The FastDay Forum

To deal with stress and the short days and some mood swings (well, not mood swings but you know what I mean) I decided to try a bit of magnesium. However I am afraid that, if I take one in the evening, as it's prescribed, I won't be able to sleep at all. My question is, is it possible to take only one a day for it to help ? Thanks !

I take magnesium with my evening meal to mitigate cramp, it works, not sure about sleeping though ...

I'll give it a try for a few days, once a day, we'll see how it goes....

Does anybody knows if it gives cravings ? I seem to remember that I gained weight last time I took magnesium

Start with a small dose and work up to what is comfortable for you. Be careful with larger doses as it has a laxative effect. I do find it helpful but it does not work very well on fast days as the lack of food.

For now I take just one a day. As I never take supplements a small dose should do the trick. On a fast day I take it with a mug of soup around 3;00PM. No intestinal issues for now but my insomnia has increased. I wonder if it has something to do with it

Magnesium is supposed to help you sleep! I take one every evening I fast and sometimes every evening about one hour before bed. There are different types of magnesium though, magnesium citrate is the one which is best absorbed.

Th key word is "supposed to". I am a weird thing when it comes to sleep, nothing, and I mean nothing helps, ever. You could give me 5 times the recommended dosage of spleeping pills that I wouldn't sleep. My average is 4 hours a night..... The magnesium I take is made of magnesium citrate but it seems that it doesn't do the trick with the insomnia. It's not all bad though, even if I still sleep the same, I feel less tired during the day and I am fine with that

Yes, I seem to recall discussions about sleeplessness on the forum, and magnesium was suggested, taken before bed. Magnesium citrate is a form that does not, ahem, loosen up the digestion. Another option is to get magnesium oil and rub some into the skin; great for cramps and I find it speeds up the resolution of muscular aches and twinges.

@barbarita I had absolutely no idea that there was magnesium oil, thanks for that idea ! There is an organic shop 2 minutes from my apartment, I should find some there. It seems to work to ease migraines and dry skin, as I have both, it's worth the try...

You can buy magnesium bath salt too, I've run out at the moment but when i had some i used to end every fast day with a magnesium bath, though you might be able to use the oil in the bath too?

Nicky_94 wrote: You can buy magnesium bath salt too, I've run out at the moment but when i had some i used to end every fast day with a magnesium bath, though you might be able to use the oil in the bath too?

What a brilliant idea. Sleeping on fast days sucks!

Having a shower, bath salts are not for me
I don't find it harder to sleep on fast days, which is good news as I already sleep so few hours on a "regular" day. I usually can't fall asleep before 2:00AM and wake up around 6:00AM, without any alarm, I might add and, if I fell asleep early I will automatically wake up after 4 to 5 hours of sleep.

Manderley wrote: Th key word is "supposed to". I am a weird thing when it comes to sleep, nothing, and I mean nothing helps, ever. You could give me 5 times the recommended dosage of spleeping pills that I wouldn't sleep. My average is 4 hours a night..... The magnesium I take is made of magnesium citrate but it seems that it doesn't do the trick with the insomnia. It's not all bad though, even if I still sleep the same, I feel less tired during the day and I am fine with that

Magnesium citrate is really good but even better for sleep problems is magnesium glycinate as the glycine part also helps sleep. Another thing is to look at how much actual magnesium you are taking. Both the citrate and the glycinate forms are big molecules so when the bottle says e.g. magnesium citrate 500mg, you are only getting around 80g of actual magnesium. You need to supplement with about 350mg of magnesium to get the sleep benefits...that can be a lot of tablets, so it is worth shopping around to find a good supplement.

Thanks for the info. Magnesium, for me, is more to help to deal with all the stressful situations around me. The good news is, if I am calmer and more focus, the little bike in my head will stop cycling during the night and I will sleep better, if not longer (I usually wake up after 5 hours sleep max without any alarm).

Hi Manderley. I take 400g of mag citrate an hour before I go to bed. It does help. However I have been supplementing with Tulsi (common name is Holy Basil). It has been helping my stress levels and aiding sleep. You can get Tulsi tea in places where they sell herb tea. I found a lovely one flavoured with camomile and honey. The supplements can be expensive so try the tea first and see if it helps. If nothing else, it will help you wind down. http://fr.evitamins.com/tulsi-tea-honey ... ndia-13633