As one of the most common minerals in the sea, magnesium chloride has long played a role in the nutritional requirements of humans. While we have absorbed the mineral through the skin without even knowing it for thousands of years, modern science demonstrates the ways in which the mineral can positively affect health. Among other benefits, magnesium can enhance your sleep.
Magnesium
A component of more than 300 enzymes in the human body, magnesium demonstrates positive effects on hydration, cellular energy production and cardiovascular health. Charles Poliquin, a Canadian strength coach who has trained a range of Olympic athletes, explains that most individuals he tests show up as magnesium-deficient. He notes that hard training and stress increase the rate at which the body uses up stores of the mineral.
Transdermal Absorption
Magnesium chloride can be consumed orally through supplements, although it will also absorb through the skin. The Silver Medicine website notes how this transdermal absorption can become extremely important for individuals who suffer from poor digestion. They point out that taking a long soak in a magnesium bath, in which you add the minerals to warm water, can prove highly effective in restoring your mineral status. You will also find magnesium chloride available in a product called magnesium oil; you can paint this onto the skin before sleeping, allowing diffusion to occur over the course of the night.
Effects on Sleep
Poliquin identifies the effects on sleep as one of the most important reasons to use magnesium. Regardless of whether you obtain it through the diet or through transdermal absorption, magnesium-based enzymes will operate equally well in the body. Some of these enzymes reduce the release of adrenaline from cardiac muscle, relaxing the central nervous system. Others allow the muscles to relax, removing this as a factor in insomnia. In this sense, the mineral does not guarantee a good sleep. However, magnesium deficiency remains one of the most common causes of poor sleeping patterns.
Insomnia
German scientists based at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Albert Ludwigs University looked into the effect of magnesium on the sleep quality of patients known to suffer from insomnia. They noticed that, following the use of magnesium supplementation, the amount of movement was reduced significantly together with the regularity of waking. Their results, published in the "Sleep" journal in 1998, concluded that magnesium proved an effective intervention against insomnia.
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