One in five young adults is using cannabis or alcohol to fall asleep every night. This isn’t just about scrolling through TikTok too late. A new study shows over 20% of young people have fallen into what researchers call a “sleep trap” - relying on substances because they can’t get rest any other way.
The research from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research reveals how dramatically young people have changed their approach to sleep problems. Instead of trying traditional methods, they’re measuring out doses or counting drinks. This shift toward self-medicating raises serious concerns about what happens to their health down the road.
The Numbers Are Worse Than Expected
Here’s what the data shows: 18% of young adults use cannabis to fall asleep, while 7% rely on alcohol. That means nearly one in four young people in the US regularly uses these substances just to get to sleep. For a generation that talks a lot about wellness, these numbers tell a different story.
The findings, published in JAMA, reveal a troubling reality. While cannabis and alcohol might help you fall asleep initially, using them regularly makes sleep problems worse over time. Your body builds tolerance, you become dependent, and eventually you can’t sleep without them. It’s backwards - the thing you’re using to sleep better actually destroys your ability to sleep well.
Why Sleep Became So Hard
So why can’t young people just go to bed? The answer involves chronic stress, phones that never stop buzzing, and a mental health crisis that’s been building for years. This generation deals with intense pressure - from school performance to job hunting in an unstable economy. Social media keeps their minds racing with constant comparisons and fear of missing out.
Notifications ping all night. Content streams endlessly. Everything demands immediate attention. Many young adults say they simply can’t turn their brains off. Their minds stay wired for engagement when they should be winding down for sleep.
This connects to larger problems facing young people today. Traditional life milestones feel impossible to reach for many. For more on these pressures, read our article on Forever Teens: How Capitalism Invented Extended Adolescence. The search for sleep isn’t happening alone - it’s a response to the unique stress of being young right now.
Self-Medication Backfires
Using cannabis or alcohol for sleep feels like it works at first. But it actually messes up your sleep cycle, especially REM sleep that your brain needs to function and process emotions. This makes existing sleep problems worse and creates new ones. You end up trapped in a cycle where you need the substance to sleep, but it’s also ruining your sleep.
Mental health experts worry that self-medicating hides the real problems. Instead of getting help for insomnia, anxiety, or depression, people mask symptoms with substances. Despite what you might hear, research shows cannabis typically makes healthy sleep harder to achieve long-term, not easier.
We Need Better Answers
The fact that so many young people rely on substances just to sleep should alarm everyone. It shows we urgently need better mental health support and education about healthy sleep habits. Instead of self-medicating, young adults need safe places to talk about stress and access to professional help.
The real solution involves addressing root causes - the anxiety, the digital overload, the constant pressure. This means creating environments where sleep matters and people can actually disconnect from technology. As researchers keep studying the connection between substance use and sleep problems, we need to focus on lasting solutions, not quick fixes.
The first step is recognizing that many young people have fallen into a sleep trap, and getting out requires more than just trying harder. It needs understanding and real support systems. You can read more about the study here.