Medicinal cannabis is commonly used to relieve pain and improve sleep, yet its effects on chronic pain and sleep patterns have mostly been studied separately. New research from the University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth seeks to bridge this gap.
The study, titled “Interactions Between Cannabis Use and Chronic Pain on Sleep Architecture: Findings from In-Home EEG Recordings,” was recently published in Neurotherapeutics.
Researchers collected 339 nights of in-home electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep recordings from 60 adults, with 32% reporting chronic pain and 47% reporting cannabis use. Each participant was monitored for seven consecutive nights, measuring total sleep time, sleep onset latency, slow-wave sleep (SWS), rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, and the number of sleep disruptions.
Findings suggest that cannabis use in individuals with chronic pain may promote SWS, a deep, restorative sleep essential for physical recovery and immune function, potentially providing indirect pain relief. However, the increase in SWS comes at the expense of REM sleep, which is critical for emotional regulation and memory consolidation.
The study also found that while initial cannabis use may enhance SWS, the benefits decrease with prolonged use.
“For the first time in an in-home setting, we observed how cannabis use and chronic pain interact to influence the brain’s sleep stages. The results are complex, highlighting the need for personalized approaches to sleep and pain management,” said Francesca Filbey, PhD, director of the Neuroimaging of Reward Dynamics Lab.
Lead author Tracy Brown, a PhD student in cognition and neuroscience at UT Dallas, added, “Although users often report subjective improvements in sleep, our study objectively measured changes in a sleep stage important for pain regulation.
The potential benefits of increased SWS come with reduced REM sleep, which may affect other aspects of quality of life. This nuanced understanding can help clinicians and patients make more informed decisions about medicinal cannabis use.”