Why Magnesium Is Essential For Enhanced Fitness, Better Sleep, Improved Mood and More

by Natalie Bohin September 04, 2020

One of the most common deficiencies in the modern diet is the lack of magnesium. This is because it is difficult to get enough through diet alone. Magnesium is involved with over 300 processes in the body and is crucial for sleep, mood, and muscle recovery.

The Benefits of Magnesium

Magnesium is found in 60% of your teeth and bones as well as 40% of your muscles. It is a vital nutrient that your body requires daily to stay healthy. It helps to carry out many tasks such as regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. “Magnesium is a cofactor in more than 300 enzyme systems that regulate diverse biochemical reactions in the body, including protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation”.

Six Reasons Why Magnesium Is Essential For Your Health:

Boost brain and mood
Help manage stress
Improve sleep
Increase fitness and recovery
May improve migraine
Support a healthy immune system

Functions Of Magnesium in Your Body

Magnesium is a crucial mineral for over 300 enzyme processes in the body. It helps to regulate biochemical reactions, protein synthesis, and blood pressure. You need adequate levels of magnesium in the body for strong bones, to generate energy and help keep nerves functioning correctly.

As the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, you can’t make magnesium yourself. You need to consume magnesium through the foods you eat. Despite magnesium being present in various foods, it’s thought that about half of all Americans aren’t hitting their magnesium requirements. A diet high in junk foods and other processed foods is somewhat devoid of magnesium.

What’s worse is that low levels of magnesium appear to make vitamin D ineffective. Research shows that your body can’t metabolize vitamin D when you have low levels of magnesium. So, vitamin D just sits in the body and remains inactive. Considering vitamin D is essential for a strong immune system and healthy bones, it is vital to get enough magnesium.

Magnesium can affect many different things in your body from your brain to your bones. Low levels of the mineral have even been associated with certain mood disorders . It’s clear that magnesium is crucial to your health and a major player in making you feel a sense of well-being. With awareness around magnesium taking center stage in the wellness world, let’s take a look at why magnesium is absolutely essential for your well-being.

6 Reasons Why Magnesium is Essential for Your Well-Being

1. Boost Brain and Mood

Magnesium plays a critical role in brain health. This includes fighting depression. Magnesium has been majorly removed from processed foods, especially refined grains. The standard American diet generally consists of red meat, processed foods, and refined grains. This could potentially harm the brain and lead to mood disorders.

Low levels of magnesium appear to be linked with mood disorders. Research shows that magnesium may impact brain function that helps to regulate stress and anxiety. Currently, more research is needed to determine the precise effect magnesium has on the brain and mood. However, evidence suggests that magnesium could be a major factor in mood disorders and anxiety.

2. Help Manage Stress

Americans are some of the most stressed-out people in the world. In a poll with over 140 countries, over half of Americans surveyed experience stress during most parts of the day . Roughly 45% said they felt worried and stressed a lot of the time. Nowadays, stress is a common part of modern society. Unfortunately, chronic stress can have a lasting impact on both your physical and mental health.

If you’ve ever experienced stress, you may have tried to find a supplement to feel calmer and manage your stress. Often magnesium is high on the list as it’s thought to help the brain cope with stress. Evidence suggests that supplementing magnesium could actually support the brain function that helps to lower stress and anxiety.

One study found that magnesium supplementation improved heart-rate variability (HRV) scores. When you measure HRV, it’s a good indicator of your body’s ability to handle stress. A better HRV score means that your body is adapting more to stress.

3. Improve Sleep

The National Institute of Health estimates that about 30% of the general population suffers from some type of sleep disruption . Sleep is essential to your overall health. You soon know when you haven’t hit your recommended daily amount of sleep. From difficulty concentrating and mood swings to overeating, sleep has a massive impact on your body and mind.

Research shows that magnesium may improve your sleep quality. A lot of people turn to a magnesium supplement to help fix broken sleep. When you don’t have enough magnesium in your body, it can really affect and disrupt your sleep cycle.

Sleep is a complex process. Evidence suggests that magnesium can help you sleep as it relaxes and calms your nervous system. So, basically it helps you feel calmer so that your body and mind is ready to go to sleep. Magnesium also helps to regulate your melatonin , which is a sleep hormone that plays a key part in your sleep-wake cycle.

4. Increase Fitness and Recovery

If you work out regularly, you need to be cognisant of getting enough magnesium. Magnesium helps the muscles to relax after your workout, which counteracts the role that calcium plays in contracting the muscles. A lack of magnesium can upset this delicate balance and you’re likely to feel the effects of this as sore muscles. If you don’t replace the magnesium you lose while you’re working out, your muscles find it harder to recover. Research suggests that magnesium could help increase muscle recovery after exercise. If you suffer from muscle cramps and constantly sore muscles after exercise, this could be a sign you’re deficient in magnesium.

Since magnesium is involved in a multitude of different functions in the body, it impacts multiple areas of your life. Magnesium plays a role in both your exercise performance and your recovery. One study found that the more you exercise and move your body, the more magnesium you need for your body to function properly.

5. May Improve Migraines

Migraine is a condition that refers to a severe throbbing headache. Anyone who has suffered from one will be familiar with the awful symptoms such as light sensitivity, feeling sick or nauseous, and painful headaches.

There’s a growing body of evidence that suggests people who suffer from migraines also have low levels of magnesium. One study found that regularly supplementing magnesium led to a decrease in migraine frequency. Often, magnesium oxide is used to help prevent migraines and has massive potential as a natural alternative to pharmaceuticals.

6. Support a Healthy Immune System

One of the functions of magnesium in the body includes supporting a healthy immune system. The mineral helps to keep muscles strong and functioning as well as support a robust immune system. Emerging research suggests that magnesium plays a role in the immune response but more research is needed to figure out the precise dosage recommendation for optimal health benefits.

If you’re looking to strengthen your immune system, you can make small lifestyle changes that will benefit you in the long-term. Things like regular exercise, managing stress, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight can all help strengthen your immune system.

How to Boost Your Magnesium Levels

The recommended daily allowance for magnesium ranges from 310-420mg depending on your age and gender. You can find magnesium naturally in a variety of foods. One way to increase magnesium intake is to proactively include magnesium-rich foods into your diet such as:

Nuts and seeds
Avocados
Legumes
Tofu
Bananas
Whole grains
Brown rice
Leafy green vegetables

It’s important to know that although caffeine doesn’t reduce your magnesium levels, it may impact how your body absorbs the mineral. Tip: Try not to drink your daily coffee while you eat magnesium-rich foods as it may affect your absorption. Signs of magnesium deficiency include anxiety, muscle spasms, and an irregular heartbeat.

To boost your magnesium intake and make sure you’re always hitting your requirements, a supplement is an easy option. Although it’s always best to get as much as you can from your diet, you may want to supplement magnesium if you’re running low or feel like your diet isn’t providing enough.

Magnesium often flies under the radar with many people being deficient in this crucial mineral. With the standard Western diet consisting of heavily processed foods and refined grains, it’s easy to see how a large number of people aren’t getting the magnesium they need. The nutrient has the power to improve sleep and mood, and potentially increase exercise performance and muscle recovery. With plenty of plant-based magnesium-rich foods to choose from, you can find many ways to naturally boost your magnesium intake.

Sunwarrior Magnesium is a quick-acting magnesium and trace-mineral solution which enhances your natural, cellular, and electrical impulses to restore the mineral and nutrient balance your body craves for healthy bodily functions. Research shows that supplementation of magnesium is vital to maintaining your health. Watch this video to learn more about ionic magnesium and all of it’s benefits.

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Natalie Bohin