Benefits
Fewer night awakenings in adults with poor sleep
In a trial of 293 adults who rated their sleep as poor, 20 mg of CBN nightly for a week reduced the number of night awakenings and overall sleep disturbance versus placebo. The main outcome, sleep quality, did not reach significance, and time to fall asleep, time awake at night and daytime tiredness did not change. The authors worked for cannabis companies.
Self-rated sleep disturbance over four weeks
In an online trial of about 1,000 US adults wanting better sleep, softgels of 25, 50 or 100 mg CBN for 4 weeks improved a sleep disturbance score more than placebo, with no significant difference from 4 mg melatonin. The share of people reaching a clinically meaningful improvement did not differ from placebo. The maker of the CBN paid for the study, and all outcomes were self-reported.
Sleep-lab measures after a single dose
In 20 adults with diagnosed insomnia, single doses of 30 or 300 mg CBN did not change the main outcome, minutes awake after first falling asleep, measured overnight in a sleep lab. At 300 mg, people fell asleep faster, had more light (stage 2) sleep and rated their sleep better. These were secondary results from one night per dose, so longer trials are needed.
CBN as part of multi-ingredient sleep formulas
Many CBN products are blends, which makes CBN's own role hard to judge. In a 4-week trial of 1,793 adults, adding 15 mg CBN to 15 mg CBD did not improve sleep scores beyond CBD alone. In a 20-person crossover pilot, a softgel with 6 mg CBN, 10 mg CBD and 3 mg THC improved sleep scores versus placebo, but it contained THC, so the effect cannot be credited to CBN.
Stress ratings measured in a sleep trial
In the 4-week TruCBN sleep trial, stress was an exploratory outcome. Only the 100 mg group reported a larger drop in stress than placebo; the 25 and 50 mg groups did not, and anxiety, pain and well-being scores did not differ from placebo at any dose. This is a single, maker-funded result based on self-report and needs confirming.
Mechanism of action
Weak action at cannabinoid receptors, with an active metabolite
CBN itself has much weaker activity than THC at the brain's CB1 cannabinoid receptor. In rat studies, a major breakdown product, 11-hydroxy-CBN, reached brain levels similar to CBN, and in lab tests it acted at CB1 receptors with potency comparable to THC, which may help explain sleep effects seen in animals. Whether this happens to the same degree in people is not known.
Changes in sleep patterns in animals
In rats tracked with sleep recordings, CBN increased total sleep time and both non-REM and REM sleep, after a short early period of reduced sleep. In mice, repeated CBN dosing led to tolerance, withdrawal signs appeared when a cannabinoid-blocking drug was given, and CBN substituted for THC in a drug-discrimination test. These are animal findings.
Effects on drug-processing liver enzymes
In lab studies, CBN blocked several liver enzymes that clear medicines (CYP2B6, CYP2C9 and CYP2E1) and blocked CYP1A2, the main enzyme that breaks down melatonin. In mice, giving CBN with melatonin raised blood melatonin exposure about four-fold. Human interaction studies have not been done.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-arm crossover trial; each participant took a single oral dose of 30 mg CBN, 300 mg CBN and placebo on separate nights, 2 weeks apart, with overnight polysomnography; academic study registered as NCT05344170 (Lavender et al. 2026, J Sleep Res).
20 adults aged 25 to 65 with physician-diagnosed insomnia disorder (17 women, 3 men).
Neither dose significantly changed the primary outcome, wake after sleep onset (300 mg: minus 6.3 minutes, p = 0.29; 30 mg: minus 4.0 minutes, p = 0.50). The 300 mg dose shortened time to fall asleep, increased stage 2 non-REM sleep, reduced brain arousals and improved self-rated sleep quality. There were 247 mild to moderate adverse events across all three arms, including placebo nights.
Remote, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with five arms: placebo, 20 mg CBN, or 20 mg CBN plus 10, 20 or 100 mg CBD, taken as gummies nightly for 7 nights (registered as NCT05839964); authors were employees of Canopy Growth Corporation and Wana Brands (Bonn-Miller et al. 2024, Exp Clin Psychopharmacol).
Adults aged 18 to 55 who rated their sleep quality as poor or very poor; 293 in the modified intent-to-treat analysis.
For 20 mg CBN alone, the primary outcome, sleep quality, was not significantly better than placebo (odds ratio 2.26, p = 0.082). CBN alone did reduce the number of awakenings and overall sleep disturbance. No group differed from placebo on time to fall asleep, wake after sleep onset or daytime fatigue, and adding CBD did not improve on CBN alone.
Decentralized, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of softgels containing 25, 50 or 100 mg CBN (TruCBN), 4 mg melatonin or placebo for 4 weeks, with weekly online questionnaires; run by Radicle Science under contract with and funded by FloraWorks, the maker of TruCBN (Kolobaric et al. 2024, Pharmaceuticals (Basel)).
1,020 US adults aged 21 or older who wanted better sleep (about 200 per arm).
All three CBN doses and melatonin improved the PROMIS sleep disturbance score more than placebo, with no difference between CBN and melatonin. The share of people reaching a clinically meaningful improvement did not differ from placebo for any arm. Only 100 mg CBN lowered stress more than placebo; anxiety, pain and well-being did not differ. Side effects were mild or moderate and no more frequent than with placebo. About 26% of participants completed no follow-up surveys.
Double-blind randomized trial comparing six capsule formulas containing 15 mg CBD or 5 mg melatonin, alone or combined with minor cannabinoids such as 15 mg CBN and 5 mg CBC, taken for 4 weeks; run by Radicle Science; there was no placebo arm, so CBD isolate served as the comparator (Saleska et al. 2024, J Am Nutr Assoc).
1,793 adults with symptoms of sleep disturbance.
Sleep disturbance scores improved within every group, but formulas that added CBN (with or without CBC) did not differ from CBD alone, and melatonin formulas with CBD and CBN did not differ from CBD alone. About 12% of participants reported a side effect and none were severe. Without a placebo arm, the within-group improvements cannot be credited to any ingredient.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover pilot; each participant took a softgel containing 3 mg THC, 6 mg CBN, 10 mg CBD and 90 mg of a terpene blend, and placebo, for 10 days each with a 2-week washout (Hausenblas et al. 2025, Health Sci Rep).
20 adults with subthreshold insomnia symptoms (mean age 47).
Compared with placebo, the cannabinoid softgel improved sleep quality and efficiency, insomnia symptoms and health-related quality of life (p < 0.05). Mood and anxiety changes versus placebo were not significant. No adverse events were reported. Because the softgel contained THC and other ingredients, the result does not show what CBN alone does.
Small controlled study comparing placebo, 50 mg CBN, 25 mg THC, and two THC plus CBN combinations (Karniol et al. 1975, Pharmacology).
5 healthy male volunteers.
CBN alone did not raise heart rate or change time estimation, and volunteers did not report feeling drugged, drunk, dizzy or drowsy on CBN alone. Combined with THC, CBN made volunteers feel somewhat more drugged, drunk, dizzy and drowsy than THC alone. The authors described these added effects as small. Sleep was not measured.
Volunteer study in which 20 mg oral THC was given with placebo, with 40 mg CBN or with 40 mg CBD (Hollister et al. 1975, Clin Pharmacol Ther).
Volunteers; the number is not stated in the published summary.
Adding 40 mg CBN produced no detectable change in the quality, intensity or duration of THC's effects. Sleep was not measured.