Older adults’ use of cannabis is associated with reduced anxiety and improved sleep, according to data published in the journal Psychiatry.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Central Florida assessed the impact of cannabis use on anxiety, sleep quality, depression, and pain in a cohort of older (ages 55 to 74) medical cannabis consumers.
Researchers reported that cannabis use was associated with short-term reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety, as well as with improved sleep quality the following night. Subjects’ improved sleep was directly related to their reductions in anxiety, the study’s authors determined.
“These findings provide evidence of momentary improvements in pain, anxiety, depression, and indirect benefits for sleep quality,” they concluded. “The results of this study contribute to a growing body of research evaluating the utility of medical cannabis for older adults and serve to help inform moderate use guidelines for this population.”
Survey data provided by AARP reports that more than one in five older adults have consumed cannabis over the past year, with some two-thirds of older consumers acknowledging having used it “to improve or manage a physical health condition,” such as chronic pain, anxiety, or sleep disturbances. Industry-backed survey data finds that an estimated 16 percent of US adults say that they use cannabis products to help them sleep.
