Alcohol and Cannabis Use for Sleep Aid in College Students: A Daily Diary Investigation of Proximal Outcomes

Emerging evidence suggests that one in five college students use substances such as alcohol and/or cannabis to help sleep. Despite this high prevalence of sleep aid use, there remains a dearth of research on its potential proximal sleep- and substance-related consequences day-to-day. The current study remedied this literature gap by examining how alcohol and cannabis sleep aid use impacted subsequent sleep and substance use consequences among college substance users. Out of the baseline sample of 217 students, 83 past-month alcohol and/or cannabis sleep aid users (mean age = 19.33 [SD = 1.11], 30% male, 72% White) completed online questionnaires for 14 consecutive days to assess sleep aid use, sleep, substance use, and negative substance consequences. After controlling for daily cannabis use frequency, cannabis sleep aid use was associated with longer sleep duration and more negative cannabis consequences on average across 14 days, as well as longer same-night sleep duration, reduced same-night wake-time after sleep onset, and higher next-day daytime fatigue compared to individual averages. After controlling for daily alcohol quantity, alcohol sleep aid use was not associated with sleep-related outcomes or negative drinking consequences compared to either sample or individual averages; null findings may be due to a low frequency of alcohol sleep aid use over 14 days (1%). Results highlight daytime fatigue and negative cannabis consequences as potential adverse short-term outcomes of cannabis sleep aid use among college students, despite its proximal sleep-related benefits. This novel daily-level investigation contributes substantially to our limited understanding of college sleep aid use and associated proximal consequences.