San Diego, CA: The daily use of cannabis by older adults is associated with improved sleep duration, according to data published in the journal Cannabis.
Researchers with the University of California at San Diego assessed the relationship between daily cannabis use and sleep quality over a 14-day period in a cohort of older adults (ages 50 to 70) with and without HIV. Participants wore actigraphy watches during the study period to objectively assess their quality of sleep.
Authors reported that cannabis use was associated with, on average, some 30 minutes of increased sleep time per evening.
They concluded: “In our small sample, findings showed cannabis use was associated with longer sleep duration. … [F]uture studies with larger sample sizes that assess cannabis use in more detail are needed to further understand this relationship.”
Full text of the study, “Cannabis use is associated with greater total sleep time in middle-aged adults with and without HIV: A preliminary report utilizing digital health technologies,” appears in Cannabis.