Magnesium is needed for a number of essential body activities, and its absence can cause numerous health problems. While a magnesium deficiency can be detected through medical tests, most people can identify a problem by paying attention to a number of symptoms and conditions that start appearing as magnesium levels drop.
Step 1
Make a list of any ongoing condition you may be experiencing. One of the most common characteristics of magnesium deficiency is the presence of several recurrent problems, such as asthma, migraines, allergies and fibromyalgia. If you suffer just one of these conditions, it may not mean anything, but experiencing several may indicate a magnesium deficiency.
Step 2
Look for muscle-related conditions, as magnesium directly affects muscle contraction, such as cramps, soreness that doesn't go away, tension headaches, twitches that come and go longer than a few days and chest tightness. The presence of several of these conditions at the same time is especially suspicious.
Step 3
Pay attention to symptoms of weakness or fatigue that don't seem to be associated with anything obvious, such as exercise or illness. Magnesium helps the body convert food into energy, so a deficiency may show up as an ongoing lack of energy. Feelings of sluggishness or a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome can be directly linked to a magnesium deficiency.
Step 4
Monitor your sleep. Insomnia, nightly muscle spasms, waking up throughout the night consistently and ongoing nightmares may all indicate a magnesium deficiency because magnesium directly affects the release of stress hormones.
Step 5
Pay attention to mood changes. Magnesium deficiencies can lead to irritability, mood swings, depression, confusion, restless behavior, apathy or panic attacks. In general, deficiencies can be signaled by radical changes in behavior that come with no other signs of a medical condition. Magnesium deficiencies are also linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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