{"id":258060,"date":"2025-10-29T05:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/258060\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T05:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:24:09","slug":"the-mineral-dubbed-a-miracle-for-problem-sleepers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/258060\/","title":{"rendered":"The mineral dubbed a miracle for problem sleepers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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About a third of adults do not get enough sleep<\/a> in the UK and while meditation or sleeping pills do help insomniacs nod off – magnesium could also help problem sleepers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Dubbed the mineral of the moment, magnesium can be found<\/a> on pharmacy shelves and across social media. <\/p>\n

It has many benefits from helping the body turn food into energy and supporting the nervous system<\/a>, to regulating muscle and blood function. <\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s found naturally in nuts, fish, meat, wholemeal bread and spinach, the global market for magnesium supplements<\/a> is worth almost \u00a33bn and that’s set to nearly double over the next decade.<\/p>\n

Sleep is one reason people are willing to invest in the mineral – thanks to its relaxing effect on the brain.<\/p>\n

\"Magnesium<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Magnesium can help the body relax the brain and muscles, experts explain (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cHigher levels of magnesium in the body seem to be associated with sleep changes – not just a longer time asleep but also better quality of sleep,\u201d GP Dr Philippa Kaye told the Independent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly how it works, but there is some evidence it acts on neurotransmitters including GABA which can help you feel calm and might help you go to sleep,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The neurotransmitter GABA is a chemical messenger in the brain that promotes calmness, reducing anxiety<\/a> and stress. <\/p>\n

Russell Foster Professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford University explained the mineral \u201cpromotes relaxation by stimulating the \u2018inhibitory neurotransmitter\u2019 GABA, which reduces the release of multiple excitatory neurotransmitters.\u201d As a result reducing the neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness. <\/p>\n

The recommended daily amount of magnesium is 300mg for men and 270mg for women, the body stores about 25g, most of which is in bones and tissue.<\/p>\n

If levels of this mineral drop too low, the body could experience stress, low appetite, nausea and vomiting, an abnormal heartbeat and muscle twitching – all of which could also hinder sleep. <\/p>\n

\"Magnesium<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Magnesium is found naturally in nuts, fish, meat, wholemeal bread and spinach (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cMagnesium helps regulate the body\u2019s stress response system, so when levels are low, the body can become more reactive to stress, leading to higher cortisol levels and increased feelings of anxiety,\u201d Rob Hobson, registered nutritionist, told the Independent. <\/p>\n

\u201cMagnesium also helps relax muscles and reduce tension, which can ease the physical restlessness that often interferes with falling asleep so when levels are low, people may also experience increased muscle twitching, or lighter, more disrupted sleep,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But simply popping a pill of magnesium isn\u2019t a sure way of getting a good night’s sleep. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s because for a supplement to make a difference the body needs to be deficient in the first place. <\/p>\n

Mr Hobson explains magnesium supplements have shown promising results in older adults, people with insomnia, or a low magnesium levels. <\/p>\n

But in healthy adults he said the results are \u201cless consistent\u201d and are not a \u201cmagic fix for everyone\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor some researchers the jury is still out \u2013 in terms of taking Magnesium as a supplement to promote sleep \u2013 but on the basis of the data emerging I am cautiously optimistic,\u201d Professor Foster added. <\/p>\n

If you think you might be deficient in magnesium, speak to your doctor who can order a blood test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-258060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}