A recently published Australian study looked at the impact on daytime cognitive functioning when taking cannabidiol (CBD) at night.
One of the potential applications for CBD is addressing sleep problems, and an increasing number of people are using it. An aspect that hasn’t been established is the effect of daily CBD consumption on neurocognitive performance and daily subjective mood.
Researchers from Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology and Austin Hospital in Melbourne decided to delve into the issue.
Their study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel design incorporating a single-blind placebo run-in week followed by a two-week double-blind dosing period. During the two-week dosing period, participants consumed 150 mg CBD or placebo sublingually daily an hour before turning in for the night.
Attention, executive function, reasoning, information processing, working and episodic memory were assessed at the commencement of the placebo run-in, and after 1-week and 2-weeks of dosing. Subjective states and side effects were recorded daily.
The researchers found cognitive performance was not impacted by nightly CBD supplementation in all participants. Those receiving CBD reported experiencing greater calmness, clear-headedness and coordination. But there were more likely to report side-effects of dry mouth relative to placebo.
The trial was small – 30 participants, which was acknowledged in the researchers’ conclusions.
“Results suggested an overall favourable safety profile, with larger controlled trials and thorough analyses of varying insomnia phenotypes necessary to corroborate these findings.”
The study has been published in the journal Psychopharmacology (Berl).
The 150 mg dose used in this trial likely wasn’t a level pulled out of thin air. Back in December 2020, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration approved low-dose CBD products up to a maximum of 150 mg/day to be supplied over-the-counter by a pharmacist, without a prescription. However, products are yet to be made available nearly four years on as they first have to be approved – and that is a complex process.
It’s important to note that based on the study extract, this research was not about CBD’s effectiveness in getting to or maintaining sleep; although the findings seem to suggest participants did get a decent night’s rest. The science still isn’t settled on CBD’s effectiveness in treating insomnia at what is a relatively low dose. An Australian trial in 2022 did not show a statistically superior response of a low-dose CBD preparation compared to placebo for treating sleep disturbance.
