Magnesium And Sleep: What You Need To Know

Do you have sleep problems? You’re not alone.

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 30% of the population complains of sleep deprivation. Furthermore, roughly 10% exhibit associated symptoms of daytime functional impairment consistent with an insomnia diagnosis.

Insomnia refers to the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep long enough to feel rested, especially when the problem persists for a long time. According to several studies, certain minerals can help people fall asleep and remain asleep through the night.

Magnesium is one of these minerals. Read on to learn more about magnesium, its benefits, and how it can help you deal with sleep problems and other disorders.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium (Mg) is a chemical element with an atomic number of 12. This shiny gray solid closely resembles the other five elements grouped with it on the periodic table.

It is an essential mineral, one of the seven essential macro-minerals that your body needs in large quantities. In fact, magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body. As an adult, your body contains a total of about 25 grams of the mineral.

The skeletal system stores 50-60% of this total. The rest is in the soft tissues, muscles, and bodily fluids. This mineral plays an integral role in more than 300 enzyme reactions in your body.

Its functions include promoting muscle and nerve function, supporting the immune system, and regulating blood pressure. You can find magnesium in the food you eat. It’s also available in a wide range of dietary supplements, including multivitamin-mineral supplements.

How Does Magnesium Work?

To fall asleep and remain asleep through the night, your body and brain need to relax. Magnesium contributes to the relaxation of your body and brain by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.

The main role of this system is to get you calm and relaxed. To begin with, magnesium regulates neurotransmitters, which relay signals across the entire nervous system and the brain.

Additionally, it regulates the hormone melatonin. This hormone controls sleep-wake cycles in your body. This mineral also binds to GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors.

The main role of the GABA neurotransmitter is to calm nerve function. Sleep drugs such as Ambien also use this neurotransmitter. By calming down your nervous system, magnesium can help prepare your body and brain for a restful night’s sleep.

Benefits Of Magnesium

Magnesium has a wide range of benefits for your body and overall health. Let’s explore some of the major benefits:

Improved Sleep

Insomnia is one of the major symptoms of a magnesium deficiency. If you have low magnesium, you may experience restless sleep, waking often during the night.

You can enjoy deeper, more restful sleep by maintaining healthy magnesium levels in your body. We’ve already seen how magnesium works to promote healthy sleep.

Stress Relief

Magnesium increases GABA, which promotes relaxation. If you have low GABA levels in your body, you can have a hard time relaxing. This mineral also helps to regulate the body’s stress-response system.

Research also shows that low magnesium levels can increase stress and anxiety. Additionally, it shows that supplemental magnesium is an effective mood stabilizer. The mineral can relieve symptoms of mild-to-moderate anxiety as well as mild-to-moderate depression.

Bone Health

This mineral plays a major role in bone formation. It also helps maintain healthy bone density. Magnesium promotes the effective utilization of the bones’ building blocks, including calcium and vitamin D.

Cardiovascular Health

One of the major roles of magnesium is to regulate the body’s muscle function, including the heart muscle.

This mineral ensures that your heart maintains a healthy rhythm. In addition, it helps regulate blood pressure and cholesterol production.

Studies have shown that high dietary magnesium intake significantly lowers the risk of death for people who are vulnerable to cardiovascular disease.

In people with diabetes and hypertension, supplemental magnesium can reduce blood pressure. This mineral can also help treat other cardiovascular complications such as:

• Angina
• Arrhythmia
• Mitral valve prolapse
• Coronary artery disease
• Metabolic Health

Magnesium plays an integral role in regulating blood sugar, as well as in glucose metabolism. If you have high magnesium levels, you’re less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes compared to those with low magnesium levels.

Studies show that supplemental magnesium helps to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes patients who have low levels of magnesium in their bodies. Additionally, people with a high magnesium intake are less susceptible to metabolic syndrome, which raises the risk of diabetes.

Pain Relief

According to research, magnesium can help alleviate pain in several health conditions, including:

• Chronic lower back pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches, including migraines

Other benefits of magnesium include reducing the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), improving cognitive function in kids with ADHD, and promoting athletic performance.

Foods High In Magnesium

Dark green, leafy vegetables are the best source of dietary magnesium. Other foods that are rich in magnesium are:

• Fruits such as avocados, bananas, and dried apricots
• Nuts, including cashews and almonds
• Legumes, such as peas and black beans
• Soy products, including tofu and soy flour
• Whole grains
• Dairy products
• Dark chocolate
• Salmon
• Seeds, such as pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds

Why We Need Supplements

A few servings of magnesium-rich foods per day can meet your need for this essential mineral. However, if you can’t meet your daily magnesium needs through food alone, you might want to take supplements.

Magnesium supplements come in a variety of forms, including magnesium chloride, oxide, and citrate. The absorption rate of these different forms into the body varies. Magnesium supplements that dissolve properly in liquids have a better absorption rate than their less soluble counterparts.

According to some studies, magnesium in the citrate, aspartate, chloride, and lactate forms is absorbed more effectively and is more bioavailable compared to magnesium sulfate and magnesium oxide.

Another study revealed that taking a high dose of zinc with magnesium many not only undermine magnesium absorption but also disrupt the body’s mineral balance.

It’s important to consult with your doctor before you take any magnesium supplements. This mineral can react negatively with certain antibiotics, diuretics, and high blood pressure medications.

How To Take Magnesium To Help With Sleep

To have a good night’s sleep, you should take magnesium about 20 minutes before going to bed. You can do that in the following ways:

• Applying a magnesium spray to your skin – This is perhaps the simplest and quickest way to use magnesium for sleep. You can even use such sprays on the go, on any virtually any part of the body.
• Taking a warm bath infused with a magnesium solution – This method works best for individuals with sensitive skin.
• Having a foot bath enriched with magnesium – The feet play a major role in the absorption of the mineral into the body, as they’re the body’s most absorbent parts.
• Massaging your skin with a magnesium-based lotion – This not only promotes faster absorption of the mineral, but it also hydrates and moisturizes your skin.

As with all dietary supplements, there are different recommended daily magnesium dosage amounts for children and adults:

• Adults: 300 mg per day
• Pregnant women: 400 mg daily
• 15 – 18-year-old children: 300 mg per day
• 11 – 14-year-old children: 280 mg per day
• 7 – 10-year olds: 200 mg daily
• 4-6-year olds: 120 mg
• 1 – 3-year old: 85mg
• 7 – 12-month old: 75mg
• Children age 6 months or less: 30 mg

Healthy adults usually tolerate magnesium very well. However, excessive intake of this mineral can cause serious side effects, which include:

• Irregular heartbeat
• Bloating
• Low blood pressure
• Mental confusion
• Irregular breathing
• Coma, and even death

If you belong to any of the following categories of people, be sure to consult a physician before taking any magnesium supplement:

• Individuals with bleeding disorders
• Pregnant or breast-feeding women
• Individuals with kidney issues
• Individuals with heart block

Which Magnesium Is Best For Sleep And Anxiety?

Several forms of magnesium are beneficial for sleep and anxiety, but which is the overall best magnesium for these conditions?

Magnesium glycinate is the most effective in improving the amount and quality of sleep. It also helps with anxiety. This supplement is one of the most bioavailable forms of magnesium you can find on the market today.

It is also one of the few supplements that do not cause many side effects and is especially gentle on the stomach. If your anxiety can’t let you sleep, magnesium glycinate can be an effective remedy for you.

Another effective form of magnesium is magnesium chloride. It is one of the most popular magnesium supplements available.

Here’s a look at some other magnesium supplements that can help with sleep and anxiety:

• Magnesium Oxide – Besides being effective in relieving anxiety, magnesium oxide also works as an antacid. That means it can ease heartburn, constipation, and indigestion. This supplement can also help relieve migraines.
• Magnesium Citrate – According to many manufacturers of magnesium citrate, this supplement has a calming effect. It has a better absorption rate than most other forms of magnesium and is often used in the treatment of constipation.
• Magnesium Lactate – This form of magnesium is commonly used as a food additive, and many people don’t recognize it as a dietary supplement. It is an ideal option if you are sensitive to other forms of magnesium or if you want to take higher doses.

Qualia Night Review

If you’re looking for a powerful magnesium supplement to improve your sleep, check out Qualia Night.

This whole-system solution promotes deep sleep, immunity, cognition, and long-term sleep performance.

It combines more than 25 clinically studied ingredients to give your body what it needs to have a calm evening and deep, revitalizing sleep.

When you wake up the next morning, you’ll feel more energetic and focused.

Qualia Night Pros And Cons

How Qualia Night Works

Qualia Night enhances the production of stem cell and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). It also promotes GABA, balances cortisol levels, and supports the health of the gut microbiome.

It achieves this through a high-quality blend of polyphenols, herbal adaptogens, neuro-lipids, nootropics, therapeutic mushrooms, cellular antioxidants, and Ayurvedic Rasayanas. All these processes ensure you wake up feeling rejuvenated.

Qualia Night Ingredients

Qualia Night has more than 25 powerful ingredients, including the following:

• KSM-66 Ashwagandha® Root Extract – This ingredient promotes sleep quality, muscle recovery, relaxation, immunity, and better stress response. These are the main goals of Qualia Night.
• Magnesium – Qualia Night contains 400 mg of magnesium glycinate. Glycine improves sleep quality, ensuring you feel energetic the next morning.
• Gotu Kola Whole Herb Extract – Gotu Kola serves as a mental rejuvenator in Ayurvedic medicine. Unlike most nootropics that are effective only at the start of the day, Gotu Kola works best in the evening, thanks to its calming effects. It also promotes repair and revitalization processes.
• Holy Basil Leaf Extract – Holy basil is an adaptogen that supports a healthy stress response. It helps in combating hyperarousal, one of the major causes of poor sleep. This ingredient also improves cognition, immunity, and mood.
• Vitamin B6 – Qualia Night contains vitamin B6 in the form of pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (P5P). P5P plays a prominent role in brain pathways, generating three essential nighttime molecules – melatonin, serotonin, and GABA.

Other important ingredients of Qualia Night include Lycopene, L-tryptophan, and L-theanine (a relaxing amino acid that occurs naturally in green tea).

See also our in-depth Qualia Night review.

Magnesium And Sleep: Summing Up

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the human body. It is essential for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including energy production, promoting proper functions of nerves and muscles, as well as regulating blood pressure.

This mineral is especially critical for promoting healthy sleep. It achieves this by calming down your nervous system, preparing your body and brain for a night of deep, rejuvenating sleep. You can get magnesium from foods like dark leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds, dairy products, and whole grains.

Supplements like magnesium oxide, magnesium glycinate, magnesium lactate, and magnesium chloride are also a great source of your daily supply of this mineral. Always consult a physician before using any supplements.

Qualia Night

Our #1 Recommendation

• Promotes deep, restorative sleep
• Enhances brain health
• Promotes healthy immunity functions