TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — If you struggle with insomnia, could medical marijuana help you get a better night’s sleep?
A new Cochrane review on medical marijuana for insomnia shows little to no benefit for sleep quality or total sleep time, but researchers say there’s not enough quality data to draw any firm conclusions.
Today, 1 in 3 adults worldwide have insomnia symptoms, and about 10% have chronic insomnia.
Researchers say existing treatments don't work equally well for everyone, fueling interest in alternatives like medical marijuana.
They analyzed nine clinical trials involving 537 adults with insomnia. Compared with placebo, medical marijuana showed little to no meaningful improvement in sleep quality, total hours slept or daytime functioning.
Medical marijuana may also increase the risk for side effects like dizziness and dry mouth, according to the results.
However, “this does not mean that medical cannabis is ineffective,” lead author Dr. Lucia Varela, from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, said in a press release.
"The evidence is too weak and uncertain to draw firm conclusions about the use of medical cannabis for insomnia," added senior author Luis Garegnani, from University Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in Argentina.
The problem? Most available studies were small, short and tested different cannabis products. The researchers say larger, longer studies are needed to determine whether medical cannabis is an effective and safe treatment for insomnia.
Garegnani recommends that clinicians and patients recognize the uncertainty of the data and consider individual factors until stronger evidence is available.
More information
The Cleveland Clinic has more on insomnia.
SOURCE: HealthDay TV, Oct. 13, 2026
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