What’s the #1 prescription for enhanced beauty and anti-aging? Beauty sleep! Unfortunately, the vast majority isn’t clocking in anywhere close to 8 or 9 hours of deep, restful shuteye. The cause—and solution—may be the lack of a commonplace mineral that is a necessary component of more than 325 enzymes in the body. Magnesium for sleep is an alternative health tip you can count on!
A whopping 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium, an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in hydration, muscle relaxation, and deactivation of adrenaline. Low magnesium levels make it difficult to achieve deep sleep. Insomnia is just one sign of magnesium deficiency. Your body is probably craving more of this mineral if you suffer from…
- Cramps
- Muscle tightness
- Cold hands and feet
- Rapid elimination of fluids
- Muscle twitches, especially in your eyelids
Increasing your magnesium intake can remedy these symptoms—including the lack of sleep that accelerates aging—in no time!
The Link Between Magnesium and Sleep
Magnesium plays a key role in the proper functioning of calming neurotransmitters called GABA receptors. The brain takes its signal from the GABA receptors to switch off and calm down. Insufficient stores of magnesium cut this signal off, leading to a tense, wired brain that won’t shut down during the nighttime hours. Balance magnesium levels, and your GABA receptors start functioning smoothly again, restoring communication with the brain.
Magnesium is also a natural muscle relaxant. It ushers calcium out of the muscles and into the bloodstream where it can be up-regulated by other areas of the body. In fact, the relationship between magnesium and calcium is one to pay attention to. When levels of calcium are much higher than levels of magnesium, your muscles can go into spasms. This can have dire consequences for your heart—the muscle that requires the highest levels of magnesium—and can lead to heart attack and sudden death.
Managing Magnesium
While you can shore up insufficient magnesium stores through diet by adding in some green leafy vegetables, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, and almonds, only 50% of ingested magnesium is actually absorbed by the digestive system! If you are suffering from insomnia or suspect you are magnesium deficient, consider supplementing with magnesium as well.
Take a 400-500 mg capsule of magnesium for sleep half an hour before bedtime. You can also take in magnesium transdermally through the skin by soaking in a bath of Epsom salts—a pure source of magnesium—or rubbing magnesium oil on the bottoms of your feet, or on your arms, legs, and torso.
