Overview
- The JAMA Pediatrics analysis reports 22% of Americans ages 19–30 use substances as sleep aids, with cannabis at 18% and alcohol at 7%.
- Among past-year cannabis users, 41% said helping themselves fall asleep was one reason for their use.
- The findings come from 1,473 respondents in the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Panel Study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- Use patterns varied by demographics: women were nearly twice as likely as men to use cannabis for sleep, those identifying as another gender were more than four times as likely, and Black young adults were three times more likely than white peers to use alcohol for sleep.
- Researchers caution that routine use may impair sleep quality, contribute to tolerance and substance use disorder risk, and recommend clinicians screen and counsel young adults about sleep management.