Is Manuka honey effective for treating sleep issues?

Manuka Honey for Sleep Issues

Manuka honey is not recommended for treating sleep issues or insomnia due to insufficient evidence supporting its efficacy for sleep disorders. 1, 2

Evidence Assessment

Lack of Evidence for Manuka Honey in Sleep

• Clinical practice guidelines from major sleep medicine organizations do not recommend Manuka honey or any honey products for insomnia treatment 1
• The 2020 VA/DoD clinical practice guidelines specifically evaluated multiple complementary and integrative health treatments for insomnia and found insufficient evidence to support their use 1
• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine does not include honey in its recommended treatments for insomnia 1, 2

Limited Research on Honey and Sleep

• Only one small clinical trial examined milk-honey mixture for sleep in coronary patients, showing some improvement in sleep quality, but this was not specific to Manuka honey and was in a very specific patient population 3
• A 2022 randomized controlled trial found that honey had no pharmacological effect on sleep quality compared to placebo in children with respiratory infections 4
• While Manuka honey contains bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties 5, 6, these have not been demonstrated to improve sleep outcomes in clinical studies

First-Line Treatments for Insomnia

For patients with sleep issues, evidence-based treatments should be used instead:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is strongly recommended as first-line treatment for chronic insomnia based on high-quality evidence 1
• For pharmacological options, FDA-approved medications like suvorexant, doxepin, or eszopiclone have demonstrated efficacy 2

Cautions Regarding Alternative Sleep Remedies

• The VA/DoD clinical practice guidelines advise against using various herbal remedies for insomnia, including valerian, chamomile, and kava 1
• Even melatonin, which is more extensively studied than honey, shows only minimal benefits for sleep latency (reducing time to fall asleep by approximately 7-9 minutes) with little effect on sleep maintenance or total sleep time 1, 2
• Long-term use of non-prescription sleep treatments is not recommended due to limited safety data 1, 2

Clinical Implications

• Patients seeking natural remedies for sleep should be directed toward evidence-based options
• While Manuka honey may have other medicinal properties, its effectiveness for sleep disorders has not been established
• Recommending unproven remedies may delay patients from receiving effective treatment for insomnia, potentially worsening morbidity and quality of life

Common Pitfalls

• Assuming that natural products are inherently safe or effective without sufficient evidence
• Confusing anecdotal reports with clinical evidence
• Overlooking the importance of treating underlying causes of insomnia
• Failing to recommend first-line treatments with established efficacy

In conclusion, healthcare providers should not recommend Manuka honey for sleep issues but should instead guide patients toward evidence-based treatments like CBT-I and, when appropriate, FDA-approved medications for insomnia.