New research questions whether cannabis improves sleep, with one study finding limited evidence of benefits for insomnia and another linking long-term use to nighttime sleep disruptions.

Studies Challenge Belief That Cannabis Improves Sleep Quality

Researchers Question Whether Cannabis Improves Sleep Quality Over Time

By News Desk On Oct 18, 2026

ISLAMABAD: (News Desk) – Two recent studies have challenged the widely held belief that cannabis helps people sleep better, with research finding little clear evidence of benefits for insomnia and linking long-term use to poorer sleep quality.

In the first study, researchers reviewed nine clinical trials involving 537 adults with insomnia who were randomly assigned to receive medical cannabis, a placebo or an antidepressant.

Published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the findings showed little to no clinically meaningful improvement in sleep quality, satisfaction, total sleep time or daytime functioning among people using medical cannabis compared with those receiving a placebo or an antidepressant.

However, researchers cautioned that the evidence remains uncertain. The trials used different cannabis products, none followed participants for longer than 12 weeks, and the overall quality of the evidence was rated very low to low because of potential bias and other limitations.

Study leader Dr Luis Garegnani of Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina, said the findings should not be interpreted as either an endorsement or a rejection of medical cannabis. He said clinicians and patients should consider individual circumstances while awaiting stronger evidence.

A separate study, published in JAMA Network Open, followed 1,266 participants from young adulthood into middle age and examined the relationship between long-term cannabis use and sleep quality.

Researchers found that long-term cannabis exposure was associated with lower sleep quality, as measured by wrist-worn monitoring devices. The findings also suggested that users might not recognise disruptions in their sleep.

Study leader Dr Thanh-Huyen T. Vu of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said wearable devices detected more nighttime disturbances among participants with long-term cannabis exposure, even though participants generally did not report worse sleep.

The findings challenge the common assumption that cannabis improves sleep. However, the association identified in the second study does not, by itself, establish that cannabis directly causes sleep problems.

Together, the studies highlight the need for more rigorous research into the effects of medical and long-term cannabis use on sleep, particularly its potential benefits and risks over extended periods.