Mental Health and Magnesium Benefits
Over a year has passed since the SARS-CoV-2 began to spread across the world. The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on people’s mental health causing a wide range of fears over the past year of precautions, protocols and lockdowns and isolation. “According to one CDC report, which surveyed adults across the U.S. in late June of 2020, 31% of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, 13% reported having started or increased substance use, 26% reported stress-related symptoms, and 11% reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past 30 days.”
Mental health conditions are increasing worldwide, not just the US.
Magnesium plays a major role in calming the nervous system due to it's ability to block brain N-methyl D-aspartate receptors (NMDA), thereby inhibiting excitatory neurotransmission. Other benefits of magnesium sulfate supplementation include prevention of eclamptic seizures in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia.
Research on Magnesium for Depression
2015 study found a significant link between low magnesium intake and depression in adults.
A 2017 randomized clinical trial published in the journal PLoS One found that supplementation with magnesium chloride resulted in significant improvements in depressive symptoms.4 The study also found that the participants who were taking an antidepressant experienced stronger benefits when taking magnesium, which suggests that it might be useful when used in conjunction with antidepressant medications.
A 2019 study found that low serum magnesium levels were associated with depressive symptoms.5 Such findings suggest that measuring magnesium levels may be useful as a way to identify people who might respond best to magnesium supplementation.
One benefit of magnesium as a treatment option is that it is relatively affordable, fast-acting, and well-tolerated by most people.