CBD oil for sleep: what trials show, and CBN vs CBD

Does CBD oil help you sleep? Several trials found better self-rated sleep quality or well-being with CBD, and in a 1,793-person study 15 mg CBD improved sleep about as much as 5 mg melatonin. Results are not yet consistent: a small trial in people with insomnia found no difference from placebo. Unlike a sleeping pill, CBD did not disrupt normal sleep in a sleep laboratory.

This guide sums up what the clinical trials tested and found, how CBN compares with CBD and melatonin, which doses and timing studies used, and what to know about next-day alertness. We make CBD and CBN oils in Switzerland. None of our products are medicines, and nothing here is advice on treating a sleep disorder.

Does CBD oil help you sleep?

The evidence is still developing, and it points three ways.

• Some positive signals. In small and medium-sized trials, people taking CBD reported better sleep quality or well-being. In one trial, measured sleep efficiency was also better after two weeks.
• Some trials without an effect. In a randomised trial of CBD alone in people with moderate to severe insomnia, insomnia severity, time to fall asleep and time awake at night did not differ from placebo.
• Prescription cannabis medicines. The largest improvements in insomnia came from prescription products containing THC, which are not sold as consumer oils. In a 2025 meta-analysis of six trials, CBD-only products did not reach statistical significance on sleep quality.

Unlike a sleeping pill, CBD did not alter the normal sleep cycle of healthy volunteers, even at a single 300 mg dose.

What do clinical trials on CBD and sleep show?

These are the randomised trials most often cited on CBD, CBN and sleep. Who took part, what they took and whether the main outcome changed matter more than the headline.

Two reviews put the trials together:

• A 2025 meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine Reviews (da Silva 2025) of six trials (1,077 people) found that cannabinoids improved self-reported sleep quality overall; CBD-only products did not reach statistical significance on their own.
• A 2026 review in The Lancet Psychiatry (Wilson 2026) found that cannabinoids increased sleep time in people with insomnia. The certainty of the evidence was generally low. Side effects were more common than with placebo, but serious ones were not.

What is CBN, and is it better than CBD for sleep?

CBN (cannabinol) is a minor cannabinoid. It forms when THC in the cannabis plant breaks down with exposure to air, light and heat, which is why aged cannabis contains more of it. Read more in What is CBN (cannabinol)?

CBN has a reputation as the "sleepy" cannabinoid, but the human evidence is still thin:

• In the largest CBN trial (Bonn-Miller 2024) (293 adults with poor sleep, 7 nights), 20 mg CBN did not significantly improve the main outcome, sleep quality. It did reduce night-time awakenings and overall sleep disturbance. Adding CBD did not improve results.
• In a 2026 laboratory trial (Lavender 2026) in 20 adults with insomnia disorder, neither 30 mg nor 300 mg CBN reduced time awake after falling asleep, the main outcome. The 300 mg dose shortened the time to fall asleep and improved rated sleep quality. The authors advise caution about next-day impairment at high doses.
• In the 1,793-person comparison trial (Saleska 2024), all groups improved, including CBD with CBN; adding CBN to CBD brought no extra benefit (no placebo group).

Bottom line: CBN's signal for fewer night-time awakenings is promising, but it hasn't yet been shown to beat CBD. Larger trials are needed.

Does CBN get you high?

CBN comes from THC, but it is much weaker. A 2021 review (Corroon 2021) found that most human studies showed no cannabis-like effects from CBN on its own.

What is in our CBN oil?

From the label of our CBN Oil in MCT (5% CBN):

• 10 ml bottle with 500 mg CBN (5%) in MCT oil; about 250 drops, which is 2 mg CBN per drop
• Label directions: two to three drops applied directly to the skin, 2–3 times a day; labelled for topical use only
• Hemp extract from Swiss hemp grown following organic principles, made by supercritical CO₂ extraction; THC-free, and the label states it has no intoxicating effect
• Made in Switzerland under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and ISO 22716; notified as a cosmetic in the EU (CPNP) and the UK (SCPN)

The certificate for each CBN oil batch is on our test results page.

CBD vs CBN vs melatonin: how do they differ?

In the one large head-to-head trial, 15 mg CBD improved sleep about as much as 5 mg melatonin, and adding melatonin or CBN to CBD brought no extra benefit (Saleska 2024; no placebo group).

How much CBD do people take for sleep, and when?

There is no established CBD dose for sleep. This is what the studies used:

• Amounts (study data; taken by mouth in the trials): 15–450 mg CBD a day, and 20–300 mg CBN. Low-dose trials (15–50 mg) reported better self-rated sleep quality, but the 15 mg trial had no placebo group. The 150 mg insomnia trial did not beat placebo on its main outcome, so a higher dose does not simply mean a better effect.
• Timing: most trials gave the dose 30–60 minutes before bed, for example 60 minutes in the 150 mg trial (Narayan 2024).
• Duration: from a single night to eight weeks. Effects of longer use are largely unknown.

A calm evening routine

A steady routine is the foundation of good sleep. The NHS insomnia advice suggests:

1. Get up at the same time every day, including weekends.
2. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and smoking for at least 6 hours before bed, and don't eat large meals late at night.
3. Don't exercise for at least 4 hours before bed; exercise during the day instead.
4. Relax for at least an hour before bed, for example with a bath or a book, and put screens away.
5. Keep the bedroom dark and quiet, and only go to bed when you feel sleepy.

Does CBD make you sleepy the next day?

Studies so far suggest CBD on its own has little next-day effect:

• In the 150 mg insomnia trial, daytime thinking and memory scores were unchanged (Narayan 2025) after two weeks. Participants did report more dry mouth.
• In a driving-simulator trial (McCartney 2022), single oral doses of 15, 300 and 1,500 mg CBD did not make people feel intoxicated and are unlikely to impair driving, although some comparisons were inconclusive.
• CBN is different at high doses. In the 2026 insomnia trial, 300 mg CBN changed some next-day driving and reaction-time measures, and the authors advise caution.

For drivers, THC is the real issue: full-spectrum products can contain traces of it, and the rules differ by country (see CBD, drug tests and driving). Never drive when you feel sleepy, whatever the cause.

Why are sleep researchers interested in cannabinoids?

Poor sleep is common and costly. In a nationally representative Dutch survey (Kerkhof 2017) of 2,089 adults aged 18–70 (data collected in 2012, published in 2016), 32.1% had a general sleep disturbance. A RAND Europe study (Hafner et al. 2016) estimated that too little sleep costs up to 1.56% of GDP a year in Germany and 1.86% in the United Kingdom.

Researchers linked to the University of Groningen are planning a large double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled crossover study of full-spectrum CBD and CBN products with more than 300 participants in the Netherlands. Formula Swiss is involved in this study. It will include patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and patients with musculoskeletal pain from rheumatoid arthritis, and ask whether cannabinoids improve their sleep, symptoms and quality of life. The study is still being planned, so there are no results yet. We will add them here when they are available.

When should you get help for poor sleep?

If poor sleep has lasted for months, take it seriously. The European Insomnia Guideline (Riemann 2023) recommends cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), in person or online, as the first treatment for chronic insomnia in adults. Medication is considered when CBT-I doesn't help enough. CBD and CBN are not part of these recommendations. See your doctor if you snore loudly, stop breathing during sleep, feel very sleepy during the day, or if poor sleep affects your mood or work.

Safety: who should be careful

• Medicines, including sleeping pills: CBD can interact with other medicines, and EFSA notes a liver concern, particularly when CBD is combined with medication. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist first, and see CBD and medication.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: not recommended.
• Under 25s: EFSA says safety has not been established.
• Side effects in trials: usually mild, for example dry mouth. They were more common with cannabinoids than with placebo, but serious ones were not. See CBD side effects.
• Driving: avoid products that contain THC before driving.

Want to know more about CBN? See our CBN oils, made in Switzerland, and follow the label of the product you choose.