Magnesium, known as nature’s tranquillizer, is a vital mineral for our health and has hundreds of important roles within our bodies to ensure we thrive and reduce our chance of disease. We caught up with Karen Alexander, Nutritional Therapist at Wild Nutrition, to find out how Magnesium could be the answer to all of your sleep woes. One of the most well-known functions of magnesium is its role as a sleep enhancer. Many will find they experience a better night’s sleep after taking magnesium and there is good science behind this. Here are three reasons magnesium helps us relax and sleep better… Magnesium is important for melatonin synthesis When we go to sleep we should produce a healthy amount of melatonin which makes us feel sleepy. It is important that nothing is blocking or preventing this production in order to have restful sleep. Magnesium has two vital roles here. Firstly, magnesium is required to manufacture melatonin and secondly, magnesium provides a chaperone for melatonin making it last longer in the body. Therefore, the more magnesium you have in your system prior to bedtime the better you will sleep. This will reduce the chance of poor quality sleep, daytime sleepiness, poor concentration and fatigue during the day. Nervous system calmative Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system in a number of ways, which in turn helps us feel more relaxed and able to sleep. Magnesium is needed for the synthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that maintains a balanced mood and can enhance feelings of happiness. Magnesium has an important balancing effect to prevent excess calcium accumulating in the nervous system that can be pro-inflammatory and excite the nerves too much. Low magnesium can affect our nervous system making us feel irritable, stressed and anxious, none of which is conducive to getting to and staying asleep. Relaxes the muscles Magnesium is an excellent supplement to take at night because it relaxes our muscles and can also prevent muscle twitches which are often a result of deficiency. It plays many roles in muscle function including oxygen uptake, electrolyte balance and energy production. It is imperative to health that these are in balance throughout the day which in turn will support restful sleep. Food-Grown Magnesium is a bioavailable and easily absorbable form that can be taken at any stage of life including pregnancy. Shop here for Wild Nutrition
