By David A. Mayen
It seems that the use of medical marijuana for insomnia is on the rise. And although I have no strong opinion on this topic one way or another, it may benefit those reading this article to take a closer look at the pro's and con's of such a decision.
First off, what happens to the human sleep system on pot?
Marijuana appears to have a strong effect on the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. This "grand-central station" is literally responsible, for making us responsible. This neurological region is also where most anxiety disorders reside in as well. Anxiety, and all it's other variants, like panic attacks, hyper-vigilance and agoraphobia are centered in this area..
As most of us know, anxiety and insomnia are like Siamese twins. Other than obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), anxiety is the number one reason as to why so many people have such trouble sleeping. Medical marijuana's effect on anxiety reduction is massive. This is because pot reduces many mechanisms of action in this part of the brain. Yes, it works, but the over-kill effect, and the price to cognitive function overall, exacts a high toll.
So other than using medical cannabis for insomnia, what other choices exist?
One alternative to using pot for sleeplessness is a new modality call NeurOptimal neurofeedback. Long story short, the pre-frontal part of the brain can actually be re-trained using brainwave biofeedback to lower anxiety, in all it's forms, and at the same time normalize an insomnia sufferers sleep architecture. And all this can be done in as little as 15 treatments.
But the real beauty of neurofeedback is that once the brain learns this new way of operating more efficiently, it can never go back to the old (dis-functional) way of doing business. It's like a pianist learning a new piece of music. They have to train their brain over time to perfect it, but once the brain learns the new composition, it can never unlearn it. It's there forever. Sadly, using medical marijuana for insomnia requires nightly dosing". forever. This is, and can be very expensive. With neurofeedback, after 15 sessions or so, your done.
David A. Mayen is the founder and CEO of the Sleep Recovery Centers (SRC) in Southern California. SRC uses neurofeedback to help normalized healthy, natural sleep without the use of Ambien, Lunesta or Medical Marijuana.
Tags: medical marijuana for insomnia, pot for insomnia, sleep recovery centers, sleep recovery, neuroptimal neurofeedback, obstructive sleep apnea, Agoraphobia, Anxiety Disorders, Anxiety Reduction, Biofeedback, Cognitive Function, Cortex Of The Brain, Grand Central Station, Hyper Vigilance, Insomnia, Medical Cannabis, Medical Marijuana, Modality, Panic Attacks, Piece Of Music, Pre Frontal Cortex, Sleep Apnea, Sleep System, Sleeplessness
