What is insomnia?

Most adults need somewhere between seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Individuals who are sleeping significantly less hours in a night likely suffer from insomnia, which is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up. Insomnia affects not only your energy level and mood but also your health, work performance and overall quality of life.

Does insomnia qualify me for medical marijuana use?

Under Missouri’s medical marijuana rules, insomnia is a qualifying medical condition. Any Missourian with an insomnia diagnosis is eligible to receive their medical marijuana card. This is great news since there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows cannabis can help treat insomnia!

How does medical marijuana help treat insomnia?

Research on cannabis and insomnia is somewhat limited due to federal regulations. Nevertheless, many studies show effectiveness when it comes to improving sleep with marijuana. Anecdotal evidence from individual users often shows good results when using marijuana to improve sleep.

Some insomnia symptoms treated by medical marijuana include…

• Sleeping difficulty: Cannabis is an efficient sleep aid since it restores an individual’s natural sleep cycle and when struggling with insomnia, your sleep cycle can definitely fall out of sync.

• Daytime sleepiness: Most people who think about medical weed imagine it causing sleepiness, relaxation and giddiness. However, not all strains make you feel tired. Sativa strains actually do the opposite. They’re energizing and uplifting and help you treat daytime sleepiness caused by insomnia.

• Lack of concentration: Cannabis can help with concentration and focus, which are lacking when you’re tired from not getting adequate sleep. One study showed how the herb improved concentration in all 30 of its participants.

• Headache: A lack of sleep from insomnia can lead to headaches. Headaches can interfere with work or performing daily tasks. Studies show medical pot can help with headaches.

Learn more here about getting your medical marijuana card!