Could cannabis before bed help with insomnia?

A new study revealed that cannabis used before bedtime can help to reduce the symptoms of insomnia.

Insomnia is a condition where a person experiences persistent problems with falling asleep or staying asleep. One in three people in the UK, according to the NHS suffer from routine bouts of sleeplessness. This can have an adverse effect on a person’s mental health causing depression or anxiety over time.

Researchers from Ontario examined if cannabis could help with insomnia by collecting data through an app that recorded the experiences of 991 patients. The participants were asked to use cannabis products at home then record changes to their symptoms through Strainprint. Strainprint is a ‘cannabis journal’ that logs patients usage allowing them to see patterns and track changes to their health over time.

The patients recorded 24,189 sessions over a three year period starting in 2017. The results showed that cannabinoids were effective across all genders and ages despite different product forms and consumption methods.

They noted that while all strains were effective, it was predominantly Indica strains that were found to reduce sleep disorders more than CBD strains.

Indica hybrid strains also presented a reduction in insomnia compared to CBD strains.

Insomnia and cannabis

Researchers wrote: “Results from this large naturalistic sample of medicinal cannabis users who tracked their insomnia symptoms before and after cannabis use suggest significant improvements in insomnia symptoms. … Although all strains were reported to be beneficial for the management of insomnia, predominant Indica and Indica hybrid strains were found to be more efficacious than [were] CBD and predominant Sativa strains.”

“This general perceived improvement in insomnia symptoms highlights the potential for cannabis to be used as a treatment option for sleep disorders. Future research should investigate the benefits and harms of cannabinoids for insomnia through rigorous randomised placebo-controlled trials.”