If you’re on the fence about reaching for a melatonin gummy because you’re a stoner, you are not alone. As you know mixing substances isn’t always a good idea and you’re right to err on the side of caution. You’re probably wondering if there are any potential risks or benefits associated with combining melatonin and weed. Well, here’s what we know.
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What is Melatonin?
You may have heard melatonin is perfect for a good night’s sleep. However, you probably aren’t sure what melatonin is.
Melatonin is a hormone, naturally made by your body, that helps you fall asleep. When melatonin is produced in high amounts it lets your body know that it’s time to get some shut eye.
The exact mechanism isn’t clear however, Healthline says melatonin works with your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm helps decide when it’s time to eat, go to sleep, and wake up.
Healthline also says, “Melatonin also helps regulate your body temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose, body weight, and levels of some hormones.”
Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons such as jet lag, people may need this hormone from external sources such as a sleep aid.
That’s where melatonin products come in.
Melatonin products are often the go-to for a restful night for some adults.
As a matter of fact, the Sleep Foundation says 27.4% of adults take melatonin to help them sleep.
Fortunately, melatonin seems to be effective.
Sleep Foundation says, “88% of adults who take melatonin say it helps them fall asleep faster.”
They’re not imagining that.
A 2018 study concluded that melatonin is an effective treatment of sleep disorders.
As Healthline puts it, “Research indicates that melatonin may help you fall asleep faster. In addition, it may help people with jet lag get to sleep.”
However, Naima Covassin, a coauthor of the study and a sleep disorder expert at Mayo Clinic told AARP that melatonin doesn’t change how many hours of sleep you get or how many times you wake up.
Surprisingly, melatonin has other benefits too. Healthline says melatonin can reduce the risk of eye diseases and help alleviate:
- Migraines
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
Side effects of Melatonin
According to a StatsPearl article, melatonin is considered safe and non-toxic.
However, the article also states melatonin may have mild side effects if taken in high doses such as:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Daytime sleepiness
Interestingly, WebMD also says that taking melatonin before bed may reduce migraines in adults.
Mayo Clinic also states less common side effects of melatonin such as:
- Feelings of depression
- Mild tremor
- Mild anxiety
- Abdominal cramps
- Irritability
- Reduced alertness
- Confusion
- Disorientation
Speaking of depression, WebMD says that it’s unlikely melatonin can treat depression and may actually make it worse.
Melatonin Interactions
There are several possible side effects between melatonin and other drugs. Mayo Clinic says the following may interact with melatonin:
- Blood pressure drugs
- Drugs that reduce blood clotting
- Diabetic medication
- Contraceptives
- Immunosuppressants
Can You Mix Melatonin and Weed?
We couldn’t find any studies that concluded whether or not it was safe to mix melatonin and weed.
If you’re wondering can melatonin and weed kill you, don’t worry, that’s highly unlikely. We don’t know of any cases where that has happened either.
But there could be side effects.
Based on the known side effects of both melatonin and weed. There could be problems. For example, both make people sleepy or drowsy therefore combining the two could amplify that effect.
As a matter of fact, WebMD says, “Taking melatonin with sedative medications might cause breathing problems and/or too much sleepiness.”
Weed can act as a sedative so this is something to keep in mind before you take a melatonin gummy after a smoke sesh. A possible solution to that is opting for a Sativa strain.
In addition to that, if you’re prone to weed headaches or melatonin headaches, combining both may result in a headache.
If you’re prone to having anxiety or depressive feelings after using weed then there is a possibility that could intensify with melatonin use.
There is a possibility that weed could alleviate some symptoms of melatonin use like daytime sleepiness and nausea.
However, we can’t be sure. The research is seriously lacking.
We can explore the idea that maybe you won’t want to mix melatonin and weed because of the effects on sleep. There is evidence that weed may negatively affect rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Not getting enough REM sleep may result in not feeling great when you wake up and memory problems.
Interestingly, melatonin may help with REM sleep. Could using both be beneficial? Possibly, however, we can’t be sure.
If you’re having trouble with sleep, it’s worth trying to get to the bottom of it. If you can fix the root cause you probably won’t need melatonin.
Can you Mix Alcohol, Weed, and Melatonin?
We don’t recommend mixing alcohol, weed, and melatonin.
We don’t even recommend mixing alcohol and weed because of the possible risks.
Melatonin and alcohol aren’t a great mix either.
Good Rx says, “….alcohol disrupts our sleep-wake cycle, and natural melatonin promotes it. Drinking alcohol could also counteract a melatonin supplement’s effects, making it harder for it to do its job.”
Therefore, using alcohol could defeat the purpose of taking melatonin because it might not work.
Alcohol may also be the reason why you reach for melatonin at night.
Healthline says, “Many factors may cause low melatonin levels at night, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, caffeine consumption, shift work, aging, certain medications, and exposure to too much light at night — including blue light.”
Takeaway
We recommend being cautious and talking with your doctor about it. There are no real studies about the effects of combining melatonin and weed. We suspect it could make you extra drowsy since melatonin shouldn’t be taken with other sedatives. But of course, we can’t be sure. Getting to the bottom of your sleep problems could also be a viable solution.
