“A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.” ~ Charlotte Brontë
Retailers have a number of nutrients and formulations to offer consumers seeking support for healthy sleep and stress management. One of the most basic is magnesium. “Both sleep difficulties and stress are symptoms of low magnesium levels,” said Ken Whitman, president, Peter Gillham’s Natural Vitality. “Most of the population doesn’t get their daily requirement of magnesium; by remedying this, we are addressing a root problem. If calcium intake is not properly balanced with magnesium, there will be an imbalance at a cellular level. Because calcium excites and magnesium relaxes, if the balance between these two key minerals is incorrect, the cells and the body will not be able to fully relax.”
Whitman’s assessment was echoed by Reuven M. Rosenberg, D.C., The Integrative Health Center, in comments for the Nutritional Magnesium Association. “Depleted magnesium levels are associated with sleep insufficiency for a number of reasons,” he explained. “Under stressful conditions, cortisol is released from the adrenals. When that stress is chronic, cortisol will be present in elevated levels in the bloodstream, hampering a person’s sleep. Magnesium helps to regulate the excess cortisol. Stress also helps to deplete magnesium, so we have a vicious cycle. … Magnesium may also function as an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety remedy, thus helping those affected get a better night’s sleep.”
Studies have shown optimal levels of magnesium are needed for sleep regulation.1 Further, insomnia is one of the central symptoms of chronic magnesium deficiency.2 Sleep disorders such as abrupt awakening from sleep, jerking and other movements, restless leg syndrome (RLS) and talking in sleep may also be related to magnesium deficiency.3,4 Further, physical function is integrally connected to healthy sleep and magnesium levels. A recent Japanese study examined the relationship between impaired exercise tolerance, chronic sleep-restricted conditions and magnesium levels.5 Levels of intracellular magnesium decreased from control through various levels of sleep restriction; impaired exercise tolerance was linked to hypersensitivity of heart rate response to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which was compensating for the decreased levels of magnesium. The team has also reported oral supplementation with magnesium can improve exercise tolerance in a sleep-restricted state.6
“If you understand that magnesium is involved in more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, you will see that a lack of this essential mineral can affect health in many ways,” Whitman said, noting his company’s Natural Calm is a water-soluble, pH-balanced powder that is highly bioavailable. It is marketed as “The Anti-Stress Drink,” and can also address muscle cramping, which can impact sleep.
Magnesium is also included in Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs. Knight noted the product includes three types of magnesium, as well as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K and boron, all formulated with carrier oils such as evening primrose oil to enhance absorption.