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CBD for sleep and insomnia

The one published placebo-controlled trial of CBD alone for insomnia, an Australian study of 150 mg a night, found it similar to placebo on most sleep measures.

Facts checked 13 November 20265 min readHow we research
Not enough evidence

Only one small published placebo-controlled trial of CBD alone in insomnia (150 mg nightly for two weeks), which found little difference from placebo; the evidence leans towards no benefit.

How we grade evidence

There is not enough evidence to say CBD treats insomnia, and what evidence exists points towards no benefit. The only published placebo-controlled trial of CBD on its own in people with insomnia that we found showed that 150 mg a night was similar to placebo on most sleep measures. Where cannabis medicines have improved sleep in trials, the products contained THC or CBN.

What the research shows

The Australian insomnia trial

This is the key study. Researchers recruited 30 adults with moderate to severe primary insomnia (insomnia not caused by another condition). After a week on placebo, 15 took 150 mg of CBD under the tongue one hour before bed and 15 took a placebo, each night for two weeks.1

The results:

  • No difference from placebo in insomnia severity, the time taken to fall asleep, self-rated sleep efficiency or time spent awake after first falling asleep.1
  • Two measures favoured CBD. Sleep efficiency measured objectively was higher with CBD at week two, and people on CBD rated their wellbeing higher.1
  • The authors’ summary was that 150 mg of CBD “was similar to placebo regarding most sleep outcomes”.1

A second paper from the same trial found that nightly CBD did not impair thinking the next day. Dry mouth was more common with CBD.2

The trial was small and lasted two weeks, so it cannot rule out a small benefit or tell us about longer use. That is why the grade is “not enough evidence” and not “trials show no benefit”. See how we grade the evidence.

Pooled analyses

  • A 2025 meta-analysis (a study that pools trials) found that cannabinoids modestly improve how people rate their own sleep quality, “particularly non-CBD formulations”.3
  • Another 2025 meta-analysis of 6 randomised trials and 1,077 participants reported that only products containing THC, CBN or both improved self-rated sleep. CBD-dominant products did not.4

THC is the compound in cannabis that causes a high. CBN (cannabinol) is another compound found in cannabis. Neither result is evidence for CBD. See CBD vs THC.

Sleep measured in other trials

A trial of 20 to 30 mg of CBD a day for 12 weeks in people with hand osteoarthritis or psoriatic arthritis measured sleep as a secondary outcome. CBD had no effect on sleep quality.5

What about CBN?

CBN is widely marketed as the sleep cannabinoid. A 2023 trial of 20 mg reported fewer night-time awakenings and less sleep disturbance than placebo, and adding CBD to the CBN did not help.6 We have seen this trial only through a secondary summary. A 2026 review concluded the evidence for CBN “remains minimal and insufficient to support any clinical recommendation”.7 More is on our page about the other cannabinoids.

What doses were tested

The insomnia trial used 150 mg a night.1 This matters in Australia because 150 mg a day is also the legal ceiling for pharmacist-only (Schedule 3) CBD.8 So the one direct test of CBD for insomnia was run at the top of the low-dose range, and it found little.

The arthritis trial used 20 to 30 mg a day and found no effect on sleep.5 No placebo-controlled trial has tested higher doses of CBD alone for insomnia. See does low-dose CBD work?.

What Australian medical bodies say

No Australian medical college has endorsed CBD for insomnia.

  • RACGP. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners calls the evidence base for medicinal cannabis “limited and inconclusive”, does not recommend or encourage its use, and says it should only be considered after first-line, evidence-based treatments have been exhausted.9
  • TGA. The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s guidance says medicinal cannabis should be considered only when registered medicines have been tried and failed, and that treatment should be stopped if benefit has not been shown.10

See what Australian medical bodies say about CBD.

Risks to know about

  • Drowsiness with other sedatives. CBD adds to the sedation caused by alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids and sedating antihistamines.11 Many sleep medicines are sedatives, so tell your doctor or pharmacist what you take. See CBD drug interactions and CBD and alcohol.
  • Side effects. Dry mouth was more common with CBD in the insomnia trial.2 Across trials, diarrhoea and sleepiness are the effects most often linked to CBD.12
  • Products containing THC. Many cannabis products prescribed for sleep contain THC. The TGA’s guidance says patients should be advised they are not able to drive while being treated with medicinal cannabis.10 See CBD and driving.

If you are considering it

  • See your GP about the insomnia itself. Ask what the recommended first treatments are and whether another condition could be behind it.
  • Bring a list of everything you take, including alcohol and over-the-counter sleep aids.
  • Questions worth asking about any treatment suggested: Does it contain THC or CBN? What does the evidence show at the dose proposed? How will we tell if it is working, and when would we stop? How does it affect driving?

See also talking to your GP about CBD.

Footnotes

  1. Narayan AJ, et al. Cannabidiol for moderate-severe insomnia: a randomized controlled pilot trial of 150 mg of nightly dosing. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38174873/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Report on next-day cognition from the same trial of nightly 150 mg cannabidiol in insomnia, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11063694/ ↩ ↩2

  3. da Silva, et al. Meta-analysis of cannabinoids and sleep quality. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40929927/ ↩

  4. NORML. Report of a 2025 meta-analysis of six randomised trials of cannabis formulations and sleep quality. https://norml.org/news/2025/10/09/clinical-trials-cannabis-formulations-dominant-in-thc-and-cbn-but-not-cbd-associated-with-improved-sleep-quality/ ↩

  5. Vela J, et al. Cannabidiol treatment in hand osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (conference abstract; published in Pain, 2022). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/cannabidiol-treatment-in-hand-osteoarthritis-and-psoriatic-arthritis-a-randomized-double-blind-placebo-controlled-trial/ ↩ ↩2

  6. NORML. Report of a 2023 clinical trial of 20 mg cannabinol (CBN) and sleep disturbance. https://norml.org/news/2023/10/12/clinical-trial-nighttime-use-of-cannabinol-cbn-reduces-sleep-disturbances/ ↩

  7. Review of cannabinol (CBN) in psychiatry, 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13373943/ ↩

  8. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Final decision on down-scheduling of low-dose cannabidiol, 2020. https://tga.gov.au/node/284859 ↩

  9. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Position statement: use of medicinal cannabis products in Australia (2019 update). https://www.racgp.org.au/advocacy/position-statements/view-all-position-statements/clinical-and-practice-management/medical-cannabis ↩

  10. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia: overview. https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/resource/guidance/guidance-use-medicinal-cannabis-australia-overview ↩ ↩2

  11. US National Library of Medicine, DailyMed. Epidiolex (cannabidiol) oral solution prescribing information, revised 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8bf27097-4870-43fb-94f0-f3d0871d1eec ↩

  12. Chesney E, et al. Adverse effects of cannabidiol: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials, 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32268347/ ↩

Common questions

Does CBD oil help you sleep?

The evidence so far says probably not much. In an Australian trial of 30 people with insomnia, 150 mg of CBD each night for two weeks was similar to placebo for insomnia severity, time to fall asleep and time awake during the night. Larger trials have not been done.

Does CBD make you sleepy?

Sleepiness is a known side effect of CBD at the high doses used for epilepsy, especially with other sedating medicines. In the Australian insomnia trial, 150 mg a night did not impair thinking the next day. Feeling drowsy on a medicine is different from that medicine improving insomnia.

Is CBN better than CBD for sleep?

CBN is often marketed for sleep, but the evidence is thin. One trial of 20 mg reported fewer night-time awakenings than placebo, but a 2026 review concluded the evidence remains minimal and insufficient to support any clinical recommendation.

How much CBD was used in sleep studies?

The main insomnia trial used 150 mg under the tongue one hour before bed. An arthritis trial that also measured sleep used 20 to 30 mg a day. Neither found a clear benefit over placebo, and a prescriber sets the dose for any prescribed product.

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

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