Magnesium & Sleep?

[Tokyomarie]

If you have used magnesium specifically to help with sleep issues, how much and how long before bed do you have your child take it?

 

I want to try it for 16ds's delayed sleep phase syndrome. We tried melatonin last summer but it was a complete flop-it seemed to help the first couple of nights but then he wouldn't take it, claiming it gave him a headache.

 

I'm considering a couple of the other suggestions that have been made here for helping w/sleep, but I've decided first to see if nutritional supplements would have any effect.

[Tiramisu]

If you have used magnesium specifically to help with sleep issues, how much and how long before bed do you have your child take it?

 

I want to try it for 16ds's delayed sleep phase syndrome. We tried melatonin last summer but it was a complete flop-it seemed to help the first couple of nights but then he wouldn't take it, claiming it gave him a headache.

 

I'm considering a couple of the other suggestions that have been made here for helping w/sleep, but I've decided first to see if nutritional supplements would have any effect.

 

I don't really know about magnesium, though I take a regular pill supplement myself and I feel a little calmer when I take it regularly. I have friends who take the Ionic Fizz, but it caused diarrhea in one of them. I haven't tried anything with dd who was dx'd the same as your ds.

 

Have you considered light box therapy. This is what was suggested as a possible treatment by our sleep doc. He mostly recommended having dd keep her own schedule, though. Just letting her sleep in worked well last year; she was much more content and her work was done more efficiently. However, as we're getting busier in the normal after school hours, I'll really like to have dd get going earlier in the morning so more can get accomplished by an earlier time so I don't feel so stressed when we have to leave in the afternoons for classes, music lessons, etc.

 

I'll be following this thread to get ideas. :bigear:

[Create Your Ritual]

My dd takes Nature Calm .. which is in a powder form, before bed. It definitely supports a good nights sleep. It is the type of magnesium though that can cause loose stool, so I only dose her at 1/4 tsp per night.. I might up it to 1/2 if I saw a reason. I basically played around with it until she seemed to be resting better. I also take Magnesium in a pill form, but is Magnesium Glycinate from Pure Prescriptions. I take one in the evening before bed. It makes a huge difference, as Magnesium is a muscle relaxer.

 

If your ds is having other sleep difficulties... I would look into Adrenal Fatigue (things like Rhodiola can help), also Travacor Jr is a neurotransmitter support that can help with some sleep issues. When things like seratonin are not in balance, this can help aid sleep. Adrenal Fatigue generally happens to us mom's with kids and just a build up of activity and stress.. I can't say whether it is good to treat a child with the stuff, but you can read about it and research it if you are interested.

 

There you go.. my two cents worth. I've worked with an ND for 8 years and just soak up all of her knowledge. She has been a great educator and helped me so much with regulating my hormones and is also our family physician.

[PrincessAriel]

I personally use magnesium glycinate at bedtime. It is easier on the stomach than other forms. I also use 5-HTP and take my calcium supplements as well. I have given my teenagers 200mg of the same magnesium glycinate as well as 50 mg of the 5-HTP and it seems to help them sleep.

[wapiti]

My dd10, ds8, dh and myself all take magnesium citrate at night and (theoretically :glare:) cal/mag in the morning. DH does a lot of exercise, so I think it helps his muscles - he askes for it if I forget to give it to him. DD says it helps her sleep, and she takes it voluntarily. I'm not sure whether it helps ds8 sleep, but he has a host of issues (including constipation). I recently added Inositol to DH and ds8's nightly vitamins - that seems to help a little bit too.

[Create Your Ritual]

There you go.. MomofC&A takes basically the same as I, except I use less amount of 5-HTP in the Travacor Jr. I seem more sensitive to it for some reason and it really makes me drowsy and out of it.

[Tokyomarie]

There you go.. MomofC&A takes basically the same as I, except I use less amount of 5-HTP in the Travacor Jr. I seem more sensitive to it for some reason and it really makes me drowsy and out of it.

 

So, can you tell me more about 5-HTP? I have heard of it but know nothing more than the name.

 

I, myself, take magnesium citrate specifically for muscle & and other neuro symptoms. It was literally a lifesaver years ago when I was having muscle twitches & muscle cramps due to a chronic illness.

[Create Your Ritual]

5-HTP is 5-hydroxytryptophan. It is basically used to regulate serotonin levels in the brain. In contrast to SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors .. or antidepressants), 5HTP actually just feeds your body the tryptophan that it needs to make its own serotonin. The major issue I have with SSRIs is that they have a tendency to shut your bodies ability to create serotonin down.. from my understanding they end up playing ping pong with what your body has on hand and don't allow your body to take it in .. thus why they are called re-uptake inhibitors.

 

** this would play out in the long run if one tried to go off of them and realized their own body had shut down it's production of serotonin.

 

I tend to want to treat the underlying issue which is usually that one doesn't manufacture enough serotonin to begin with during times of stress or whatever. Especially when dealing with adrenal fatigue. For myself, my low serotonin levels keep me from easily falling asleep at night, especially during the 2nd half of my cycle. I could exercise to my hearts content.. sometimes 6 miles a day, to try to raise them naturally (and I do that often), but I need additional support. I don't take 5HTP all the time, so others might be able to weigh in about them.

 

What I do know is that they naturally suppress the appetite, especially in those with low serotonin levels who have been unknowingly trying to raise the levels higher by eating. They also induce a reaction that would be akin to eating a lot of turkey at Thanksgiving. There are people that don't do well with them, and there are people that do. I would try a lesser dose as in the Travacor Jr. before beginning a 16 year old at the 50mg level.

 

I like the magnesium idea. I would also consider adding in a B-complex vitamin in the mornings along with a multi. It supports stress and helps with all of this as well. Other than that, I would check into diet. I follow a Blood Type Diet. .... you can learn more about it by searching Eat Right 4 Your Type, or The GenoType Diet. My family are all O+ so we eat primarily meats, nuts, fruit, rice, etc... no gluten of any kind. I am also a celiac, as well as a few of my children, which often Os are. So, that makes it easy.. it hurts to eat wheat, so I don't. ;-)

[Tokyomarie]

I don't really know about magnesium, though I take a regular pill supplement myself and I feel a little calmer when I take it regularly. I have friends who take the Ionic Fizz, but it caused diarrhea in one of them. I haven't tried anything with dd who was dx'd the same as your ds.

 

Have you considered light box therapy. This is what was suggested as a possible treatment by our sleep doc. He mostly recommended having dd keep her own schedule, though. Just letting her sleep in worked well last year; she was much more content and her work was done more efficiently. However, as we're getting busier in the normal after school hours, I'll really like to have dd get going earlier in the morning so more can get accomplished by an earlier time so I don't feel so stressed when we have to leave in the afternoons for classes, music lessons, etc.

 

I'll be following this thread to get ideas. :bigear:

 

I find that taking both magnesium & zinc help me with mood issues- anxiety, feeling overstressed, irritability, mild "blues", etc. I definitely notice the difference when I get lazy and don't take my supplements.

 

Melatonin & light therapy were both recommended by the sleep specialist we saw last summer. Ds nixed melatonin because of "headaches." He nixed the idea of light therapy because of light sensitivity. I'm thinking of having him try tart cherry juice, which has melatonin in it (and not telling him that it has melatonin! ;)). Maybe this year he would be more amenable to trying light therapy- he's a year older & a bit more flexible than he was last year.

 

My way of coping for the last few years has been to let him sort of set his own schedule- although this past year I insisted that he be up by 10am if we weren't going out. It just "happened" that we were scheduled to go out 3 mornings a week during the spring semester, so that helped him to get up, but he was so tired because he still didn't fall asleep earlier.

 

This school year (beginning Aug. 29th) we have enrolled him in a charter school program that will transition him to college studies either next winter semester or spring/summer semester. He will have to get up by 7:15am every morning! Thus, my renewed efforts to find a solution to his sleep issues.

[Create Your Ritual]

I would preface all that I am saying with the fact that I do not know what the needs of your ds are specifically, nor what his past medical history is. You know him best, but in my mind it's always good to research and learn about how best to work with a more natural approach.

[Tokyomarie]

I would preface all that I am saying with the fact that I do not know what the needs of your ds are specifically, nor what his past medical history is. You know him best, but in my mind it's always good to research and learn about how best to work with a more natural approach.

 

Thanks for the description of 5-HTP.

 

I, too, prefer to use natural approaches as much as possible. I also try to consider what the underlying pathology or deficiency might be and aim to treat that rather than just cover up symptoms. I am actually at the point of beginning to think about seeing an ND or integrative medicine physician for myself. I just haven't settled on who might be the right person for me.

 

As for my son, he is generally a pretty healthy guy, though he does complain about back/muscle pain & headache. His educational/behavioral diagnoses are ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. He doesn't take meds for the ADHD or sleep issues. We've just worked around them at home. I'm going to start some low key supplements to see if they might make a difference.

[Lisa in Jax]

5-HTP is 5-hydroxytryptophan. It is basically used to regulate serotonin levels in the brain. In contrast to SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors .. or antidepressants), 5HTP actually just feeds your body the tryptophan that it needs to make its own serotonin. The major issue I have with SSRIs is that they have a tendency to shut your bodies ability to create serotonin down.. from my understanding they end up playing ping pong with what your body has on hand and don't allow your body to take it in .. thus why they are called re-uptake inhibitors.

 

** this would play out in the long run if one tried to go off of them and realized their own body had shut down it's production of serotonin.

 

I tend to want to treat the underlying issue which is usually that one doesn't manufacture enough serotonin to begin with during times of stress or whatever. Especially when dealing with adrenal fatigue. For myself, my low serotonin levels keep me from easily falling asleep at night, especially during the 2nd half of my cycle. I could exercise to my hearts content.. sometimes 6 miles a day, to try to raise them naturally (and I do that often), but I need additional support. I don't take 5HTP all the time, so others might be able to weigh in about them.

 

What I do know is that they naturally suppress the appetite, especially in those with low serotonin levels who have been unknowingly trying to raise the levels higher by eating. They also induce a reaction that would be akin to eating a lot of turkey at Thanksgiving. There are people that don't do well with them, and there are people that do. I would try a lesser dose as in the Travacor Jr. before beginning a 16 year old at the 50mg level.

 

I like the magnesium idea. I would also consider adding in a B-complex vitamin in the mornings along with a multi. It supports stress and helps with all of this as well. Other than that, I would check into diet. I follow a Blood Type Diet. .... you can learn more about it by searching Eat Right 4 Your Type, or The GenoType Diet. My family are all O+ so we eat primarily meats, nuts, fruit, rice, etc... no gluten of any kind. I am also a celiac, as well as a few of my children, which often Os are. So, that makes it easy.. it hurts to eat wheat, so I don't. ;-)

 

Good grief, I could have written this post except for the reasons for being GF. It's a bit scary/cool how similar your reasoning is to mine. ;-)

 

Lisa

who's a huge fan of orthomolecular nutrition, not a fan of SSRIs, and raising a son who's gluten- and dairy-free. ;-)

[Create Your Ritual]

ha ha .. that's funny Lisa. Well, it's always good to find like minded individuals.. ;-)