Here is How Magnesium Can Help You Sleep Better

What is magnesium?

Magnesium is an essential mineral. It plays a vital role in over 300 reactions in our bodies. Some functions of magnesium include helping with nerve and muscle function, supporting the immune system, and regulating blood pressure.

The adult human body contains 25 grams of magnesium (1). Over 50–60% of this is stored in the skeletal system. The rest is present in soft tissues, bodily fluids, and muscles.

Many Westerners are deficient in magnesium (2). However, deficiency symptoms are rare in otherwise healthy people.

Healthcare providers usually associate magnesium with many health complications, so you must meet your daily recommended levels.

Cashew nuts, spinach, and almonds are examples of foods that are rich in magnesium. People who cannot get enough magnesium through their diet may be advised to take supplements.

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How magnesium improves your sleep

1. Magnesium improves serotonin

It is important to note that magnesium improves serotonin levels, improving melatonin, the well-known sleep hormone. The more melatonin you have, the better you sleep. Serotonin is also good for your mood to keep stress low.

2. Magnesium increases GABA

GABA is an acronym for gamma amino butyric acid. It is a relaxing neurotransmitter. It helps you relax, especially when you want to sleep. Magnesium binds to GABA receptors in the brain and stimulates them, which puts brakes on brain activity. When GABA levels fall, the brain feels like it is constantly running, making it very difficult to relax, leading to increased stress and anxiety.

3. Magnesium will help you decrease the adrenaline

Adrenaline is part of the fight or flight mechanism that gives you a sympathetic nervous system response. So basically, when your adrenaline goes up, you are not going to sleep because you’re technically in an adrenal stress mode.

According to a 2017 systematic review (3), low magnesium levels may be associated with higher anxiety levels. This is partly due to activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis — a set of three glands that control your stress reaction.

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3. Magnesium will help you decrease the adrenaline

Adrenaline is part of the fight or flight mechanism that gives you a sympathetic nervous system response. So basically, when your adrenaline goes up, you are not going to sleep because you’re technically in an adrenal stress mode.

According to a 2017 systematic review (3), low magnesium levels may be associated with higher anxiety levels. This is partly due to activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis — a set of three glands that control your stress reaction.

4. Magnesium helps your muscle to relax

Magnesium acts as a natural calcium blocker to help your muscles relax.

Your muscles contain proteins like troponin C and myosin. Calcium binds to these proteins. The binding process changes these proteins’ shape, generating a contraction (4).

Magnesium competes with calcium for these binding spots to help relax your muscles.

If there’s a magnesium concentration shortage, you won’t have enough magnesium to compete with calcium, and your muscles may contract excessively, resulting in spasms or cramps.

This explains why magnesium is commonly recommended for muscle cramps (5).

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5. Magnesium can help decrease inflammation

Low magnesium intake is linked to higher levels of inflammation, which is crucial in chronic disease and aging (6, 7).

According to a review of 11 studies, magnesium supplements decreased C-reactive protein levels, a marker of inflammation in subjects who had chronic inflammation (8).

Other studies have reported similar findings, showing that magnesium supplements may reduce blood levels of CRP and interleukin-6. Interleukin-6 is a marker of inflammation (9, 10).

6. Magnesium can decrease restless leg syndrome

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a nervous system disorder that causes an overwhelming urge to move your legs. RLS is often accompanied by throbbing pain and other unpleasant sensations.

Research suggests that some cases of restless leg syndrome may be triggered by magnesium deficiency. The study also indicates magnesium supplements can reduce symptoms of restless leg syndrome (11). Therefore, in some cases, magnesium may be used as an alternative or natural remedy for restless leg syndrome, especially when a magnesium deficiency may cause the condition.

Magnesium helps the muscles to relax. It has calcium-blocking abilities, which help regulate the muscles and the nerves instead of allowing calcium to “activate” the nerves. If your magnesium levels are on the low side, calcium won’t be blocked, and your nerves will become overactive and trigger contractions of the muscles.

7. Fewer heart problems

With magnesium, you’ll have more oxygen to the heart and less angina. Sleeping when you have angina is a complicated thing. There’s also a significant connection between magnesium and arrhythmia. And the less problem you have with your heart rhythm, the better you’ll sleep.

8. Magnesium can cause less PMS cramping

Menstrual cramps are cramps of the muscles in the uterus. Magnesium can significantly reduce cramping. It works by relaxing the smooth muscle of the uterus and by reducing prostaglandins that cause period pain (12, 13).

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Takeaway

Magnesium may improve your sleep. It plays a vital role in your immune system, activating mechanisms that can calm and quiet you.

Magnesium also helps relieve depression and anxiety, which can interfere with sleep.

Ways by which magnesium can help you sleep better include:

Improving serotonin levels
Decreasing your adrenaline levels
Decreasing restless leg syndrome
Decreasing inflammation
Necessary for fewer heart problems

If you want to try magnesium for sleep, begin by taking more from whole foods like spinach.

Disclaimer: Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Correction to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or product you obtain through this article or others.