Can Marijuana Help Me Sleep Better?

Can marijuana or cannabis help people with sleep problems? We look at the latest research to find out. 

There have been quite a lot of excitement regarding cannabis as potential treatment for depression, dementia and even cancer pain management. However there has been surprisingly little research that looks into the effects of cannabis on insomnia. 

An Australian research conducted in 2020 reported promising results after they treated 23 patients with cannabinoid extract. 

The study was coordinated through the University of Western Australia Centre for Sleep Science and treated its patients for the first 14 nights with the formulation and another 14 nights with a placebo. 

The results showed that the cannabis formulation “produced statistically significant improvements compared to the placebo based on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).”

Overall participants reported significantly improved sleep quality and feelings of waking up rested with “ISI scores decreased by 26 per cent while those on the highest dose achieved a 36 per cent reduction in ISI”. 

Participants also reported a significant improvement in subjective measures of stress, fatigue and social functioning. 

“The fact that the treatment achieved significant, dose-responsive improvements across a broad range of key insomnia indices is impressive,” quotes Professor Peter Eastwood, lead researcher from UWA’s Centre for Sleep Science.

“Positive patient experiences with minimal side-effects are critical to the success of any insomnia drug and highlights the potential for this treatment to address a key area of unmet need,” Professor Eastwood said.

“It is likely that further improvements in effectiveness could be achieved by dosing over a longer period and potentially at higher doses.”

Sleep often overlooked as secondary side effect

Unfortunately many existing research ignore the sedative effects of cannabis and miss out on the therapeutic potential it can have on sleep. 

In a report titled ‘The use of Cannabinoids for Sleep: A Critical Review on Clinical Trials’ which examined existing studies on cannabis and sleep. The authors noted that: 

“The current literature focuses mostly on the use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of chronic health conditions such as multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain. Sleep is often a secondary, rather than primary outcome in these studies.”

Poor sleep affects more than 35 percent of American adults. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) these conditions range from sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, to restless leg syndrome (RLS) and is costing up to $411 billion per year in lost productivity. 

More research on negative impact of cannabis on sleep needed

As promising as all of this sounds, some experts are not quite onboard just yet. 

Dr. Deirdre Conroy, a sleep psychologist with University of Michigan Health warns that what we’re seeing could only be the short term benefits and we need to study if there are any negative impacts on sleep in the long term. 

“When we look at the effects of marijuana on sleep, we tend to see that in the short term, it does help people fall asleep and improves the sleep quality in the first part of the night. In the long term, some of the improvements that people experience with marijuana can wane and insomnia can return with more frequent use and abrupt discontinuation of marijuana,” Conroy said.

She also pointed out that cannabis products are available in stronger doses now and one should consult their doctor before consuming. 

“When my patients ask me about marijuana and sleep, I usually remind them that the research is still in its infancy, the availability of marijuana has really outpaced the science,” Conroy said. “So, it’s really important for the patients to discuss their use of marijuana with their doctors.”