Magnesium: The Anti-Stress Mineral

Stress depletes magnesium; magnesium counteracts stress. When magnesium levels are low, the nervous system gets out of balance and the muscles grow tight. This can also lead to elevated mental stress. At the same time, any stress, whether mental or physical, will deplete magnesium. Magnesium gained its name as nature's anti-stress mineral due to its helpfulness in combating internal stress and in the restoration of inner balance.

As expected, stress conditions involve extra nutrients and support, and require as well a good-quality protein, the avoidance of sugar, and of course focusing on diversionary activities, and should include addressing any mental factors that may be underlying the stress.

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Magnesium for Stress Relief

Not many people realize this, but magnesium and stress levels are closely related. Aside from helping produce and maintain your bones, magnesium has also been proven to be a wonderful anti-stress agent. If you lead a very stressful lifestyle or are quick to anger, you may be interested in learning more about magnesium and stress relief.

Magnesium and Stress: How It Helps

Magnesium is perhaps the most important mineral in relation to stress balancing. When taken, it has a calming effect on your heart and muscles.

People that suffer from hyperactive nervous systems, anger issues, or even just spasms can all benefit from magnesium’s effects on the muscles.

This is especially helpful for people that have trouble sleeping. Magnesium's calming effect has helped many people relax enough to be lulled into deep, replenishing sleep that their body needed.

You may not realize that stress is the number one reason why people visit their doctor. Back in the early 1980's, Time Magazine acknowledged that stress was the "Epidemic of the 80's." As far as I can tell, it's only gotten worse. We're juggling more than one job, several hand held devices, extended families, a bad economy, and a diet filled with junk food, not to mention global and environmental threats that are
drummed into our brains via TV and the Internet. How can our bodies adapt to such an overabundance of change?

The American Institute of Stress (AIS), which was founded by the famous Canadian stress expert Hans Selye, MD, estimates that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems.

Here are the reactions to stress as outlined by AIS:

• Heart rate and blood pressure soar, increasing the flow of blood to the brain to improve decision making.
  
• Blood sugar rises to furnish more fuel for energy as the result of the breakdown of glycogen, fat, and protein stores caused by adrenalin surging.
  
• Blood is shunted away from the gut, where it is not immediately needed for digestion, to the large muscles of the arms and legs to provide more strength in combat, or greater speed in fleeing a scene of potential peril.
  
• Clotting occurs more quickly to prevent blood loss from
  lacerations or internal hemorrhage.

What I found amazing about this list is the role that magnesium plays at every stage of stress reactions. For example:

• When blood pressure soars, the smooth muscles in the walls of your blood vessels can go into spasm if you are magnesiumdeficient. This can cause chronic hypertension.
  
• When blood sugar rises, magnesium is responsible for insulin opening up cell membranes to allow sugar into the cells. If you are magnesium-deficient, blood sugar continues to rise and cells do not receive glucose.
  
• If the large muscles of the arms and legs are magnesium-deficient, increased circulation can cause muscle cramping, irritability, and restless leg syndrome.
  
• Without enough magnesium, blood clotting can become enhanced leading to leg, lung, and brain clots.