Nationally representative MTF data show more than 1 in 5 young adults use cannabis or alcohol just to fall asleep

Patrick et al. are investigators on Monitoring the Future (MTF), the long-running study of substance use among US youth and adults. They authored this research note to point out a trend they are seeing in the MTF data: 22 percent of young adults report using either cannabis or alcohol to fall asleep. Patrick and her colleagues noted that relying on these substances to sleep can lead to increased tolerance, potentially leading to a substance use disorder or worsening sleep problems. They analyzed survey data collected from 1,473 MTF study participants in 2022-2023, who were aged 19 to 30, drawn from cohorts first surveyed in 12th grade between 2010 and 2022. Participants reported the frequency of their past-year and past-month cannabis and alcohol use, and whether they intended to use it “to get to sleep.” NAHDAP distributes the study, Monitoring the Future: Base Year & Follow-Up Core Panel Data, Ages 18-30, United States, 1976-2021 [Restricted-Use], which will be updated in 2026 to contain the 2022-2023 data. More publications analyzing restricted-use MTF panel data are collected here.

November 20, 2025