Key points
Sleep disorders are widespread, and they impair our quality of life during the day.
Cannabinoids have been tested for the effectiveness in sleep disorders.
THC and CBD offered no significant benefits for insomnia, restless legs syndrome, or sleep apnea.
Sleep disorders are widespread, and they impair our quality of life during the day. That underlies a growing interest in finding a safe and effective pharmacological intervention for poor sleep quality. (To learn more about the nature of sleep, go here .) Cannabis is being explored for several sleep disorders, including insomnia , obstructive sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome.
Cannabis contains many active molecules, including Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). In the old days, the original plant had about two molecules of THC for every single molecule of CBD. Today, that ratio is vastly different; thus, interpreting older studies that relied upon self-reports of cannabis use can be unreliable. What is currently well known is that THC is intoxicating but also shows proven anti-spasticity, mildly analgesic, anti-emetic, and appetite -simulant effects. CBD is not intoxicating and has mildly anxiolytic properties. Recent studies find that highly purified CBD is not consistently effective for seizure disorders. Previous positive reports on CBD were likely to be due to the presence of THC. (To learn more about how THC affects the brain, go here .) Recently, cannabinol, a degradative byproduct of THC with far milder intoxicating effects, as well as cannabigerol and cannabichromene, have been promoted as sleep aids despite no reliable supporting evidence.
The following paragraphs summarize the current state of our knowledge on the effectiveness of THC and CBD for three common sleep disorders. Insomnia
Some research suggests short-term subjective sleep quality improvement with the psychoactive cannabinoids. However, short-term objective sleep benefits were associated with changes to important sleep stages. A mixture of THC and CBD reduced total sleep time and REM sleep duration and delayed REM sleep onset without changing subjective sleep quality. Essentially, people think that they sleep better with cannabinoids despite having highly distorted and unhealthy sleep patterns. These somnolent effects show tolerance over time that requires significant […]
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