability to escape or make the right choice.
Vehicles
may reflect how much control you feel you have over your life – for instance is the car out of control, or is someone else driving you?
Water
comes in many forms and can symbolize the subconscious mind. Calm pools of water reflect inner peace while a choppy ocean can suggest unease.
Most people only think that there is one way to sleep: Go to sleep at night for 6-8 hours, wake up in the morning, stay awake for 16-18 hours and then repeat. This common routine is called the monophasic sleep cycle, which is only 1 of 5 major sleep cycles. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the multiple number of naps they require each day.
How is this possible? How is this healthy? Well, the most important stage of every sleep cycle is the Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which has been shown to provide the benefits of sleep to the brain above all other stages of sleep. When changing over to a polyphasic cycle, the lack of sleep tricks the body into entering REM sleep immediately instead of 45 to 75 minutes into sleep like in the monophasic cycle. This way, you still get the benefits of 8 hours of sleep without wasting all of the time it takes to get to REM cycles, resulting in a much more efficient sleep cycle.
Polyphasic Cycles
Uberman Cycle:
20 to 30 minute naps every 4 hours, resulting in 6 naps each day. The uberman cycle is highly efficient, and usually results in feeling healthy, feeling refreshed upon waking and extremely vivid dreams. Many uberman-users report increased ability to lucid dream as well. However, the rigid schedule makes it near impossible to miss naps without feeling horribly tired. Blogger Steve Pavlina tried the cycle for 5.5 months and had amazingly positive results. Read his articles and updates on the cycle here.
Everyman Cycle:
One longer “core” nap that is supplemented with several 20-30 minute naps. The most successful variations are either one 3 hour nap and three 20-minute naps or one 1.5 hour nap with 4-5 20 minute naps, all of which have equal amounts of time in between each nap. This cycle is much easier to adjust to than the Uberman and allows for more flexibility in nap times and in skipping naps when necessary. It is also still extremely efficient compared to monophasic with only 3-4 hours of sleep per day.
Dymaxion Cycle:
Bucky Fuller invented the cycle based on his belief that we have two energy tanks, the first is easy to replenish but the second tank (second wind) is much harder. So Bucky began sleeping for 30 minutes every 6 hours. That’s 2 hours a day of sleep! He reported feeling, “the most vigorous and alert condition I have ever enjoyed.” Doctors examined him after several years of using the cycle and pronounced him perfectly healthy. The most extreme of the 4 alternate cycles, but also the most efficient.
Biphasic “Siesta” Cycle:
The biphasic cycle is basically that of every college student in America. The biphasic cycle consists of sleeping for 4-4.5 hours at night, and then taking a 90 minute nap around noon. So not all that different, still more efficient than monophasic, but not by much.
Choosing a Polyphasic Sleep Cycle
The cycle that can work for you completely depends on your lifestyle. If you decide to switch to either the Dymaxion or Uberman cycles, note that you will be a zombie from day 3 to around day 10 until your body fully adjusts to the cycle. Here are some tips gathered from reading other people’s progress
– Eat healthy, avoid fatty foods and the adjustment will be much easier
-Make sure you have a project to work on during all of your new awake hours as it makes the time go by faster
– Also make sure you have two or three weeks of freedom to adjust to the cycle so that you don’t go to work or school completely dead from sleep deprivation
– Hang in there. Each of the cycles will get exponentially easier all of the sudden after the first 2 weeks or so. Just be patient and diligent! Don’t skip naps or change your nap times around or you will basically have to start your adjustment period over.
– Use natural cues for being waking up from naps like sunlight and loud music, while using darkness and silence for sleep (obviously)
If you are seriously considering making the switch over the a polyphasic sleep cycle, a really enjoyable and informative read is Steve Pavlina’s extremely in-depth report of his experience with the Uberman cycle, available here.