If you’ve ever stopped using cannabis after a long stretch and suddenly found yourself in a movie-length dream marathon every night — you’re not imagining things. Cannabis and dreams have a very real relationship, and it all comes down to how weed plays with your sleep cycles.
In this post, we’re going to explore how cannabis can affect your dreams, why you might stop dreaming while using it, and what happens when you hit a tolerance break or quit cold turkey. So, grab your stash (or don’t), get comfy, and let’s dive into what it really means to dream high.
Dreams mostly happen during REM sleep (that’s short for rapid eye movement), which is a lighter sleep phase that typically occurs in 90-minute cycles. This is when your brain goes wild with vivid, cinematic dreamscapes and it’s crucial for emotional and memory processing.
Now here’s the kicker: cannabis can suppress REM sleep. One of weed’s lesser-known superpowers is its ability to reduce the amount of time you spend in REM. According to studies, THC (the main psychoactive compound in cannabis) can shorten REM sleep and increase deep sleep instead.
Translation? You dream less when you’re regularly using cannabis.
Because you’re literally dreaming less. When cannabis suppresses REM sleep, your brain doesn’t enter that dream-heavy state as often or as intensely. This makes dream recall harder and dreams less vivid.
Many people who use cannabis nightly report not remembering their dreams at all — and that’s totally normal. You’re still sleeping, but the “nightly Netflix in your brain” is turned way down.
Now here’s where things get trippy.
If you’ve ever taken a tolerance break or quit using cannabis altogether, you might experience a “REM rebound.” This means your body tries to make up for lost REM time by flooding you with intense, often super vivid dreams—sometimes for days or even weeks.
This isn’t a bad thing. It’s just your brain recalibrating. REM sleep is essential for cognitive and emotional health, so this bounce-back is a sign that your brain is doing what it needs to do.
Short answer: not typically.
Cannabis isn’t known to enhance dream recall or intensity — in fact, most studies suggest the opposite. But some anecdotal reports (and Reddit threads galore) say that low doses of certain cannabinoids like CBN (cannabinol) or strains high in terpenes like myrcene may help promote deeper sleep without fully suppressing dreams.
Want to try to dream high? Try:
Just know that science is still catching up on exactly how different cannabinoids affect sleep architecture. So, take any “dream booster” claims with a grain of kief.
Alright, here’s what we know. Cannabis can be an amazing tool for relaxation, pain relief, and deeper sleep — but when it comes to dreams, it’s more likely to mute them than enhance them. So no, you probably aren’t going to dream high.
If you’re looking to remember your dreams more clearly, taking a short break from cannabis (commonly called a tolerance break) use might be just what your brain needs to hit that REM reset button.
Whether you’re blazing every night or taking a mindful break, it’s all part of learning how your body and brain respond to cannabis. And hey, sweet dreams either way.
