Ketamine: A Sleep Aid Or A Sleep Risk?

Ketamine is a powerful anaesthetic that can be used to help people sleep during surgery. It is also used to treat depression, and is being researched as a potential treatment for severe depression. However, ketamine is also a drug of abuse, often used recreationally for its hallucinogenic properties.

Ketamine can help improve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, which may help people sleep better. However, ketamine can also negatively impact sleep. For example, a study found that ketamine users and even those who had abstained from the drug for over three months had poorer sleep quality than healthy controls.

Ketamine can have both sedative and stimulating effects. When taken recreationally, it is often taken late at night and into the early morning, which can interrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle.

It is important to note that ketamine is a controlled substance and can be dangerous when abused. It can cause serious health problems, including short-term and long-term memory loss, depression, and powerful hallucinations.

Ketamine can help with sleep by improving mental disorders

A 2013 study found that patients with depression experienced an increase in total sleep and a decrease in waking during the first and second nights after a ketamine infusion. Ketamine therapy can also help PTSD patients sleep without needing to use sedatives and can stop their nightmares.

However, ketamine can also negatively impact sleep. A study published in Scientific Reports found that current ketamine users and abstinent ketamine users have poorer sleep quality than healthy controls. Abstinent participants had abstained from ketamine for more than three months, yet they still had issues with sleep. This illustrates that all kinds of recreational ketamine use can negatively impact sleep quality.

The stimulating effects of ketamine can make it harder to fall asleep, especially if taken late into the night or early in the morning. In contrast, at a ketamine clinic, the treatment is undergone during the day, so the effects of ketamine would be long gone by bedtime.

Ketamine is a drug of abuse that is used illegally recreationally for its hallucinogenic properties. It is also known to be a "date rape" drug as it causes short-term memory loss. Abuse of ketamine can lead to powerful visual hallucinations, coma, and deep unconsciousness. It can also cause short-term and long-term problems, including problems with attention, learning, memory, sedation, confusion, loss of memory, raised blood pressure, unconsciousness, and dangerously slowed breathing.

Ketamine can negatively impact sleep

The authors of the Scientific Reports study note that "poor sleep was positively associated with craving for ketamine, indicating a potential role of craving in mediating the relationship between sleep problems and ketamine use." If you develop a psychological addiction to ketamine through self-medicating or recreational use, then your cravings for the drug can disrupt your sleep.

While ketamine can have sedative effects, it can also have stimulating effects. Many recreational users take a dose to give them energy at a club, party, or festival. If taking ketamine this way, you may use the drug late into the night and early morning. This will affect your sleep in two ways. Firstly, you will be interrupting your natural sleep-wake cycle by going to bed at an unusual time. Secondly, the stimulating effects of the ketamine will make it harder to fall asleep when you try to.

Regular ketamine use can cause depression, and people may feel down and low in mood for a few days after using ketamine. It can also cause damage to short- and long-term memory, and the longer-term effects of ketamine use can include flashbacks, memory loss, and problems with concentration.

Ketamine can be used to treat depression

Ketamine targets different subsets of neurotransmitters in the brain than conventional SSRIs, so patients who haven't responded well to traditional antidepressants may have better luck with ketamine therapy. It is not a first-option treatment for depression and is generally used only when other treatments haven't been effective.

Ketamine is available as a prescription nasal spray called esketamine (Spravato) and is administered under the supervision of a healthcare provider in a certified doctor's office or clinic. It is also available in intravenous (IV) infusion form, delivered directly into the bloodstream through a small needle placed in a vein in the arm. The treatment session can feel like a spiritual journey, with feelings of warmth, safety, and confidence.

Ketamine has side effects, including dissociation, temporary increases in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. It is not safe for people with a history of psychosis or schizophrenia, a history of substance use disorder, teenagers, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and older adults with symptoms of dementia.

Ketamine can provide hope for people with serious depression and can be lifesaving for those considering suicide. It is important to talk to a healthcare professional to determine if ketamine is the right treatment for you.

Ketamine is a drug of abuse

Ketamine is a derivative of phencyclidine (PCP) and is used as a recreational drug to produce euphoric and dissociative effects. It is also used as a date-rape drug to immobilise victims. It is odourless, tasteless, and can produce amnesia-like effects. It is typically snorted or mixed with tobacco or marijuana and smoked. It can also be injected, swallowed in tablet form, or dissolved in water and drank.

Ketamine is legally recognised as having the potential for abuse and for both psychological and physical dependence. People who use ketamine report that the short-lasting, highly euphoric effects and its role as an access point into social interactions make it particularly difficult to stop using. The drug is also associated with a strong craving.

Ketamine has been linked to physical and mental effects, including bladder pain and ulcers, chronic stomach pain, and longer-term memory deficits. It can also cause an increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure. It can make users feel confused, agitated, delirious, and disconnected from reality.

Ketamine is one of a few mind-altering drugs with a low (<1%) serious-complication rate. However, it can be dangerous when mixed with other drugs, particularly alcohol, benzos, or opiates.

Ketamine is used as an anesthetic

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that is used to induce a sleep-like state in patients. It is commercially available and has been in clinical use since 1970. It is often used in emergency settings, especially in shocked or hypotensive patients, as it helps to stabilise haemodynamics. It is also used for patients with reactive airway disease, such as active bronchospasm, and for those with congenital heart disease, as it increases systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary blood flow, improving oxygenation.

Ketamine is also used in prehospital and battlefield medicine, as well as in low doses in combination with other drugs for co-induction and total intravenous anesthesia. It is a valuable option for procedural sedation in adults and children, and for sedation and analgesia in critical care units.

Ketamine is a non-narcotic substance that is safe to use in controlled medical practice. However, it is hazardous for recreational use and may result in potentially life-threatening adverse effects.

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