Cannabis and Sleep: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Cannabinoids on Sleep Disorders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.13.03.003Keywords
cannabis, sleep disorders, insomnia, cannabinoids, THC, CBDAbstract
Introduction: Sleep disorders are a common problem in society in the modern world. Patients are increasingly seeking alternative treatments for insomnia in order to reduce the side effects of prescription drugs. A new trend is the use of cannabinoids contained in cannabis plants to treat sleep disorders, making patients looking for a solution to their problem more and more eager.
Aim of the study: The purpose of this paper is to present contemporary knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of cannabis compounds in treating sleep disorders and improving sleep parameters.
Materials and methods: The National Center for Biotechnology Information/PubMed and Google Scholar medical databases were comprehensively analyzed by entering the keywords: cannabis, sleep disorders, insomnia, cannabinoids, THC, CBD in their respective configurations. Analyzing the searched literature, data from 18 scientific articles from the last five years (2017-2022) were evaluated.
Results: Cannabinoids may have benefits in sleep-related disorders. The literature does not agree on the effectiveness of their use in treating sleep disorders. The highly variable availability of cannabinoid formulations on the market makes it difficult to develop appropriate dosages for the treatment of insomnia.
Conclusions: Research on cannabis and sleep is in its early stages and needs to be continued in order to improve knowledge. There is a need for further long-term studies that are rigorously controlled and use larger study groups.
References
Shannon S, Lewis N, Lee H, Hughes S. Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series. Perm J. 2019;23:18-041. doi: 10.7812/TPP/18-041.
Moltke J, Hindocha C. Reasons for cannabidiol use: a cross-sectional study of CBD users, focusing on self-perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. J Cannabis Res. 2021 Feb 18;3(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s42238-021-00061-5.
Kaul M, Zee PC, Shani AS. Effects of Cannabinoids on Sleep and their Therapeutic Potential for Sleep Disorders. Neurotherapeutics 2021 Feb 18:217-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-021-01013-w.
Kuhathasan N, Dufort A, MacKillop J, Gottschalk R, Minuzzi L, Frey BN. The use of cannabinoids for sleep: A critical review on clinical trials. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2019 Aug;27(4):383-401. doi: 10.1037/pha0000285.
Spanagel R, Bilbao A. Approved cannabinoids for medical purposes - Comparative systematic review and meta-analysis for sleep and appetite. Neuropharmacology. 2021 Sep 15;196:108680. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108680.
Palmieri G, Vadala M, Corazzari V, Palmieri B. Insomnia treatment: a new multitasking natural compound based on melatonin and cannabis extracts. Clin Ter. 2022 Feb 7;173(1):91-96. doi: 10.7417/CT.2022.2399.
Suraev AS, Marshall NS, Vandrey R, McCartney D, Benson MJ, McGregor IS, Grunstein RR, Hoyos CM. Cannabinoid therapies in the management of sleep disorders: A systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies. Sleep Med Rev. 2020 Oct;53:101339. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101339.
Suraev A, Grunstein RR, Marshall NS, D'Rozario AL, Gordon CJ, Bartlett DJ, Wong K, Yee BJ, Vandrey R, Irwin C, Arnold JC, McGregor IS, Hoyos CM. Cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for chronic insomnia disorder (‘CANSLEEP’ trial): protocol for a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, proof-of-concept trial. BMJ Open. 2020 May 18;10(5):e034421. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034421.
Vaillancourt R, Gallagher S, Cameron JD, Dhalla R. Cannabis use in patients with insomnia and sleep disorders: Retrospective chart review. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2022 Apr 15;155(3):175-180. doi: 10.1177/17151635221089617.
Vigil JM, Stith SS, Diviant JP, Brockelman F, Keeling K, Hall B. Effectiveness of Raw, Natural Medical Cannabis Flower for Treating Insomnia under Naturalistic Conditions. Medicines (Basel). 2018 Jul 11;5(3):75. doi: 10.3390/medicines5030075.
Kuhathasan N, Minuzzi L, MacKillop J, Frey BN . An investigation of cannabis use for insomnia in depression and anxiety in a naturalistic sample. BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 28;22(1):303. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03948-6.
Kuhathasan N, Minuzzi L, MacKillop J, Frey BN. The Use of Cannabinoids for Insomnia in Daily Life: Naturalistic Study. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Oct 27;23(10):e25730. doi: 10.2196/25730.
Babson KA, Sottile J, Morabito D. Cannabis, Cannabinoids, and Sleep: a Review of the Literature. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017 Apr;19(4):23 doi: 10.1007/s11920-017-0775-9.
Williamson EM, Evans FJ. Cannabinoids in clinical practice. Drugs. 2000 Dec;60(6):1303-14. doi: 10.2165/00003495-200060060-00005.
Mondino A, Cavelli M, González J, Murillo-Rodriguez E, Torterolo P, Falconi A. Effects of Cannabis Consumption on Sleep. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1297:147-162. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-61663-2_11.
Velzeboer R, Malas A, Boerkoel P, Cullen K, Hawkins M, Roesler J, Lai WW. Cannabis dosing and administration for sleep: a systematic review. Sleep. 2022 Nov 9;45(11):zsac218. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsac218.
Higueras TG, Cortes FC, Severin Lopez ED, Arjona LM. Cannabidiol (CBD) and Insomnia: Literature review. European Psychiatry 2022 Sep 65;809. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.2092.
Ranum RM, Whipple MO, Croghan I, Bauer B, Toussaint LL, Vincent A. Use of Cannabidiol in the Management of Insomnia: A Systematic Review. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2022 Sep 23. doi: 10.1089/can.2022.0122.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Anna Luchowska, Monika Sroczyńska, Aleksandra Żaczek
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The periodical offers access to content in the Open Access system under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 1313
Number of citations: 0