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If you walk into pretty much any dispensary, legit or illicit, and ask for something to help you sleep, they’ll likely point you to the CBN (cannabinol) section. You’ll find shelves lined with gummies, mints, tinctures, honey sticks, chocolates, and lollipops with names like Cerebral Tranquility, Drifters, and Sleep Releaf (love a good pot pun).
The cannabinoid community consensus is that CBN helps you sleep. Here’s what the science says.
Imagine that you’re visiting your parents and find a joint you’d hidden in your childhood bedroom years ago — holding it for a friend, of course. When you blaze up, it doesn’t get you high, but you do feel pretty damn chill. That’s because it’s no longer THC, the cannabis compound that produces a euphoric effect; it’s CBN. “CBN is formed, over time, when THC is exposed to oxygen; it’s a degradant of THC,” explains Marcel O. Bonn-Miller, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and chief scientific officer at Charlotte’s Web, a pioneer CBD brand. Your stale stash has transformed into a different compound, affecting how it interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system.
The ECS is an internal infrastructure of signals and receptors that help regulate everything from memory and emotion to hunger, inflammation, and, yes, sleep. The system is activated by endocannabinoids that are produced by your own body, and also by phytocannabinoids, which are derived from plants. THC, CBD, and CBN are all phytocannabinoids that come from the same type of plant, cannabis sativa. THC comes from marijuana, defined as a cannabis plant with THC levels higher than 0.3 percent. CBD comes from hemp, a cannabis plant with less than 0.3 percent THC (so CBD won’t get you high but can potentially help you sleep because of its ability to reduce anxiety). And unlike the old weed in your drawer that eventually converted to CBN, commercially available CBN comes from hemp.
This is very much a “further research is required” situation, but CBN “appears to be helpful for sleep,” says Michael Breus, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and the founder of sleepdoctor.com who refers to cannabinol as “C-B-Nighttime.” Studies involving CBN flourished in the flower-power ’70s, but the research was largely focused on the effects of CBN plus THC. There was a precipitous drop in cannabis studies in the “Just Say No” ’80s, and now, cannabis research is making an Adidas Superstar–style comeback, thanks to the legalization of hemp products in a majority of states.
The more recent studies have been mostly cannabinoid combo platters: CBN + THC, which showed fewer awakenings during the night and feelings of being well rested in the morning; CBN + THC + CBD, which demonstrated improved sleep onset, fewer overnight awakenings, and increased total sleep time; CBN + CBD at multiple dosages and +/- melatonin or CBC (cannabichromene), in which all combinations showed a reduction in sleep disturbances. A fourth study showed that low doses of CBN on its own helped subjects fall asleep, fall back to sleep, and sleep longer and better. And the most recent study, designed by Charlotte Web’s Bonn-Miller, was the first clinical trial for CBN and sleep to use a placebo control group. The study tested 20 mg. of CBN alone and also combined with varying levels (10 mg., 20 mg., and 100 mg.) of CBD. The surprising result? “The CBN plus CBD combinations performed no better than the placebo,” says Bonn-Miller. “But the CBN-only group reported fewer sleep disturbances and woke up fewer times during the night.” Based on those results, Charlotte’s Web created its CBN-only Stay Asleep Gummy.
So all signs point to yes: CBN can help you sleep, but none of the studies has been large or objective enough to be considered definitive. The common thread is that CBN seems best suited for helping people stay asleep rather than fall asleep.
The CBN studies had good compliance rates with few participants dropping out owing to “adverse events,” a.k.a undesirable side effects — which included things like morning grogginess, vivid dreams, and restlessness. If you’re taking CBN for sleep, restlessness is obviously the last thing you’d expect or want, but Breus points out that sleep aids can sometimes “have a paradoxical effect: Normally, people take Benadryl and fall asleep, but others can be climbing the walls.” Another possibility is that “if you’re taking CBN that also has THC in it and you’re not used to the effects of THC, it might make you feel kinda funky and high,” Breus explains.
There is, actually, a tiny amount of THC in CBN. Still, CBN is generally considered nonpsychoactive, though Breus acknowledges there just isn’t enough data to be certain.
You’d think, by the heavy-lidded look a few bong hits impart, that marijuana would help you sleep. Indica, a.k.a. “in da couch,” strains of marijuana, in particular, are known for their mellowing effects. But the role of THC in sleep isn’t so straightforward. “Research shows that THC has sedative effects and can make it easier to fall asleep,” says Breus, “but THC also lowers REM sleep and raises heart rate — two things that are incompatible with good sleep.” A combination of THC plus CBN could be the answer: As previously noted, “some research indicates CBN’s sedative effects are amplified when combined with THC,” says Breus. CBDistillery’s Shhh+ Distilled contains 5 mg. of THC and 5 mg. of CBN, which helps take the edge off taking the edge off.
There isn’t yet a general consensus on “the best way” to use CBN for sleep. If you’re a cannabis newbie, look for products without THC in case its intoxicating effects make you feel ill at ease instead of relaxed. And whether you’re taking CBN solo or combining it with other sleep aids, give it a few weeks to see if it’s having a positive effect. The safety profile of CBN, like cannabis in general, is very good — but skip it if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a predisposition to schizophrenia or psychosis. And, yes, we’re going to say it: Before taking any new drug, talk to a health-care professional to confirm that there isn’t an underlying medical condition that’s contributing to your sleep issues.
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