- Nearly 13% of U.S. adults used prescription medication, OTC supplements, marijuana, or CBD to help them sleep, according to a 2024 National Center for Health Statistics survey of 31,500+ people.
- About 5% used prescription sleep drugs, nearly 6% used OTC options or supplements, and almost 4% turned to marijuana or CBD.
- Women were more likely than men to use sleep aids; prescription use rose with age, while younger adults leaned more heavily on cannabis and CBD.
- Eli Lilly recently agreed to acquire sleep drugmaker Centessa Pharmaceuticals for up to $7.8 billion — its largest deal since 2019 — signaling major pharmaceutical interest in the sleep market.
What Happened?
A new federal study from the National Center for Health Statistics found that nearly 13% of U.S. adults relied on some form of sleep aid over the past month — including prescription medication, over-the-counter drugs, dietary supplements, marijuana, or CBD products. The survey, conducted in 2024 with more than 31,500 respondents, paints a striking picture of a nation struggling to sleep. Mayo Clinic researcher Naima Covassin noted that the pattern of self-medication mirrors a broader, worsening trend: reported sleep difficulties have been increasing over time, with roughly a third of Americans now getting fewer than the recommended seven hours per night.
Why It Matters?
Chronic sleep deprivation is far more than a lifestyle inconvenience — it is a significant public health burden linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and mental health conditions. The scale of self-medication revealed by this study suggests demand for effective, accessible sleep solutions vastly outstrips current clinical offerings. That gap is what Big Pharma is now moving to fill. Eli Lilly’s $7.8 billion acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals — its largest deal in seven years — puts a concrete dollar figure on how seriously the industry is treating sleep as the next major therapeutic frontier, alongside obesity and metabolic disease.
What’s Next?
With Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound already the only FDA-approved medication for sleep apnea, the company is positioning itself to dominate multiple sleep-related indications simultaneously. Expect other major pharmaceutical players to respond with their own acquisitions or pipeline expansions. Meanwhile, the continued rise of cannabis and CBD as sleep aids — particularly among younger Americans — will keep pressure on regulators to clarify the legal and safety landscape around these products, even as over-the-counter and prescription markets compete for the same exhausted consumers.
Source: Bloomberg
