Young Adults Are Using Cannabis And Alcohol To Fall Asleep

Young Adults Increasingly Using Cannabis And Alcohol As Sleep Aids

A recent study in JAMA Pediatrics found that 1 in 5 young adults used cannabis to fall asleep. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and involved 1,473 participants aged 19-30 years old.

Findings showed that 18% of these young adults used cannabis to fall asleep, while 7% used alcohol to fall asleep. The individuals who used either cannabis or alcohol daily or near daily were more likely to depend on it for sleep, illustrating the link between alcohol and cannabis and addiction.

Other interesting findings from the study include:

• Females were almost twice as likely as men to use cannibals to help induce sleep.
• Black study participants were three times as likely as white study participants to use alcohol to fall asleep.

The study is one of the first of its kind on a national scale on how and why young adults use substances to manage sleep.

What Does This Mean For Young Adults?

The study sheds light on two important issues in the young adult population: they are having a hard time falling asleep, and they are misusing substances that have a high potential for addiction.

Studies have shown that more than 60% of young adults do not get adequate sleep, leaving them feeling sleep-deprived and tired during the day. The CDC recommends that young adults get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, as the brain continues to develop until age 24, and that sleep is important for learning and memory in young adulthood.

Factors leading to poor sleep in this population include:

• Increased screen time before bed
• Poor sleep environment
• Mental health problems
• Caffeine intake
• Smoking
• Alcohol intake
• Lack of physical exercise

The demands of school and work in this age group also disrupt sleep-wake cycles, potentially reducing sleep quality. Sleep deprivation can lead to anxiety and depression, decreased work productivity, substance misuse and abuse, increased risk of accidents, and an increased risk of poor physical health.

Cannabis and alcohol are addictive substances that are commonly misused to help induce sleep; however, they have actually been shown to worsen sleep and can lead to addiction. Studies have shown that 1 in 10 people who use cannabis can become addicted, and this risk increases to 1 in 6 for young adults. Frequent marijuana use increases this risk of addiction even further to 25-50%.

According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 16.6 million young adults ages 18 to 25 (47.5%) reported that they drank alcohol in the past month, and 2.1 million (6%) reported heavy alcohol use in the past month. Alcohol use during adolescence and young adulthood has many negative effects on the developing brain, such as neurocognitive deficits in attention, information processing, memory, and executive functioning, including learning and decision making.

Alcohol and cannabis are depressants, meaning they slow down normal brain activity, resulting in sedation and relaxation, and because of these properties, they are often used to help induce sleep. Because they are easily obtainable, they are also commonly used and misused by adolescents, making this population more prone to using these substances for sleep. However, using these substances interferes with the body’s ability to stay asleep and the quality of sleep, ultimately disrupting sleep in the long term.

Not only is this young adult population at risk for poorer quality of sleep over time and the consequences this can have on their mental and physical health, but they are also at an increased risk of tolerance, dependence, and addiction to both alcohol and cannabis.

How Does Cannabis Affect Sleep?

THC and CBD are often found in many recreational products that are used to induce sleep. Although a small amount of THC and CBD may help people feel drowsy and can even improve sleep in the short term, over the course of a few weeks to months of use, it begins to negatively interfere with sleep.

Using THC over time can increase the time it takes to fall asleep, increase nighttime awakenings (also known as decreased sleep latency), disrupt circadian sleep-wake rhythms, and alter different stages of sleep (known as sleep architecture). People will often increase their dosage and frequency of marijuana use to induce sleep when they begin having difficulty falling asleep after a period of use due to developing an increased tolerance to marijuana.

When people decrease their dosage or stop using marijuana, they may experience severe insomnia as a result of marijuana withdrawal.

How Does Alcohol Affect Sleep?

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that works on the GABA receptors in the brain to relax the central nervous system, resulting in sedative effects. Alcohol induces drowsiness and, therefore, faster sleep onset, which makes people feel like they are sleeping better when they have a glass of wine or two before bed. However, alcohol is also a sleep disruptor.

The majority of people who consume alcohol, especially in the evenings, report having at least one sleep-related problem, which is why alcohol use disorder and sleep-related disorders are common co-occurring disorders. Alcohol increases nighttime awakenings, disrupts stages of sleep, reduces time in REM sleep, and causes fragmented and low-quality sleep.

Dysregulated sleep cycles and reduced REM: As the body metabolizes alcohol throughout the night while a person sleeps, communication between the neurotransmitters that regulate sleep and wakefulness is dysregulated, resulting in fragmented sleep.

When a person goes to bed with alcohol in their system, they are more likely to experience deep stages of non-REM sleep and less REM sleep. They may even skip REM sleep altogether. REM sleep is important for memory and emotional processing, and decreased REM sleep can contribute to poor focus and fatigue the following day.

Increased nighttime awakenings and fragmented sleep: Once the body has metabolized the alcohol, the person will experience an increase in N1 sleep, the lightest stage of non-REM sleep that occurs immediately after falling asleep. It is in this stage that nighttime awakenings increase, leading to fragmented, low-quality sleep. Additionally, since alcohol is a diuretic, it often increases nighttime awakenings due to the urge to urinate.

Increased snoring and sleep apnea: Consuming alcohol relaxes the tongue and muscles in the throat and narrows the breathing passage, worsening snoring and causing obstructive sleep apnea. Alcohol can also increase the risk of central sleep apnea, a condition involving pauses in breathing caused by disrupted brain signals, because it interferes with the brain’s ability to process chemical messages that regulate breathing. This disruption weakens the body’s respiratory drive, making pauses in breathing more likely.

Unfortunately, people wake up feeling sleep-deprived and groggy, and they continue to use alcohol to help induce sleep, creating a vicious cycle of alcohol misuse, potentially resulting in an alcohol use disorder.

Using Substances To Sleep Leads To Tolerance And Addiction

Poor sleep and misuse of marijuana and alcohol can result in an unhealthy cycle. When people use marijuana or alcohol to sleep, over time, they will have a harder time falling asleep. This is because the drowsiness and sedative effects of alcohol and marijuana have worn off, and they need a higher dose to feel the same desired effects. This is known as tolerance and is one of the many signs of addiction.

Although tolerance itself does not always mean an addiction is present (one can have a tolerance but not an addiction), it does increase the likelihood of developing an addiction. Since alcohol and marijuana both worsen restorative sleep over time, people experience daytime drowsiness and decreased work production. In turn, they may turn to more alcohol and marijuana to help them get a better night’s sleep the following night. The more they misuse alcohol and marijuana in this manner, the more they increase the likelihood of addiction to either alcohol or marijuana, or both.

Overall, this study sheds light on a crucial area of mental health, the importance of sleep, and how sleep can be drastically affected by substances. The high co-occurrence of substance abuse and sleep problems in young adults should alert the general public, parents, healthcare workers, and addiction professionals to work together to develop healthier sleep routines in this population.

Get Help Today

If your sleep patterns have been disrupted by substance use, it could be a sign of a larger problem. If you are struggling with an alcohol or marijuana addiction, help is available. Addiction treatment often encompasses therapy, medication, and life-skills training to support you in your recovery. Contact a treatment provider or visit our rehab directory today to learn more about your treatment options.