Not getting enough magnesium may be the reason you are having a hard time falling asleep.
Worried about not getting enough sleep night after night? It may be time to make a few adjustments to your lifestyle and diet.
Sleep is incredibly important for our overall health. It plays a critical role in learning and memory processing, in maintaining a strong immune system, and more.
Nearly everyone experiences a few nights of tossing and turning from time to time in a condition called "transient insomnia". However, if you are having trouble falling/staying asleep on a nightly basis and getting little sleep overall, it's time to take your insomnia seriously.
Poor sleep quality can negatively affect your daytime functioning and self-perceived quality of life. Not only do you wake up feeling unrefreshed after a night of tossing and turning, it also leads to poor concentration, impaired memory, and an inability to accomplish some daily tasks. There is also a greater risk for work-related accidents, road accidents, and sick days.
Magnesium’s Impact on Sleep
Insomnia can be a symptom of medical conditions like depression, sleep apnea, heart failure, arthritis and chronic pain. Research indicates there may be a genetic component to insomnia, as well. However, it's interesting to note that studies have also found a link between chronic magnesium deficiency and insomnia. In short, people who are low in magnesium tend to experience poor sleep.
Magnesium affects sleep in several ways: It plays a significant role in reducing muscle tension and nerve stimulation. Magnesium also helps to regulate the release of stress hormones (notably cortisol and adrenaline), which in turn helps the central nervous system to relax and promotes sounder sleep. Magnesium deficiency, on the other hand, is known to cause muscle cramps/weakness, abnormal heartbeat, low blood pressure, hyperventilation, and eye twitches -- all of which can contribute to poor sleep. Sleep-talking and frequent jerking motions while sleeping are also related to magnesium deficiency. In fact, low magnesium levels can even lead to sleep disorders such as Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).
Magnesium for Restful Sleep
Studies show that supplementing the diet with magnesium can help people fall asleep faster and have longer, more satisfying sleep. One noteworthy study found that people with Restless Leg Syndrome sleep longer and are roused less -- by around 75% to 85% -- when supplementing with magnesium.
A recent study conducted in Italy also found that magnesium impacts the overall quality of sleep. The primary goal was to evaluate sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The participants who took a food supplement containing magnesium, melatonin and zinc had considerably better overall PSQI scores than the placebo group. They also exhibited significant improvements in ease of falling asleep, overall sleep quality, and alertness the following morning.
More Magnesium, More Sleep
If you suffer from insomnia, it's important to include more magnesium-rich foods in your diet. Foods like bran, dried coriander, squash seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame, dark chocolate, flax, Brazil nuts, molasses and roasted soybeans are fairly high in magnesium. It's also important to decrease your consumption of coffee and alcohol, as they flush magnesium out of your body (plus the caffeine in coffee can aggravate your insomnia).
Magnesium supplements are also an easy way to introduce more magnesium into the body quickly, conveniently and effectively. Our award-winning PrizMAG Pure Magnesium Bisglycinate is 100% pure and formulated for optimal absorption, which enhances the many sleep-promoting benefits of magnesium.