Mineral deficiencies can impact your health very negatively, causing you many problems, among which can be insomnia.
There are two main minerals responsible for your ability to sleep well: magnesium and calcium. It's important to note that a balanced ratio of calcium and magnesium is important to overall health, and these two minerals should be taken together for best results.
Magnesium and calcium have calming action on the brain. They are vitally important for sound, healthy sleep. Magnesium helps relaxation of the restless leg muscles and works to calm down overactive brain cells.
If you have magnesium deficiency, almost inevitably you will suffer chronic insomnia with agitated, disturbed sleep.
Correspondingly, scientific studies have shown that people who consume high amounts of magnesium with their diets have more peaceful and deep, rarely interrupted sleep.
Adding magnesium to your diet has been shown to help relieve the headaches that may be keeping you awake.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found out that almost 60% of adults don’t consume the necessary amount of magnesium. At particular risk of magnesium deficiency are individuals who take oral contraceptives, antibiotics, large amounts of laxatives and certain prescription medicines.
We usually think of calcium as food for our bones, but it’s also a natural insomnia remedy.
Calcium and insomnia have long been linked, with calcium deficiency causing increased tension and sleep disturbances.
Our brains need calcium to make melatonin, the “sleep molecule”, from amino acid tryptophan. That’s why dairy products have been traditionally considered the best foods for sleep - they contain both calcium and tryptophan.
Calcium is a helpful way to relax, explaining why your grandma would bring you a warm glass of milk at bedtime.
Stick with Grandma’s homemade remedy, but to reach the needed calcium allowance, take calcium supplements, because most of us only get a third of the daily dose of calcium our bodies need.
