19 Oct Long-Term Cannabis Use Linked to Poorer Sleep on Wearable Trackers, Even When Users Report Sleeping Well
Cannabis/CBD Notice: Cannabis products are not FDA monitored or approved. Discuss your use of medicinal cannabis or CBD products with your healthcare provider before use. Dosing is variable and products may interfere with other medications, stimulants and alcohol. Do not use cannabis or CBD products if you are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant. Do not use cannabis products when driving or operating difficult or dangerous machinery. Keep out of reach of children. Children and pets should not be exposed to cannabis or CBD products.
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Thanh-Huyen T. Vu, MD, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Department of Preventive Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Cannabis is widely used and legal in many states. Many people believe that it helps them sleep better. However, few studies have tested whether cannabis use is associated with sleep—particularly sleep that is measured using devices rather than self-reported. Our study asked adults about their cannabis use multiple times over 35 years. And more recently, we measured sleep duration and quality using a wearable device similar to an Apple Watch or Fitbit and asked people to tell us about their sleep.
We found that adults who used cannabis regularly over a number of years had sleep that we would describe as lower quality—more frequent awakenings and with less time during their sleep period spent asleep. However, when asked, adults who used cannabis and those who didn't reported similar sleep patterns—which wasn't the case when we measured it.
Dr. Basavana Goudra[/caption]
Dr. Goudra: Cannabis use is increasingly common, and anesthesia providers are consequently encountering more patients who use cannabis before procedural sedation and anesthesia. This has become an important perioperative issue because cannabinoids can have complex effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems, and their pharmacologic effects vary with the dose, potency, frequency, and route of administration.
![Cannabis and CBD Product Notice: Cannabis and CBD products are not FDA-monitored or approved for the treatment of anxiety, depression, or any other mental health condition and are not legal in all locations. Effects vary significantly between individuals. Do not use if you are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant. Keep out of reach of children. Children and pets should not be exposed to these products. Cannabis and CBD products may interact with alcohol and other drugs including prescription medications. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider before using any cannabinoid product, especially if you have an existing health condition or take other medications. MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ryan M. Sullivan, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UC San Diego School of Medicine [IMAGE GOES HERE] Study: Sullivan RM, Wallace AL, Shankula CA, et al. Substance use patterns from late childhood to mid-adolescence: Updates on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports. 2026;20:100463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dadr.2026.100463 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Sullivan: Adolescence is a critical period for brain development and a time when many young people begin experimenting with alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and other substances. Understanding when substance use begins, how it changes as young people get older, and which substances are most commonly used together can help researchers identify opportunities for prevention and better understand how early substance use may relate to later health outcomes. This study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, one of the largest longitudinal studies of youth in the United States, to provide an updated picture of substance use patterns from late childhood through mid-adolescence. Related MedicalResearch.com research has also found that cognitive brain circuits are altered in youth with significant cannabis use — underlining why tracking when and how adolescents begin using substances matters for understanding long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Sullivan: The study found that substance use increased steadily as participants moved through adolescence. By age 16, 38% of participants reported having used at least one substance during their lifetime. Alcohol, cannabis and nicotine were the substances most commonly reported. The researchers also identified differences by sex. Boys reported higher rates of substance use before age 12, but beginning around age 13, girls reported higher rates of alcohol, cannabis and nicotine use, with the largest differences seen for nicotine. Polysubstance use — using two or more substances — was also relatively common, with nearly 15% of participants reporting it during the study. The most common combination was nicotine and cannabis, and girls reported higher rates of polysubstance use after age 13, particularly combinations involving nicotine. Importantly, estimates adjusted to better reflect the U.S. population were very similar to the study's unadjusted estimates, suggesting that the ABCD cohort provides a useful representation of national patterns of adolescent substance use. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Dr. Sullivan: The key takeaway is that substance use becomes increasingly common as young people move through adolescence, highlighting the importance of prevention and early intervention before or during the early teen years. The findings also show that substance use does not follow the same pattern for everyone. In particular, the shift toward higher rates of use among girls beginning around age 13 and the prevalence of nicotine-cannabis co-use point to the need for prevention strategies that account for differences in age, sex and patterns of substance use. These findings also provide an important national benchmark for future research. By establishing when substance use emerges and how patterns evolve during adolescence, researchers can better investigate how substance use may intersect with brain development, mental health and other long-term outcomes. MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study? Dr. Sullivan: It will be important to investigate why substance use patterns diverge between boys and girls around age 13 and to identify the factors that contribute to higher rates of use among girls during later adolescence. Additional research should examine the factors associated with polysubstance use, particularly nicotine and cannabis co-use, and determine whether using multiple substances is associated with different developmental or health outcomes than using a single substance. Future studies could also explore how family environment, peer relationships, mental health, social conditions and changing perceptions of substance-related risks influence when and how adolescents begin using substances. MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures? Dr. Sullivan: One important point is that these findings should not be interpreted to mean that most adolescents use substances. The study found that substance use increases with age, but the majority of young people in the cohort had not reported using substances by age 16. The value of this research is in identifying when use becomes more common and the specific patterns that emerge, so that prevention efforts can be targeted at the times and populations when they may have the greatest impact. Disclosures: The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) through National Institutes of Health awards DA064409, DA062011, DA050779, DA054980 and DA062432. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Disclaimer: The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Some links are sponsored. Products, services and providers are not warranted or endorsed by MedicalResearch.com or Eminent Domains Inc. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.](https://medicalresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/dr-ryan-sullivan.jpg)
Dr. Edward Liu[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Edward Liu, MD
Geisinger College of Health Sciences
Scranton, PA 18509
Medicalresearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Prescription drugs have high levels of uniformity that plant-based products cannot achieve. Given the liberalization of state-laws regarding medical marijuana1 over the past three-decades and increasing evidence of evidence of cannabis for conditions like chronic pain,2 we were interested in the use of the prescription formulation of delta(Δ)9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). A prior pharmacoepidemiology report found that prescription THC (dronabinol) to Medicaid patients decreased from 2016 to 2020. There were also pronounced state-level disparities in prescribing with a 130-fold difference when correcting for population between the highest and lowest states.
There was no research on this topic among Medicare patients. To address this gap, we obtained prescription numbers nationally and at a state level from 2014 to 2019 for Medicare Part D patients.
Source: IMAGE[/caption]
Dr. Kruger[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
[caption id="attachment_72137" align="alignleft" width="100"]
Dr. Felicione[/caption]
Response: Alcohol consumption, especially heavy alcohol consumption, is associated with many health risks and nearly 200 different health conditions and diseases. Reducing alcohol consumption reduces the risks and harms from alcohol. Previous research has demonstrated that people have reduced their alcohol consumption when they have access to cannabis. Cannabis beverages have emerged in States where cannabis is legal for adult or medical use.
