Did you know that eating raw honey before going to bed can help you get a better night’s rest? While medical research on honey is not currently that extensive, it is increasingly revealing the benefits of honey on health and wellness. Can manuka honey help you sleep? Read on to find out.
Raw honey has more benefits than ordinary honey, since it contains more healing properties. This is thanks to the honey not going through filtration and heating. There are numerous varieties (in fact, there are over 300 types of honey in existence today), and each region of the world it comes from all have unique characteristics that reflect in its composition. Among the varieties is manuka honey, which has peculiar characteristics that make it among the most powerful varieties.
What is Manuka Honey and What Makes it Special?
This is a variety of honey originating from the regions of New Zealand and Australia, and the bees that make it pollinate a native plant of the area known as the manuka bush. Its unique characteristics include its dark brown or dark cream color, along with a highly viscous nature and very strong, earthy flavor.
It can be a great natural alternative to drugs for a variety of ailments and injuries. There is a difference between manuka honey and alternative treatments in general. This difference is that there is actual scientific evidence that supports the use of honey in treatment, especially manuka honey. For instance, some of the ailments it treats are boils, burns, wounds, and sores.
How it Promotes Sleep
It may seem like a strange connection, but manuka honey can actually help you get a good night’s sleep. In a world that finds it difficult to relax, anything that can help get rejuvenating sleep at night is welcome. There are a few processes that manuka honey affects which lead to better sleep. Some of these are the following:
Helps the liver to stay full
The liver usually remains full due to the presence of glycogen, and manuka honey (as well as honey in general) gives the liver plenty of glycogen. That means you will sleep better and fight nighttime cravings. The brain is less likely to trigger a crisis response to force you to wake up and look for something to eat.
In addition, the liver becomes more efficient at breaking down the toxins that the fat cells in your body are storing. This will boost your metabolism significantly, as well as reduce bloating.
It helps the brain to enhance production of melatonin
The reason why you are able to feel sleepy is due to the release of a chemical called melatonin from the brain. However, the busy lifestyles of today mean that many people have significant trouble sleeping – but that doesn’t mean you have to go for sleeping pills.
Manuka honey helps your brain to release melatonin more, which also has the effect of enhancing immunity when the body goes into a state of rest (it has more time to repair itself). You will wake up the following morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the day.
Reduces cortisol
There is a reason why you sleep very poorly when you are under stress – and it is due to cortisol. The reasons for the release of this hormone are numerous, including sleeping on an empty stomach. This makes it a good idea to have a light meal when you are heading to bed (avoid anything too heavy). If the meal includes some manuka honey, then you have better chances of sleeping better.
Final Thoughts on Manuka Honey for Sleep
The use of manuka honey to promote sleep is probably not the first thing that might come to your mind in its usage, but you will find that it will make you feel better the more you use it.
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