LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — When counting sheep doesn’t cut it, many young adults are reaching for marijuana or a nightcap to help fall to sleep. New research from the University of Michigan, however, warns these quick fixes could be doing the opposite.

Roughly one in five young adults use marijuana or alcohol to help them sleep, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Panel Study. Cannabis was used far more often than alcohol, and 41% of recent marijuana users said they turned to it specifically to fall asleep.

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“Using these substances to get to sleep can backfire because they can interfere with the ability to stay asleep and with the quality of sleep,” U-M researcher Megan Patrick, who led the study, said. “The fact that so many young adults reported that they use cannabis to sleep is alarming.”

Drawing on survey data from 1,473 young adults, the JAMA Pediatrics report found notable differences by gender and race. Women were almost twice as likely as men to rely on cannabis for sleep, while Black participants used alcohol for that purpose at roughly triple the rate of White peers.

Patrick warned that long-term reliance on substances can worsen sleep and raise the risk of addiction. “Frequently using a substance to get to sleep may lead to tolerance,” she said. “Rather than resulting in better sleep, it may lead to additional sleep problems and escalating substance use.” 

Co-authors Yuk Pang and Yvonne Terry-McElrath, also of U-M’s Institute for Social Research, contributed to the study.