Cannabis for Insomnia? The Verdict Is Shaky, Review Finds
Gizmodo • • health
Key Points:
- A comprehensive Cochrane review found insufficient evidence that medical-grade cannabis reliably improves insomnia symptoms such as sleep quality, total sleep time, or daytime functioning.
- The review analyzed nine randomized clinical trials involving 537 participants with primary insomnia, most comparing cannabis to placebo, and found no clear superiority of cannabis over control treatments.
- Many studies had limitations including small sample sizes, high risk of bias, varied cannabis types, and short follow-up periods, highlighting the need for larger, more consistent, and longer-term research.
- While mild adverse effects like dry mouth and dizziness were more common with cannabis, overall safety data remains limited, and the drug’s effectiveness as a sleep aid is still uncertain.
- Researchers urge patients to discuss cannabis use for insomnia with healthcare providers due to the current lack of definitive evidence and recommend future studies focus on vulnerable populations and comparisons with existing insomnia treatments.
