0338 A Naturalistic within and between Subjects Comparison of the effects of Cannabis on Sleep among Young Adult, African Americans

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Cannabis use is increasing, despite limited knowledge of its potential benefits and adverse effects. Reducing sleep disturbance appears to be a frequent motivation for nighttime cannabis use yet its effects on sleep are poorly documented. We leveraged data from an observational study of urban residing young adult African Americans where pre-bedtime cannabis use was variably endorsed with digital ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to conduct within and between subjects’ comparisons of sleep with and without preceding cannabis use. Methods Participant were recruited from an ongoing observational study that enrolls African Americans living in urban environments. 20 participants endorsed cannabis use on some but not all nights and were included in the within subjects’ comparison. 25 participants who used cannabis on 2 or more nights were compared with 28 participants who did not endorse prebedtime substance use. Total sleep time (TST), and wake after sleep onset WASO were derived from actigraphy monitoring; sleep quality (SQ) (scale: 1 “not at all rested”-10 “very rested”) and time in bed (TIB) were obtained from the EMA. Results While TST and WASO were very similar in both conditions and groups, within subjects’ SQ was superior on nights without cannabis (7.2 + 1.7 vs. 6.4 + 2.2, t=2.2, p=.04) and cannabis users spent more time in bed (minutes) than their non-cannabis using counterparts (447.6 + 77.1 vs. 373.6 + 66.1; t= 2.4, p=.04). Conclusion Among urban residing young African American adults, cannabis does not appear to improve sleep. Support (if any) This research was supported by the NIHLB grant R01HL136626 to Dr. Thomas A. Mellman.