Magnesium - One of the Greatest Stress Supplements

Magnesium is a necessary co-factor for hundreds of enzymes, and is the most critical mineral of all for coping with stress. Stress-related diseases which are more and more common in modern society, like heart attacks and high blood pressure, are often accompanied by magnesium deficiency. Unfortunately, most people consume diets don´t include enough magnesium.

But even if you do eat all the right foods, when you are chronically stressed, you can become magnesium deficient. The complex relationship between magnesium and stress explains why many of the people require supplements, because even a nutritious diet does not correct their magnesium deficiency.
So, chronic stress depletes your body of magnesium. The more stressed you are, the greater the loss of it is. The lower your magnesium level to begin with, the more reactive to stress you become and the higher your level of adrenalin is in stressful situations. Higher adrenalin will cause greater loss of magnesium from cells. Adding magnesium as a nutritional supplement breaks this vicious cycle by raising blood magnesium levels and buffering the response to stress and thus building your resistance.


Magnesium has many practical benefits. It relaxes your muscles (including the heart), helps with poor sleep, anxiety, muscle cramps and energy production and has many other important benefits. A recent study that included people with poor sleep quality as measured with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index found that taking a magnesium supplement decreased chronic inflammatory stress levels and improved the sleep quality of the people in the study. Researchers suggest that adding magnesium to their diets decreased the participants' sympathetic nervous activity, effectively reducing stress and allowing them to relax better.

Magnesium Can Improve Brain Function and Fight Depression

Magnesium is effective for a great memory. Supplementing with magnesium has been shown to increase brain function by improving brain electrical activity, leading to elevated learning and memory functions. This has implications for depression and a chronic low mood too. Magnesium plays a big role in neurotransmitter release, which affects the discharge of brain chemicals such as serotonin that makes you feel happy.

What Kind Of Magnesium and How Much?

The best dietary supplements are the acid salts of magnesium like magnesium chloride, citrate, gluconate or glycinate. The dose varies from 100 milligrams to 500 milligrams daily. Because the body easily eliminates excess magnesium, toxicity is practicly unknown, although excess magnesium can cause loose stools or diarrhea. Magnesium is very safe, except in people who suffer from kidney disease or are severely dehydrated.