A teaspoon or so of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The study found that a small dose of buckwheat honey provided better relief of nighttime cough and sleep difficulty in children compared to no treatment, or to dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medications.

The findings are especially notable given the recommendations of an advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which advised in October that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines not be given to children younger than 6 years old.

The panel found that the medications were ineffective in that age group and warned about the potential for side effects. Health Canada said it too was reviewing the safety of children's cold medications.

As well, manufacturers have taken most of the cough and cold products designed for children under two years of age off the market.

For the study, researchers recruited 105 children between the ages of 2 and 18 with upper respiratory infections from a clinic in Pennsylvania. Parents were given a paper bag with a dosing device inside. Some were empty, some contained an age-appropriate dose of honey-flavored cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, and some contained a similar dose of honey.

The parents were asked about their children's sleep and cough symptoms, as well as about their own sleep quality, once before the bedtime treatment and once after. They rated the symptoms on a seven-point scale.

All of the children got better, but honey consistently scored best in parents' rating of their children's cough symptoms.

"Our study adds to the growing literature questioning the use of DM in children, but it also offers a legitimate and safe alternative for physicians and parents," said Dr. Ian Paul, an associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Children's Hospital.

The study was funded by a grant from the National Honey Board, an industry-funded agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency had no influence over the study design, data or results, Paul said.

As for why honey might ease cough, Paul and his team note that honey has a high antioxidant content and has antimicrobial effects. Its syrupy quality may also be soothing to the throat.

Honey isn't recommended for infants younger than one year old, because of the risk it might contain the toxins that cause botulism.