Tim Ferriss is a 5-time New York Times best-selling author and an early-stage tech investor in companies such as Uber, Shopify, Facebook, Alibaba, and dozens of other companies. He has earned the nickname “the Oprah of audio” due to the success of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has been downloaded over 200 million times and aims to deconstruct the habits and practices of the top-performing people in the world.
Tim has a reputation of being a self-experimenter, trying a wide range things to optimize and improve his life. Among one of the things he found to dramatically improve his sleep is his “Bedtime Cocktail”.
Tim has said this cocktail will knock him out like a light, and some of his friends who are life-long insomniacs have said it’s better than prescription medication for a good night’s sleep. Tim learned this recipe from his friend, the late and great Seth Roberts, PhD. Besides better sleep, some of Seth’s readers noticed a dramatic increase in strength while exercising.
Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to make Tim’s legendary apple cider vinegar & honey sleep concoction.
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Tim Ferriss’ Bedtime Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
- Juniper Ridge Douglas Fir Spring Tip Tea
- 2 Tablespoons of Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon of raw, unfiltered honey – Tim doesn’t mention the specific brand he’s using, but we highly recommend Y.S. Eco Bee Farms. Also, check out your local farmer’s market for local honey.
Instructions
- Steep the Juniper Ridge Tea for around five minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the raw honey into the tea.
- Stir and allow the honey to melt into the hot tea. Allow a few minutes to cool, and then bottoms up. At this point, you can also get creative and add your own ingredients like Turmeric or Cayenne.
In the YouTube video below that covers Tim’s bedtime routine, he mentions mixing the apple cider vinegar and unfiltered honey in with the Juniper Ridge Spring Tip Tea. But, in his book, Tools of Titans, he only mentions mixing the apple cider vinegar and unfiltered honey with hot water. Both will work, but we recommend mixing it with the Juniper Ridge Spring Tip Tea, as it tastes better and provides an additional calming effect.
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Benefits of Raw Honey
Honey – more specifically raw, unfiltered honey – has been considered a sleep remedy for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine, dating as far back as the Ming Dynasty. Honey causes your body to release serotonin due to a rise in insulin. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter known for improving happiness, is then converted into melatonin which regulates sleep.
When you are sleeping, your brain uses a lot of energy in the form of glycogen. Your brain will first tap your liver glycogen, which is can be built up from eating raw honey before bed and contains an ideal ratio of fructose to glucose. This will help your brain function during the night, increasing your likelihood of having a good night’s sleep.
Also, by eating raw honey, you will have a gradual release of insulin throughout the night improving sleep, as opposed to a blood sugar “spike” caused by pure can sugar. Really make sure you are taking raw honey, as it is 22% better at making liver glycogen than the cooked stuff you will find at the grocery store. If this sounds crazy to you, try checking out The Honey Revolution for more of the complicated science behind it.
Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Like honey, vinegar has been used as a remedy for insomnia for a long time. Apple cider vinegar gets all the buzz for its wide range of health benefits. Apple cider vinegar contains an amino acid profile that helps combat fatigue, allowing you to feel well-rested upon waking. The ancient Greeks also used apple cider vinegar as a disinfectant and antibiotic. Taking apple cider vinegar before bed also helps regulate the bacteria in your mouth, causing a reduction in the dreaded “morning breath”. Besides have a reputation as a sleep-aid, apple cider vinegar improves gut health, regulates blood sugar, reduces cholesterol, and helps with weight loss.
If you are interested in more of what Tim Ferriss does before bed to improve sleep, check out this post on Tim Ferriss’ Bedtime Routine.