How can pillowcases infused with cannabidiol (CBD) help improve sleep quality? This is what a recent study published in the journal Healthcare hopes to address as a team of researchers from Taiwan investigated how CBD-infused pillowcases could help improve quality for shift nurses who typically work long hours. This study has the potential to help researchers, cannabis supporters, legislators, and the public better understand the health benefits of cannabis beyond traditional oral and smoke products.
For the study, the researchers conducted a four-week study involving 55 participants who were duty shift nurses comprised of 10 men and 45 women to evaluate using a CBD-infused pillowcase for sleep quality. The first week served as a baseline period where the participants slept with a normal pillowcase, followed by two weeks using the CBD-infused pillowcase, and finally a one-week follow-up period where the participants continued using the CBD-infused pillowcase. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which is a widely used questionnaire-based metric for evaluating sleep quality with scores 0 to 21, with 0 indicating the best sleep quality and 21 indicating the worst sleep quality.
In the end, the researchers found during the baseline period, all participants experienced poor sleep quality (PSQI ≥5). However, after three weeks of using the CBD-infused pillowcase, 7.3 percent of participants reported improved sleep quality (PSQI <5), along with participants reporting improved light sleep and deep sleep periods.
The study concludes by stating, “The use of pillow covers coated with CBD enhanced the sleep duration of healthy adults with poor sleep, leading to an increase in duration in the form of deep sleep from baseline to two weeks after intervention. This study also found that the CBD intervention significantly reduced anxiety (p < 0.005). Therefore, the findings regarding sleep quality, including light sleep and deep sleep, especially the slight increase in light sleep duration, cannot be extended to other cases of poor sleep quality.”
How will CBD-infused pillowcases help improve sleep quality in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Healthcare, Marijuana Moment, University of Pittsburgh
