Karachi, Pakistan: Cannabinoid-based interventions improve insomnia symptoms and enhance sleep quality, according to a review of clinical trial data published in the journal Sleep Medicine.
A team of investigators from Pakistan and Egypt reviewed the results of ten randomized controlled trials conducted between 2021 and 2025 involving over 2,100 participants with sleep disorders. Studies assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids – primarily formulations containing either THC, CBD, or a combination of both – versus either melatonin or placebos.
Researchers reported that cannabinoids provided “faster sleep initiation,” “longer sleep duration,” “improved nighttime sleep continuity,” and better overall sleep quality than did control treatments. Adverse effects associated with cannabinoid treatments were described as “mild and transient, with no consistent evidence of serious safety concerns.”
“Cannabinoids improve sleep quality and duration with acceptable safety, offering a potential alternative for managing insomnia,” the study’s authors concluded. “Larger, long-term trials are warranted to define optimal dosing and sustained efficacy.”
Earlier this week, researchers at the American Heart Association’s annual conference presented new data linking the long-term use of melatonin to an increased risk of heart failure.
Long-term observational trials have similarly reported that the use of botanical cannabis provides sleep-related improvements in patients with insomnia and other sleep disorders. A 2022 Canadian study reported that 39 percent of patients with sleep disorders were able to either “completely discontinue [their use of] insomnia medications or reduce their use from nightly administration to as-needed administration with the use of medical cannabis.”
Survey data published earlier this year reported that nearly ten percent of US adults “currently use cannabis to help them sleep.”
Separate survey data published in 2023 reported that as many as 80 percent of consumers report using cannabis products as a substitute for conventional sleep aids, including melatonin and benzodiazepines. Observational data finds that the enactment of adult-use cannabis legalization is associated with a decline in the sales of over-the-counter sleep aid medications.
Full text of the study, “Efficacy of cannabinoids for insomnia and sleep disturbance: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” appears in Sleep Medicine. Additional information on cannabis and insomnia is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.