Cannabis Helped Sleep in the First Week of Treatment but Hurt It by Week Two

During the first week of treatment, more cannabis use was associated with longer sleep for those with severe cannabis use disorder, but shorter sleep for those with mild CUD. By week two, more cannabis use was associated with shorter sleep regardless of severity. During the first two weeks, cannabis use was associated with less trouble sleeping. After week two, cannabis use had no significant association with sleep.

Ecological momentary assessment study with 65 adolescents and young adults (ages 15-24) in CUD treatment, completing daily reports over 42 days while receiving cognitive behavioral therapy plus motivational enhancement therapy. Time-varying effect modeling examined how cannabis-sleep associations changed across treatment.

Sleep disruption is one of the most commonly reported cannabis withdrawal symptoms and a barrier to treatment success. Understanding exactly when and how cannabis affects sleep during treatment can help clinicians prepare patients for sleep difficulties in early recovery.

This is one of the first studies to examine day-level cannabis-sleep associations during treatment. The finding that the relationship changes over the course of treatment suggests that sleep interventions should be front-loaded, with the most intensive sleep management support provided in the first two weeks.

Small sample (N=65). Self-reported daily measures of both cannabis use and sleep. Treatment-seeking sample may not generalize to all young cannabis users. Cannot control for all confounding factors in daily data. Specific to CBT+MET treatment context.