As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients who are having either difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.   They try all sorts of medications (Ambien, Xanax, Trazodone, Lunestra, Tylenol PM) and remedies and do not get the results they hoped for.  Many times the side effects of the medications are worse than the insomnia itself.   DO YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP IS TO YOUR OVERALL HEALTH? Apparently most people do not based on the fact that I keep reading law enforcement and opponents of Prop 215 speak on how this law was supposed to be for “seriously ill” and is being used for “insignificant illnesses such as insomnia.”   In this blog I am going to educate you on sleep and GROWTH HORMONE... read on.

GROWTH HORMONE, is a chemical that is produced in the pituitary gland in the central area of your brain.    It’s normal function and secretion is essential to a healthy life.  Specifically growth hormone:

1. Causes the growth of bones and cartilage in growing children.

2. Stimulates the growth of skeletal muscle by increasing the uptake of amino acids.  It facilitates the healing and regeneration of healthy connective tissue.

3. Breaks down fat.

4. Supports the immune system by influencing the production of anti-bodies and the function of many immune cells.

5. Effects mood and behavior.

6.  Effects the production of a compound called IHG-1 in the liver which has MANY important metabolic functions.

So as you can see, GH is essential for living a healthy life.   It’s secretion peaks in adolescence  and slowly declines over time.    THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT CAN EFFECT THE PRODUCTION OF GH IN THE BODY.

SLEEP HAPPENS TO BE THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR IN ENSURING THE HEALTHY PRODUCTION OF GRAOTH HORMONE IN THE BODY.   GH is primarily secreted in the first few hours of deep sleep at night.  LIke many other hormones GH is triggered by a circadian rhythm and when we fall asleep the body inherently knows to ramp up GH production.

If patients are lying in bed staring at the ceiling until 1 or 2 am and then have to get up for work in 3-4 hours they are missing out on the peak time when their bodies should be secreting growth hormone.   THE RESULT:  breakdown of muscle mass, increases in fat stores, weakened immune systems and overall feeling and looking “much older”

Understanding the importance of getting a good nights sleep, you can now see insomnia in a new light.     Growth Hormone is only ONE of MANY hormones that are triggered by sleep.    Medical Marijuana has some incredible properties.  One of them is sedation.   I can not tell you how many patients of mine use a cannabis INDICA strain 30 minutes prior to going to bed and tell me they “had the best sleep in years.” The good news is that unlike many other sleep pills, patients do not report waking up feeling groggy or feel tired throughout the day.  Most can use a very small dose of the right stain of marijuana and do really well.

So I challenge those who mock physicians who provide medical marijuana recommendations for patients who can not sleep well to do the research and really study what the cost of not sleeping is on the body.   I CAN TELL YOU THAT DOCTORS IN GENERAL LIVE 15 YEARS LESS THAN THE GENERAL PUBLIC…mostly because of not enough sleep, overcompensating with caffeine and poor diets, which leads to chronic disease and early death.

With that… BE BLESSED AND GO GET SOME SLEEP——> If you are not using cannabis to help you sleep and would like to come in and see me feel free to contact us through our website or toll free number 877-721-0047

Dr. Breen