If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night tossing, turning, and trying to find a comfortable position, you’re not alone. For many people living with pain, poor sleep becomes part of the struggle. The harder it is to get comfortable, the more tired you feel the next day, and that can make pain feel even worse.

This is where magnesium steps in. Often called the “relaxation mineral,” magnesium plays a crucial role in calming the body and mind, helping you unwind, fall asleep faster, and wake up feeling more refreshed.

How Magnesium Helps You Drift Off

Magnesium supports more than 300 processes in the body, but when it comes to sleep, it’s especially powerful because it:

• Calms the nervous system - Magnesium helps regulate neurotransmitters like GABA, which promote relaxation and reduce restlessness at night.
  

• Relaxes tight muscles - Ever gone to bed with sore or twitchy muscles? Magnesium helps muscles release tension so you can settle into deeper rest.
  

• Balances stress hormones - It can help keep cortisol (the stress hormone) in check, supporting a more natural sleep-wake rhythm.

Several studies have shown that people with low magnesium levels often experience more trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and that improving magnesium levels can make a noticeable difference in sleep quality.

How Magnesium Deficiency Affects Sleep

Despite its importance, magnesium deficiency is surprisingly common at any age, especially among those experiencing ongoing stress, chronic pain, or fatigue. Research suggests that a significant portion of Australians don’t meet their daily magnesium needs through diet alone, due to factors like soil depletion, high caffeine intake, and modern eating habits.

When magnesium levels are low, your body’s ability to relax both physically and mentally, becomes compromised. This can show up as:

• Restless legs or muscle twitches at night
  

• Difficulty winding down before bed
  

• Frequent waking or light, unrefreshing sleep
  

• Morning fatigue despite a full night in bed

Low magnesium can also interfere with your production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle, and increase levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that keeps your body in alert mode. The result? A nervous system that’s overstimulated when it should be resting.

Restoring magnesium levels whether through diet, supplementation, or topical application, helps bring the body back into balance. Topical magnesium offers an easy, gentle way to support relaxation before bed without the digestive upset that can come with oral supplements.

The Powerful Connection Between Pain and Sleep

The link between pain and sleep is strong and deeply intertwined. Research shows that 67-88% of people with chronic pain report ongoing sleep problems. On the other hand, at least half of people with insomnia (the most commonly diagnosed sleep disorder) also live with chronic pain.

This isn’t just a coincidence. Chronic pain and poor sleep are bidirectional, meaning one makes the other worse. Pain disrupts your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, while poor-quality or insufficient sleep lowers your pain threshold, increases sensitivity to pain, and can even trigger flare-ups or new areas of discomfort.

Studies have found that when sleep is restricted or disrupted, people experience heightened sensitivity to pain, a phenomenon known as hyperalgesia. Even short periods of sleep loss can make everyday sensations feel more intense and uncomfortable. Over time, this creates a vicious cycle: a bad night’s sleep worsens pain, and more pain leads to another bad night’s sleep.

That’s why supporting deep, restorative sleep is such an important part of managing chronic pain, and magnesium can help break that cycle. By easing muscle tension, reducing stress, and supporting better-quality rest, magnesium helps your body recharge overnight and become more resilient to pain during the day.

Oral vs Topical Magnesium: Which Is Better for Sleep?

Both oral and topical magnesium can be beneficial, it really depends on your needs and what your body tolerates best.

Oral Magnesium

Oral magnesium supplements (like tablets or powders) are commonly used to help boost magnesium levels and can be effective. However, they’re not always easy on the stomach. Many people experience bloating, cramping, or diarrhoea, especially with higher doses or certain forms like magnesium oxide.

If you’re using magnesium to improve sleep, that digestive discomfort can be counterproductive, no one sleeps well with an upset tummy!

Topical Magnesium

Topical magnesium offers a gentler alternative. Applied directly to the skin, it can help relax muscles, soothe tension, and calm the body before bed, without irritating the digestive system.

It’s a great option for those who:

• Experience muscle or joint pain that flares up at night
  

• Have trouble tolerating oral magnesium
  

• Prefer a calming, skin-applied ritual as part of their bedtime routine

A Simple Nightly Routine for Restful Sleep

Here’s a Zea-style bedtime ritual you can try tonight:

1. Relax in a warm bath with Kunzea Bath Salts - Let the soothing minerals and essential oils ease muscle tension and calm your senses. The combination of magnesium, Kunzea, and natural Australian botanicals helps prepare your body for rest.
   

2. Apply Zea’s Magnesium Oil Topical Spray - Focus on sore areas or the soles of your feet for full-body relaxation.
   

3. Gentle stretch or breathing - A few minutes of mindful movement or deep breathing helps signal to your body it’s time to rest.
   

4. Set the mood - Dim the lights, put your phone away, and diffuse a calming scent like Kunzea, Lavender, or Chamomile.
   

5. Rest easy - Allow yourself to settle into bed. Magnesium will be quietly working to calm your muscles and your mind.

Small Changes, Big Impact

Magnesium might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to sleep, but it truly is one of the body’s most important minerals for relaxation and recovery. By supporting muscle function, calming the nervous system, and improving sleep quality, magnesium helps break the pain-sleep cycle so you can wake up feeling restored and ready to take on the day.

If you’ve been struggling to get quality rest because of pain, adding magnesium could be a simple, natural place to start.

References

1. Abbasi, B., Kimiagar, M., Sadeghniiat, K., Shirazi, M. M., Hedayati, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2012). The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 17(12), 1161–1169. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3703169/ 

2. Chandrasekaran, N. C., Sanchez, W. Y., Mohammed, Y. H., Grice, J. E., Roberts, M. S., & Barnard, R. T. (2016). Permeation of topically applied magnesium ions through human skin is facilitated by hair follicles. Magnesium Research, 29(2), 35-42.

3. Finan, P. H., Goodin, B. R., & Smith, M. T. (2013). The association of sleep and pain: an update and a path forward. The Journal of Pain, 14(12), 1539–1552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2013.08.007

4. Luo, X., Tang, M., Wei, X., & Peng, Y. (2024). Association between magnesium deficiency score and sleep in adults: A population-based cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 358, 105-112. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032724007183?via%3Dihub 

5. Shin, H. J., Na, H. S., & Do, S. H. (2020). Magnesium and pain. Nutrients, 12(8), 2184. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082184
   

6. U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements. (2023). Magnesium Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/