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May 2, 2024

Magnesium can help fight sleeplessness

By JULIANA VERACKA | March 3, 2016

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Keith Davenport/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Daily supplements are one way to ensure that you are getting enough magnesium in your system.

For those who don’t know, magnesium deficiency can cause problems with nerve function, blood sugar, energy and blood pressure among other things. It is linked to various health issues, including hormone imbalances, mental illnesses, type 2 diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and more. I won’t bore you with the reasons behind why my mom thought that I might benefit from some extra magnesium but I think it’s safe to say that this is something that could be of potential interest to anyone suffering from similar conditions.

Magnesium deficiency is linked to various health issues including chronic fatigue.

So if you’re concerned that a magnesium deficiency could be affecting you — well first consider seeing a doctor. I mean if you’ve been dealing with low energy, pain, fatigue, anxiety or any other similar concerns, it goes without saying that you should talk to a professional about it if at all possible (although I do understand why this might not be ideal for many people). But if you’re already dealing with your health problems head on and are thinking that this could be something you want to try in addition to whatever else you’re doing to help yourself get through the day — well, you still might want to talk to a health professional. Nevertheless let me at least give you a little more information about magnesium, magnesium deficiencies and good natural or supplemental sources of magnesium that you can incorporate into your daily life.

Foods that are rich in potassium include leafy greens like spinach, fruits such as figs and other kinds of foods like dark chocolate or almonds. Try increasing your intake of these if you don’t want to take a magnesium supplement. If you do want to take a supplement, there are plenty out there. The one I’m taking is a magnesium oil spray. You spray it on your feet before you go to bed at night. Weird right? You can also spray it under your arms because it’s supposedly a natural deodorant. A warning though — these sprays sometimes sting! I’ve only been taking this for a few days at this point, so I can’t really speak to the effectiveness of this type of supplement. Ideally in the long run it will give me more energy, better sleep and less pain. Something else you should know is that there are different types of magnesium supplements. So if you’d rather take a pill than use the oil, you might want to do some research on which type would be best for you.

Now I’m really not a health professional. As I mentioned before if you’ve been feeling under the weather you should probably talk to a doctor. But hopefully this article has made you more aware of the importance of magnesium and the ways in which you can incorporate it more completely into your diet. I hope you’re having a happy and healthy semester! Spring break is almost here!


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