Magnesium and Mental Health: Understanding the Science Behind An Essential Mineral
With the pace of today’s world, it is often critical to prioritize mental health. While standard approaches focus on counseling and medication, simpler options are often overlooked. And yet research continues to build showing the importance of basic nutrients for supporting the brain. One mineral that continues to show promise is magnesium. But what’s the real connection between this humble mineral and our mental health? Let’s review the research and find out!
What is Magnesium and Why Does it Matter?
In the body, magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral. It is critical for hundreds of essential reactions involved in nerve function, blood sugar control, and energy production. It is also of critical importance for the brain.
Despite its obvious importance, studies continue to suggest that a significant portion of the population is not consuming enough of the mineral. Foods rich in the mineral include nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy greens, foods that are often excluded from processed-food-based Western diets. As such, researchers continue to explore the effects of magnesium deficiency and supplementation on mental health.
How Does Magnesium Influence Mental Health?
Magnesium supports brain health through a number of different mechanisms:
- Regulating neurotransmitters: Magnesium interacts with numerous neurotransmitters in the brain, acting as a brake and slowing overexcitation. As such, it inhibits the stimulatory neurotransmitter glutamate and enhances the activity of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), a key relaxatory neurotransmitter (Nechifor 2024).
- Balancing the Stress Response: Magnesium plays a key role in reining in the stress response. It helps to modulate stress hormones, with low levels correlating with increasing stress and anxiety (Cuciureanu 2011).
- Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation is increasingly linked to mental health conditions, from depression and anxiety to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Magnesium has key anti-inflammatory effects, helping to reduce inflammation in both the body and brain (Nielsen 2018).
Magnesium and Mental Health: What Does the Research Say?
Depression
A number of studies have explored the link between magnesium intake and depression. Low intake has been found to increase the risk for depressive symptoms and high intake is protective (Sun 2019).
Further confirming the relationship, a review of the clinical research found that magnesium supplementation reduces depressive symptoms (Moabedi 2023). Worth noting is the effect size, or the amount of benefit, seen with magnesium supplementation. The statistics show large effects with magnesium, although more clinical trials would be useful to confirm the extent of the real-world benefits.
Anxiety
Considering magnesium’s role in slowing down overactivity in the brain, it makes sense that magnesium would provide benefits. Unfortunately, magnesium’s effects in anxiety disorders aren’t well studied. However, from what has been found in the published clinical trials, most of the findings suggest beneficial effects (Rawji 2024).
ADHD
In ADHD, magnesium levels have been found to be significantly lower than in children without ADHD (Effatpanah 2019). A review of the recent research concluded that the clinical studies available suggest that magnesium does reduce ADHD symptoms, but yet again, more studies would be helpful to confirm the best form of magnesium and the extent of benefits (Smykiewicz 2024).
The Takeaway
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a critical role in both physical and mental health. For anyone struggling with a mental health condition, it is worth considering whether magnesium deficiency could be playing a role in causing or exacerbating the condition. Fortunately, magnesium supplementation is typically safe, with the most common side effect being diarrhea from too much. Generally, the better absorbed forms that are easily available include magnesium citrate and glycinate. The main contraindications for magnesium include more severe kidney disease and certain medications. If interested in trying magnesium, check with your doctor to confirm dosing and safety for your individual situation.
