Recife, Brazil: Cannabis formulations containing THC and CBN (cannabinol) are associated with improved sleep quality, according to the findings of a meta-analysis published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews.
Brazilian researchers reviewed data from six randomized controlled trials involving 1,077 participants.
Investigators reported that cannabinoid-based interventions “are associated with improvements in sleep quality in individuals with or without insomnia.” But they cautioned that the inclusion of either THC or CBN largely drove their efficacy.
“Our findings indicate that only treatments incorporating THC and/or CBN were associated with a significant improvement in subjective sleep assessments compared with placebo, whereas interventions with CBD alone did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect,” researchers reported. “These results support the hypothesis that different cannabinoids may exert distinct roles in modulating sleep-related therapeutic benefits.”
The study’s authors concluded, “The results are encouraging and provide support for further investigation of cannabinoid therapies for the treatment of poor sleep.”
One in six US adults say that they use cannabis as a sleep aid, according to survey data compiled earlier this year by Harris Polling. Data published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine reports that the enactment of adult-use marijuana legalization laws is associated with significant reductions in the sales of over-the-counter sleep aids.
Full text of the study, “Effectiveness of cannabinoids on subjective sleep quality in people with and without insomnia and poor sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies,” appears in Sleep Medicine Reviews. Additional information on cannabis and sleep quality is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.