Effects Of Chronic Cannabidiol Supplementation On Sleep Hygiene In Young Adults

Some cannabidiol (CBD) research has found positive effects on sleep behavior and regulation; however, research is limited on the chronic effects of CBD without tetrahydrocannabinol. PURPOSE: To determine if chronic administration of CBD affects sleep duration and wake after sleep onset (WASO) in young adults compared to control and placebo groups. METHODS: Adults (n=27 (14 males, 13 females); 23.2 ± 5.1 y; 76.1 ± 17.2 kg; 1.68 ± 0.09 m) were recruited and randomly assigned to a CBD group (CBD), a control group of CBD-free hemp seed oil (CON), or a cannabis-free placebo (PLA). Participants were outfitted with a wrist-worn Actigraph GT9X accelerometer for 7 days prior to the start (PRE) of CBD, PLA, or CON and immediately after (POST) 4 weeks of daily dosing. The daily CBD dose was oral administration of CBD capsules (30 mg/d). PLA and CON dose was empty gelatin capsules and hemp seed oil capsules, respectively. The multi-day raw accelerometer data were processed with GGIR (v 2.8-2). Group differences in sleep period (SPT duration), time spent asleep (sleep duration in SPT), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were analyzed using ANOVA and Hedge's g for effect size. The error rate was set at p≤0.05. RESULTS: No significant differences in SPT duration and sleep duration were observed. However, WASO was significantly less in CBD group following chronic supplementation (CBD-PRE 1.19±0.51h vs. CBD-POST 0.83± 0.25h; p=0.03)). WASO CBD POST was meaningfully less than PLA POST (1.30±0.88h; g=0.71) and CON POST (1.38±0.47h; g=1.43). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest daily supplementation of CBD reduces the amount of time spent awake during the sleep period and may indicate improved sleep quality and/or sleep that is less fragmented.