Clinical Trial: Cannabis Oil Effective at Improving Sleep in Adults with Insomnia

MELBOURNE–The short-term use of plant-derived cannabis extracts is well-tolerated and effective in patients diagnosed with insomnia, according to placebo-controlled trial data published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

Australian researchers assessed the use of a proprietary cannabis oil product (Entoura-10:15) versus placebo in 29 subjects with chronic insomnia. Extracts contained 10mg of THC and 15mg of CBD. Participants consumed either extracts or placebo for a period of two weeks.

Investigators reported that those receiving cannabis extracts experienced improved sleep quality by up to 80 percent, and that “60 percent of participants no longer classified as clinical insomniacs at the end of the two-week intervention period.”

They concluded: “Our short-term trial suggests Entoura 10:15 medicinal cannabis oil, containing THC:CBD 10:15 and lesser amounts of other CBs and naturally occurring terpenes, to be well tolerated and effective in significantly improving sleep quality and duration, midnight melatonin levels, quality of life, and mood within 2-weeks in adults with insomnia. … Long-term studies are needed to assess whether chronic medicinal cannabis intake can restore natural circadian rhythm without the need for ongoing cannabis intake.”

The results are similar to those of a prior placebo-controlled clinical trial, published in 2021, that also reported that plant-derived cannabis extracts are “well tolerated and improve insomnia symptoms and sleep quality in individuals with chronic insomnia symptoms.” Observational trials similarly report benefits in patients’ sleep quality following the inhalation of cannabis flowers prior to bedtime.

Full text of the study, “Medicinal cannabis improves sleep in adults with insomnia: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial,” appears in the Journal of Sleep Research. Additional information on cannabis and insomnia is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.