Magnesium and Sleep Disturbance

With 25% of the U.S. Population Suffering Side Effects from Sleep Medications, Effective Natural Remedies are Needed.

Over half the people in the U.S. have some form of insomnia. Most sleeping pills, especially when taken over long periods of time, stay in the bloodstream, giving a hangover the next day and beyond, and impair memory and performance on the job and at home. From a nutritional perspective, several research studies have shown certain minerals to be effective alternatives to help people fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

Glendale, CA (PRWEB) August 15, 2006 — Sleeplessness is a big problem in America. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), almost six out of ten Americans report having insomnia at least a few nights weekly. Insomnia is defined as “An inability to fall asleep or remain asleep long enough to feel rested, especially when the problem continues over time.” In an effort to combat this, as many as 25 percent of the people in the United States use medications to help them sleep.

The use of prescription sleeping drugs, such as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata, has been steadily increasing. Global sales for all sleeping pills, called hypnotics, will top $5 billion in the next several years. Most sleeping pills, especially when taken over long periods of time, stay in the bloodstream, giving a hangover the next day and beyond, and impair memory and performance on the job and at home.

From a nutritional perspective, several research studies have shown certain minerals to be effective alternatives to help people fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. James F. Balch, M.D., author of “Prescription for Nutritional Healing”, writes: “A lack of the nutrients calcium and magnesium will cause you to wake up after a few hours and not be able to return to sleep.”

The pioneering nutritionist Adelle Davis discusses natural sleep remedies in her book “Let’s Get Well.” She says: “A calcium deficiency often shows itself by insomnia, another form of an inability to relax. The harm done by sleeping tablets, to say nothing of the billions of dollars spent on them, could largely be avoided if the calcium intake were adequate.”

A relatively new form of calcium — calcium lactate gluconate — is emerging as a popular choice for fortifying beverages (such as orange juice and sports drinks), because of its ability to dissolve readily in any temperature of liquid — cold or hot. Natural remedies for sleep, such as Sleep Minerals from Nutrition Breakthroughs, have also begun to include this highly absorbable form of calcium.

Calcium works best when it’s balanced with magnesium. According to Adelle Davis, “The magnesium intake should be approximately half that of calcium. Hundreds of recent studies indicate that almost everyone, especially ill persons, is deficient in magnesium. Probably no other single deficiency is so responsible for the widespread use of tranquilizers.” However, all the forms of magnesium available on the market are not equally effective.

In one study from the journal “Magnesium Research,” four different forms of magnesium were compared and they found a significantly higher availability and absorption from magnesium chloride. In another research study of more than 200 patients, Dr. W. Davis used magnesium chloride as a possible means of combating insomnia. He reported that sleep was induced rapidly, was uninterrupted, and waking tiredness disappeared in 99 percent of the patients. Another benefit was that anxiety and tension were diminished during the day. (W. Davis and F. Ziady, “The Role of Magnesium in Sleep,” Montreal Symposium).

Jobee Knight, a nutritional researcher and founder of Nutrition Breakthroughs in Glendale, CA., is someone who fought her own battle against sleeplessness and insomnia. She decided to put her background to use by searching out effective natural ingredients for relaxation and deep sleep. The result was Sleep Minerals, a unique blend of calcium lactate gluconate and magnesium chloride.

Knight says: “Besides finding ingredients that actually worked, it was also important to me that the product was easy to use and fast to absorb. For these reasons, I selected magnesium chloride and calcium lactate gluconate as they both instantly dissolve in cool water. With other mineral supplements for sleep, it’s necessary to boil the water in order for the ingredients to dissolve.”

Ron Hartwell of Los Angeles, CA. teaches at a private school and also owns the Math Doctor Tutoring Service. Between getting up at 5:00 a.m. for class and then tutoring late into the night, he was finding it hard to sleep. After trying many different remedies, a friend gave him some Sleep Minerals. Hartwell says: “Sleep Minerals improves the quality and soundness of my sleep. My sleep is not as light or easily interrupted as it was before. It’s deeper. I feel more rested with the same amount of hours of sleep — and with my schedule, this is definitely a benefit.”

Besides soothing you to sleep, it’s been discovered that a wide array of health benefits also result from taking calcium. Recent studies have shown calcium helps to lower blood pressure, alleviate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, strengthen bones, and protect against colon cancer. In addition, magnesium chloride has been shown to provide improved digestion, a stronger immune system, calmer nervous system, lower blood sugar levels, and stronger nails and hair.

So get ready to receive many health benefits while you fight the battle against insomnia and come out the winner.

For more information visit http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com, call 866-635-9539, or write to Nutrition Breakthroughs at 1413 Fifth St., Suite D, Glendale, CA. 91201.

For More Information Contact:
Jobee Knight, Nutrition Breakthroughs
Phone: 818-956-6612 or 866-635-9539
Website: http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com

Americans are popping sleeping pills at a rapid rate, thanks to heavy marketing by the drug companies and a belief that a new generation of sleeping pills is safer than its predecessors, which is not true.

Drug makers spent $298 million in the first 11 months of 2005 to convince consumers that the sleep aids are safe and effective. That was more than four times such ad spending in all of 2004.

According to the National Sleep Foundation: Approximately 70 million people in the United States are affected by a sleep problem. Approximately 12 million Americans have restless legs syndrome, a sleep and movement disorder characterized by unpleasant (tingling, crawling, creeping and/or pulling) feelings in the legs, which cause an urge to move in order to relieve the symptoms.

Magnesium supplements may be helpful for relieving
restless leg syndrome (RLS) and for treating insomnia.

About 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled in 2005, according to the research company IMS Health, up nearly 60 percent since 2000. Ten percent of Americans report that they regularly struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep throughout the night.

As many as 47 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, health and behavior problems because they aren’t meeting their minimum sleep need in order to be fully alert the next day. And, sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are estimated to cost Americans over $100 billion annually.[1]

The newest generation of sleep aids can sometimes cause strange
side effects including sleepwalking and short-term amnesia.

The Times reported that Steven Wells, a lawyer in Buffalo, said he started using Ambien last year because his racing mind kept him awake at night. He quit using the drug in one month, after becoming concerned about several episodes in which he woke up to find he had messily raided the refrigerator and, an incident in which he tore a towel rack out of a wall.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a major role in the functioning of the musculoskeletal system. Magnesium allows the muscles to relax and decreases the discomforts associated with muscle cramping. Magnesium provides a calming effect that allows for deeper relaxation and better sleep. Magnesium is considered the “antistress” mineral. It is a natural tranquilizer which functions to relax skeletal muscles as well as the smooth muscles of blood vessels and the gastrointestinal tract.

Many dietary magnesium supplements are sold but
commonly large-scale manufacturers use “oxide” due
to its compactness and ease of use in manufacturing.
Unfortunately, magnesium oxide is not biologically available.[2],[3],[4]

Peter Gillham, a leading nutritional researcher states, “The simplicity of the situation is that the modern American diet is not sufficient in the nutrients that the body needs to function properly, and one of the most fundamental of them, for muscle relaxation and sleep, is magnesium. I give my clients a powdered magnesium citrate formula that dissolves in hot water. I have found in my own trials that this formula assimilates into the body the best, which has resulted in higher positive outcomes for my trial subjects than other magnesium compounds and other forms such as pills or capsules.”

Magnesium ion partially reverses sleep EEG and
nocturnal neuroendocrine changes occurring during aging.[5]

According to Dr. J. Durlach, the biological clock and magnesium status are linked, and a balanced magnesium status is important for the function of the mysterious pineal gland.

Conventional bright light therapy appears as a speedy and efficient antidepressant medication useful for the treatment of various types of depression and of non migrainous headaches also, because of lights effect on the pineal gland.

Dr. Durlach sees the psycholeptic sedative effects of darkness amplified by magnesium. There probably is a strong relationship between melatonin and magnesium; certainly relative amounts of light and darkness affect the pineal gland and its production of melatonin.

Simply put, there is nothing like a hot soak in a magnesium chloride bath before bed. Such soaks are heaven on earth for people who suffer from insomnia and the feelings of restlessness in the limbs.

Instead of ingesting further chemical toxins in the form of pharmaceutical sleeping pills, which further deteriorate health, one bathes in a deep relaxing hot magnesium bath similar to what is available at some of the most famous spas around the world. Not only will one sleep better but ones entire health will be elevated. All one has to do is pour in some magnesium chloride. Nothing could be simpler.

Magnesium is far too easy of an answer to be
welcomed by the corporate drug cartels.

Across the board of mental and emotional illness, the first line of treatment clearly needs to include magnesium. Magnesium will not resolve all problems obviously but it will certainly make dealing with more difficult deeper issues easier.

The entire psychiatric and clinical psychological community has been subverted into using these drugs by the pharmaceutical companies, which have maliciously ignored the pharmacology of magnesium – ramming down billions of dollars of dangerous and toxic drugs instead into both children and adults.