Magnesium and sleep are often mentioned together when you are looking for solutions to sleep better. It seems like a very crazy connection, because how can a small mineral influence your sleep rhythm? Yet there is a bigger relationship between them than you think. We will discuss that here.
In this article, we look at what magnesium is, how it affects your sleep and how you can make the best use of it.
What is magnesium?
Magnesium is a mineral that contributes to the formation of bones and muscles and makes the transmission of nerve impulses easier. So it is an essential substance for a large part of our body. That is why it is important to get enough magnesium.A magnesium deficiency is virtually non-existent in the Netherlands, as it is found in many different products such as bread, nuts, dairy products, meat products, and different types of vegetables.
The link between magnesium and sleep
If you can’t get to sleep well, it is of course very annoying. Fortunately, magnesium can help with this. Because this mineral has such an impact on the body, it can also improve your sleep.
1. It helps your brain to relax
Magnesium supports the neurotransmitters in your brain. These are substances that ensure that nerve impulses are passed on properly. It also activates the part of the nervous system that ensures relaxation. When you are relaxed, you fall asleep more easily.
2. It makes you sleepy
Besides that it ensures that you can relax more, magnesium also ensures that the substance melatonin is well regulated. Melatonin is the substance that ensures that you can sleep well. Magnesium and promoting sleep are therefore due to melatonin.
3. Magnesium and sleep against complaints of anxiety and depression
If you suffer from an anxiety disorder or depression, this can get in the way of your sleep. Although it is still unknown how magnesium works exactly, we now know that it can mimic the calming effects of certain hormones, so that your body has fewer anxiety symptoms.
4. It’s Anti-Inflammatory
Magnesium also has an anti-inflammatory effect. This in itself is a nice feature, because it ensures that you suffer less from (chronic) pain complaints. Yet it also indirectly helps with a good night’s sleep. When you sleep, you sleep better when you don’t suffer from pain than when you do experience pain.
Do magnesium and sleep help me?
Although magnesium can have many positive effects on your sleep rhythm, it does not work for everyone. Poor sleep can also be related to other factors. When you are naturally more likely to have a magnesium deficiency, you will benefit more from using magnesium and getting a good night’s sleep.People at higher risk of magnesium deficiency have:
- Chronic intestinal complaints so that they can absorb fewer nutrients
- Diabetes, which causes more magnesium to be emitted
- Suffering from old age complaints
- An alcohol addiction
Even if you do not fall into these risk groups, you can benefit from the use of magnesium supplements. However, always discuss this with your doctor to prevent the medication from working against you.