Honey before bedtime improves brain function, mental acuity

Sleep debt or chronic partial sleep deprivation from poor quality sleep has been shown to have a detrimental effect on overall energy metabolism in the body. The toxic interaction of impaired energy metabolism and chronic partial sleep loss is the underlying cause of the reduction in melatonin and the loss of brain function as we age. Failure to provide sufficient energy for the brain during sleep has a significant adverse effect on brain metabolism and on memory and learning.

Ironically, the most severe negative effect on brain energy provision occurs from chronic increased food consumption and the resultant excessive insulin production that follows. Excess insulin in the central nervous system has a profound negative influence on brain metabolism and on memory and learning. Hyperinsulinism prevents glucose uptake into the brain causing partial brain starvation. Our brain is actually starving during periods of excess energy availability.
Insulin also inhibits an enzyme in the brain which allows the accumulation of glutamate in the synaptic space between brain neurons. This leads to irreversible damage of nerve cells in the brain and deterioration of brain function.
Consuming honey before bedtime reduces the release of stress hormones and maximizes the production and release of melatonin, a hormone which is also known as the “learning hormone.” Overproduction of stress hormones night after night inhibit the release of melatonin. When melatonin is produced normally, it inhibits the negative effects of too much insulin in the brain.
Quality sleep which is critical for memory consolidation and vital in human learning may therefore be achieved by a simple strategy of consuming a tablespoon of honey before bedtime. This strategy optimizes recovery physiology, reduces chronic overproduction of adrenal stress hormones that inhibit melatonin, and produces the exact metabolic environment required for the release of melatonin, growth hormone and IGF-1, the key hormones of memory consolidation and learning.

Advantages of honey and it Medical usage

Sweet wonderful honey! It is the nectar of life! A little in my tea, coffee, desserts, and even main dishes makes our life so wonderful. It is even good in lip balms and lotions. To top it off, honey could be the solution to many ordinary health concerns.

Honey has been used by humans for thousands of years. The ancient civilizations such as Greece and Egypt were very familiar with the benefits of honey including the medicinal properties. How it worked, they did not know, but they knew it worked!

We all know that honey comes from bees. The kind we eat is only made by honeybees and can vary in taste based on the flowers they honey take the nectar from. The purpose of honey is not to sweeten our lives, but to feed the bees during the winter or other lean times. Beekeepers encourage extra honey money so that we can take the excess and enjoy our day.

Honey is largely carbohydrates and water. That much might be obvious because of its sweetness. But it also contains zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, riboflavin, phosphorus, and magnesium. All of these are needed by our bodies and can be useful in fighting diseases and keeping ourselves healthy. But lately, researchers have discovered that honey is full of antioxidants. These are important to fight cancer, the common cold, and other diseases and viruses. They help fight these out of our bodies. Honey is full of these wonderful antioxidants. In fact, the darker the honey the more antioxidants you will probably find.

It has only been with the rise in the use of antibiotics that honey began to take a back seat. Now, research is showing that antibiotics could be overused and will therefore make us immune to their effects. Honey has not shown any sign of immunity in human bodies. In fact, honey is a great way to kill off infection. When used in tending to a wound, you will find less chances of infection, the elimination of infection, and quicker healing. It does not have to be just a scratch. Deep wounds can also be treated well with honey.

There is extensive documentation on the healing effects of honey. Doctors around the world understand it and sometimes apply it in their practice. Throughout history it has also been used in preventative medicine. At this time, there has not been enough documented research shown to support any of these, but at the same time researchers are dismissing it either. Honey is very powerful and reports keep coming in to support that.

Of all these medicinal uses for honey, only the wound healing has been formally researched and documented with enough evidence to support it. Most of the others are from people who down through the generations have used honey for many more purposes. Here are few that you can try in your life. Some people also mix in cinnamon since it also has shown some help in these areas.

Wounds – If you have a wound which could be a scratch, cut, scrape, or resulting from surgery, try using honey under the dressing to work on killing any bacteria and help speed up the process of healing. Like treating any wound, make sure that it has been cleaned out thoroughly before apply the dressing. Do this on a regular basis and you will results.

Heart Disease – Replacing your morning jelly for honey could help you decrease you chances of heart disease. Honey could be effective in cleaning out the arteries and preventing heart attacks and future surgeries. It has been noted that those that take in a regular amount of honey each day has a decrease in cholesterol.

Oral Health – You would think that because of its sweetness that honey would be dangerous for your teeth. Quite the opposite is proving true. Have a tooth ache? Apply honey. Want to fight gingivitis? Honey can help you in that war. It works to help chronic bad breath, also.

Arthritis – Rubbing honey deep into the areas being affected by arthritis is a great way to help ease the pain. Taking a spoonful of honey each day also has shown results in keeping the pain at bay.

In fact, a daily intake of honey works great for all of these things:

Cough

Colds

Weight loss

Acne

Upset Stomach

Immune System

Honey is wonderful and the benefits of it are just being fully recognized. As time goes on, more and more conditions are being treated with honey. Begin taking a serious look at honey in your life and how you can use it. Make it a part of your daily life and feel the benefits of this sweet nectar.