More than one in five Americans aged 19 to 30 say they use cannabis, alcohol or both to help themselves fall asleep, new data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future (MTF) Panel Study shows.
The strategy, researchers warn, can backfire by disrupting sleep quality and the ability to stay asleep over time.
The study found 22% of young adults reported using cannabis, alcohol or both as a sleep aid. Cannabis use for sleep was far more common than alcohol: about 18% said they used cannabis to fall asleep, compared with 7% who said they used alcohol for the same reason.
Among those who had used cannabis at any point in the past year, 41% said helping themselves fall asleep was one reason they used it.
Published in JAMA Paediatrics, the research analysed responses from 1,473 young adults across the United States and reported differences by gender and race.
Women were nearly twice as likely as men to use cannabis to help them fall asleep, while participants who identified as another gender were more than four times as likely as men to report using cannabis for sleep. Black young adults were three times more likely than white young adults to say they used alcohol as a sleep aid.
Researchers said regular use of cannabis or alcohol to get to sleep may worsen sleep difficulties rather than resolve them, and could increase the risk of substance use disorder. They warned that frequent use can lead to tolerance — needing more of a substance to achieve the same effect — which may contribute to escalating use and additional sleep problems.
They also highlighted a misconception among some young adults that cannabis or alcohol can improve sleep, warning that evidence suggests it can make sleep problems worse.
The researchers stressed that high-quality sleep is important for mental health and mood regulation, and said people trying to manage sleep issues should speak with doctors or other health providers.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research and was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
