Can Medical Marijuana Help With Sleep Apnea

A medical disorder characterized by frequent interruptions in breathing of up to 10 seconds or more during sleep, sleep apnea, is associated with many physiological disorders, including fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and stroke.


There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type and is cased by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. This type of sleep apnea is associated with obesity. With central sleep apnea, the airway is open, not blocked but the brain fails to tell the muscles to breathe. Mixed sleep apnea is when a person suffers from obstructive sleep apnea and central to both.

With each episode of apnea, the brain wakes usually the person with sleep apnea in order for them to start breathing again. But this type of pattern results in sleep disturbance that is of poor quality. Sleep apnea is estimated to occur in about 4% of men and 2% of women between the ages of 30 and 60. The condition is associated with other disorders such as chronic headaches, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, strokes and fatigue.

Doctors diagnose sleep apnea based on medical and family history, physical examination, and results of tests called sleep studies. Usually, your primary care doctor evaluates your symptoms first. He or she then decides whether you need to see a sleep specialist. Conventional therapy involves changes in lifestyle (avoiding alcohol, losing weight, changing sleeping position, smoking cessation), using a mouthpiece that keeps the airway open during sleep, using a positive pressure machine that is worn during sleep Continuous good airway pressure(CPAP), and sometimes surgery to the upper airway or tonsils.

In the June issue of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Journal, researchers at the University of Illinois, Department of Medicine reported that sleep apnea in rats that received cannabinoids (natural chemicals of cannabis) was deleted. Doses of delta-9-THC and stabilized polyamide breathing during sleep and blocked serotonin-induced exacerbation of sleep apnea. Many patients who have used the ratio of medical cannabis improved sleep quality and less fatigue the next day. It is unclear whether the problems related to sleep apnea (such as hypertension, heart attacks, irregular heartbeats, etc.) are affected by medical cannabis and other studies are needed to examine these questions.


Alternative Links:

• Get Medical Marijuana Card to use Legal Marijuana in your State
• Find Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California