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August 2025 Healer Webinar: Research on Cannabis and Sleep, Part I
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Key Takeaways
- A high dose of THC and CBD reduced total sleep time and REM sleep, with no impact on next-day alertness or cognitive performance.
- A cannabinoid supplement improved sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and mood in adults with subthreshold insomnia, with a strong terpene blend.
In this month’s webinar, Dustin Sulak, DO, explains recent research and studies on cannabinoids and their effect on sleep and conditions affecting sleep.
Image | adobe.stock/Irina_Evva
On August 13, 2025, Dustin Sulak, an osteopathic general practitioner, founder of Healer, a cannabis education and product resource, presented the latest installment of the monthly webinar series that began in 2018. This month’s webinar focused on cannabinoids for sleep, sleep apnea, and the potential effect of inflammation. Here we present a summary of the first three out of seven studies presented in this webinar.
The first study discussed was, “Acute Effects of Oral Cannabinoids on Sleep and High-Density EEG in Insomnia: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial,” published in the Journal of Sleep Research in July 2025. This study involved 20 patients with a diagnosed insomnia disorder, given an oral dose of 10 mg THC and 200 mg CBD, with effects on sleep and next-day alertness measured using an EEG. Overall, the results showed the dose significantly decreased total sleep time compared to placebo, decreased time spent in REM sleep, and there was no change in next day alertness, subjective sleep quality, cognitive performance, or simulated driving performance. Dr. Sulak noted that the participants were not current cannabis users, only a single dose was used, and the dose was possibly too high. “I suspect that the CBD 200 on its own created its own sleep disruption,” he explained. “Don't just assume that any type of any dose of cannabis is going to be safe for your sleep architecture.”
The second study, “Effectiveness of a Cannabinoids Supplement on Sleep and Mood in Adults With Subthreshold Insomnia: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Crossover Pilot Trial,” was published in Health Science Reports in February 2025. This trial involved 20 adult participants, given an oral soft gel containing 3 mg THC, 6 mg CBN, 10 mg CND, and 90 mg of a proprietary food-grade terpene blend, or placebo for 10 days. This was followed by a two-week washout and completion of the alternate condition. Validated questionnaires were used to measure results, which included significantly improved sleep quality/efficiency, insomnia symptoms, anxiety, and health-related quality of life, for the cannabis supplement. Improvements in esteem improved significantly with the placebo. Dr. Sulak noted that the terpene blend was strong, but also never specified. He also questioned the choice to add CNB, noting it is similar to yet weaker than THC.
The next study was, “Expanding the Therapeutic Profile of Topical Cannabidiol in Temporomandibular Disorders: Effects on Sleep Quality and Migraine Disability in Patients with Bruxism-Associated Muscle Pain,” published in Pharmaceuticals in July 2025. In this study, 60 participants were placed in three groups: placebo, a 5% CBD gel (25 mg total), and 10% CBD (50 mg total) gel. Participants applied a gel orally to inner cheeks each night for 30 days. Both CBD groups demonstrated significant improvements in sleep and migraine scores compared to placebo. Reductions in muscle tension and pain were also seen. “Maybe the best way to use CBD is going to be intraoral on the masseter muscles,” Dr. Sulak concluded. “I'm not impressed with just taking it and swallowing it first for the purpose of sleeping, but combined with other strategies for sleep, this could be something, and maybe CBD is less likely to disturb sleep than its metabolites.” He also noted that systemic absorption of the CBD was not quantified, which could have been useful to measure.
Check back soon. Part II will be published shortly.
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