After I’d been taking bedtime honey for 3-4 weeks, I began to notice changes in addition to better sleep and more strength. One was a sense of increased well-being throughout the day. Not better mood, not more energy, just somehow better. Another was better motivation. It was easier to do everything — pushups, putting stuff away, and so on. My life was not perfectly constant, however, so I could not be sure these changes were due to the honey.
I asked Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks about this. Bedtime honey really helped him. He replied:
I have noticed that during the day I can concentrate for much longer stretches but I was chalking that up to the sleep. I think the motivation you’re talking about is definitely starting to manifest itself quite a bit more as well. I’m putting more effort into my business than I have since I started it 2 years ago and haven’t really thought about it being a side effect of the honey but it’s possible. Amazing things happen when you haven’t slept properly for 20 years and can now sleep through the entire night.
After he mentioned concentration, I realized I had noticed the same thing: I could do work that required concentration for longer periods of time. In contrast to Jason, I had slept well for many years before starting the honey — or so I’d thought.
Don’t you just think that all these other benefits stem from improved sleep quality?
Seth: Yes. But they are not obvious benefits of better sleep and they have not accompanied previous sleep improvements of mine.
Has anyone pointed out that this was all discussed in The Hibernation Diet by Mike McInnes? https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hibernation-Diet-Mike-McInnes/dp/0285637371
Seth: You’re the second person to mention this book.
Seth –
I’ve noticed a similar feeling from taking honey at night. How would you compare the honey induced increased sense of well being to the mood benefits you get from morning faces?
Seth: The mood benefits of morning faces are well described as happy eager and serene. Very obvious. The honey effect is a deep feeling of well-being. Less obvious.
Thanks for the tip about the Hibernation Diet.
Looking at Amazon, it seems as if the author has a new book out shortly as well, The Honey Diet (2nd Jan 2014 on the Kindle).
The blurb mentions “Just a tablespoon of honey every night before you go to bed” along with a list of benefits, including better sleep.
Seth: Yeah, independent discovery.