In addition to anxiety, low magnesium levels have been linked with: Higher levels of stress. Depression. Insomnia or sleep disturbances.
Magnesium is an important mineral that helps maintain a healthy mood. Low levels of magnesium are associated with fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Research shows that adults, as well as children, don't get enough magnesium and that this may be linked to climbing rates of mood and mental health problems.
Magnesium may also be helpful in reducing physical symptoms like headaches, muscle pain, back pain, and stomach pain in certain conditions. In addition, there is some evidence magnesium can potentially benefit mental health by acting as a mood booster, muscle relaxer, stress reducer, and sleep aid.
In a mood? Magnesium might help. If you find yourself irritable, stressed or downright depressed, this critical mineral may help you get out of your funk. Studies suggest adequate magnesium intake can calm stress, improve mood and enhance sleep.
Magnesium blocks the actions of glutamate in the NMDA receptors. If your body is magnesium deficient, it means that few of the NMDA receptors are blocked. This may lead to overexcitation and cell damage. Because of this, it is possible that magnesium may be useful in the treatment and prevention of depression.
Magnesium also modulates activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPAA) which is a central substrate of the stress response system. Activation of the HPAA instigates adaptive autonomic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral responses to cope with the demands of the stressor; including increasing anxiety.
Magnesium works as an important co-factor required for conversion of tryptophan (from proteins we get from food) to serotonin and melatonin, both of which help in falling asleep."
"Research has shown that magnesium supplementation may affect the brain functions that help lower stress and anxiety," Gorin says. It works by helping your body kick into the "rest and digest" state, or by activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
Dietary deficiencies of magnesium, coupled with excess calcium and stress may cause many cases of other related symptoms including agitation, anxiety, irritability, confusion, asthenia, sleeplessness, headache, delirium, hallucinations and hyperexcitability, with each of these having been previously documented.
Magnesium deficiency is diagnosed via a blood test and sometimes a urine test. Your doctor may order the blood test if you have symptoms such as weakness, irritability, abnormal heart rhythm, nausea and/or diarrhoea, or if you have abnormal calcium or potassium levels.
The lowdown. Medical research has linked magnesium to reduced anxiety. Magnesium helps you to relax by stimulating the production of melatonin and serotonin which boost your mood and help you sleep. Magnesium also reduces the production of cytokines and cortisol, which lead to increased inflammation and stress.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, look to magnesium. One study showed magnesium intake reduces fear memory but enhances working memory, so you'll be more inclined to take healthy risks without overthinking.
Research suggests that while not all people with depression have low magnesium, those that do might be more likely to see symptom improvement with magnesium supplements. This may also suggest that getting enough magnesium in your diet can possibly help to prevent depression.
Magnesium supplementation has been linked to improvements in symptoms of major depression,8 premenstrual symptoms,9 postpartum depression,8 and chronic fatigue syndrome. Low magnesium status has been associated with increased depressive symptoms in several different age groups and ethnic populations.
Personality changes, including apathy, depression, agitation, confusion, anxiety, and delirium are observed when there is a deficiency of this element. Rodents receiving a diet deficient in magnesium displayed depressive behaviour that was reversed by antidepressant drugs.
Other research from 2017, appearing in the journal PLoS One , found that a 6-week course of magnesium chloride led to a significant reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms.
Magnesium deficiency can have a spiraling effect.
If we don't get enough magnesium from our food, we are more vulnerable to high levels of stress and anxiety.
When taken in very large amounts (greater than 350 mg daily), magnesium is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. Large doses might cause too much magnesium to build up in the body, causing serious side effects including an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, confusion, slowed breathing, coma, and death.
People with diabetes, intestinal disease, heart disease or kidney disease should not take magnesium before speaking with their health care provider. Overdose. Signs of a magnesium overdose can include nausea, diarrhea, low blood pressure, muscle weakness, and fatigue. At very high doses, magnesium can be fatal.
The benefits of magnesium supplementation in healthy individuals aren't clear, but Dr. Nassar says that taking a magnesium supplement every day likely isn't unsafe for most people. Just be sure you're not taking too much magnesium. The maximum dietary allowance for most adults is around 400 mg or less.
The activities of Mg may, therefore, appear significant in the normal functioning of various hormones that include the thyroid hormones, the sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone), the stress hormone/steroid hormone (cortisol), and the neurobiological hormones (HPA-axis hormones).
Research still doesn't fully support taking magnesium for treating anxiety. This means that no minimum or maximum dosage is recommended specifically for anxiety. However, according to a 2017 review , the average doses used in studies ranged between 75 to 360 milligrams (mg) each day.