缺鎂和失眠的內在聯繫

Do YOU suffer from insomnia? You may be lacking in MAGNESIUM: Mineral can boost sleep time if applied directly to the skin as expert reveals the 12 signs you are deficient

你是否有失眠的體驗？這可能跟缺乏鎂元素有關，皮膚中產生的鎂元素能夠提升你的睡眠質量。另外，專家指出，當你身體出現了12種現象時，那可能是缺鎂的信號。

If you cant sleep, then chances are youve racked your brains and probably raked Google more than a few times, for what may be behind it.

如果總是輾轉難眠，你會為了對抗失眠而絞盡腦汁，也許你還會多次去谷歌上面搜索失眠的原因。

Consuming too much caffeine after 3pm, not enough exercise or an overload of stress hormones are most often the culprits of insomnia.

在下午三點後攝入過量的咖啡因，缺乏鍛煉或壓力激素過高都是失眠的主要原因。

But an array of recent trials have pointed the blame at a magnesium deficiency for thousands of people who toss and turn at night, Healthista reports.

Healthista網站稱，最近的一些實驗指出，鎂元素的缺乏可能是導致失眠的原因。

Studies have shown magnesium supplements can increases sleep time, efficiency and natural melatonin levels - a hormone critical for the regulation of normal sleep.

研究顯示，攝入鎂能增長睡眠時間、效率和產生更多的自然褪黑激素，褪黑激素有助於調節睡眠。

Now, new research has found magnesium applied directly to the skin can deliver the mineral to the body quicker and more efficiently than ingested supplements - and help improve sleep quality in 92 per cent of deficient people.

現在，新的研究發現，比起間接攝入鎂元素，皮膚中產生的鎂能更快、更有效地進入到身體中。

What is insomnia?

什麼是失眠

Insomnia is a huge global problem, affecting around a third of men and women in their 30s and 40s and nearly half of women over 65.

失眠是一個世界性的難題，它給世界上三分之一的男性、30-40歲的女性及近一半的65歲以上的女性帶來了非常大的困擾。

There are two types, Type 1 insomnia where you cant get to sleep and Type 2, where you can get to sleep okay, but tend to wake at least once during the night.

失眠分兩種，第一種翻來覆去睡不著，第二種是能夠正常入睡，但是夜間至少會醒來一次。

And if you have either type, the chances are· you have heard a million and one remedies: get black out blinds, eat some peanut butter before bed, get a sleep mantra, take a Valium. Actually dont. The latter is addictive and the formers, well, theyre hit and miss at best.

不論是出現了哪種癥狀，經歷了無數種治療失眠的方法：用眼罩、在睡前吃花生醬、念睡眠咒語和吃安眠藥，事實證明，吃安眠藥會讓人上癮，而前幾種方法也只能也只能對付著用上一兩次。

Magnesium: The facts

鎂： 失眠的真相

Indeed, waking in the small hours is often associated with stress, anxiety or depression and these are conditions that can be exacerbated by magnesium deficiency, said nutrition expert Greg Weatherhead. But there are many more.

營養專家格雷格.韋瑟黑德( Greg Weatherhead) 表示，實際上，晚上醒來是和壓力、焦慮或抑鬱有關，缺乏鎂元素將使這些癥狀加劇，但他們可能還會缺乏其他的元素。

Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and all our cells rely on adequate levels being maintained, said Mr Weatherhead.

韋瑟黑德說：「鎂元素是是人們體內最常見的礦物質，足夠的鎂能維持我們體內細胞的健康。

Its responsible for over 300 biochemical functions in the body and sufficient amounts allow us to be more flexible, develop stronger bones, produce energy more efficiently and be better able to resist disease.

它是管理我們體內300種生化機能的重要物質，當鎂元素充足時，我們的身體將更靈活，骨頭將更硬，能生成更多的能量來幫助我們預防疾病。

Magnesium is predominantly found in nuts, wholegrain seeds and green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, Mr Weatherhead added.

韋瑟黑德說，堅果、全麥食物和菠菜、甘藍等綠色蔬菜中的鎂元素最多。

In fact, the most recent government funded UK Diet and Nutrition Report updated in March this year, showed more and more of us have below optimal intakes of magnesium, with teenage girls and the over 60s being at particular risk of deficiency.

實際上，英國政府最近贊助的英國飲食和營養報告最新報告顯示，更多的英國人攝入的鎂不夠理想，其中以少女和60歲以上的人群最為常見。

Moreover, diets that include an excess of processed foods and bad fats such as those found in takeaways, donuts and commercial vegetable oils as well as refined sugars can all decrease our magnesium levels.

另一方面，我們飲食中出現的大量加工食品，外賣、甜甜圈和中的劣質脂肪以及商業植物油和精製糖都能降低我們身體中的鎂含量。

How does magnesium help sleep?

鎂元素的助眠原理

So, how can supplementing with a drug free mineral help people sleep, when so many other sleep remedies rarely make the cut?

在所有補救措施都無法起效時，這種無藥物成分的礦物質如何以一敵百呢？

Magnesium is critical to many physiological and psychological processes that are essential for staying asleep, Mr Weatherhead said. These include calming the mind and also helping muscles relax.

韋瑟黑德稱：「鎂元素對生理和精神上的促眠都有很重要的作用。」其中，鎂元素還可以讓人保持鎮靜和幫助肌肉舒展。

Along with helping to reduce levels of cortisol and adrenaline that could be waking us during sleep or causing erratic slumber, magnesium also works on a lesser known hormone essential to sleep.

除了減少皮質醇的和腎上激素的水平，鎂元素還能控制一種大部分不為人知、促進睡眠的關鍵激素。皮質素和腎上激素能擾亂人的睡眠，讓人睡得不踏實。

It helps improve sleep quality through its interaction with a neurotransmitter called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), Mr Weatherhead said.

韋瑟黑德表示說：「鎂元素通過與伽馬氨基丁酸的神經遞質進行交互作用，能改善人們的睡眠質量。」

GABA is an amino acid responsible for reducing anxiety, promoting relaxation and preparing our bodies for sleep.

伽馬氨基丁酸能減少焦慮的氨基酸、它有助於放鬆並讓我們進入睡眠狀態。」

Magnesium sensitises GABA receptors in the brain, increasing the positive effect of this molecule.

鎂元素能使我們大腦中伽馬氨基丁酸中的的受體變得更加敏感，從而增強這種分子的作用。

Why is magnesium on the skin better for insomnia than tablets?

為什麼皮膚中產生的鎂元素比鎂片更好？

Unfortunately, our intake of magnesium has declined dramatically due to intensified farming methods, food processing and negative interactions with an increasing number of prescribable mediations, said Mr Weatherhead.

韋瑟黑德稱：「耕作方法的極大改變、食物加工和接觸處方葯帶來的消極反應，使我們體內的鎂含量大幅下降。」

Magnesium is a mineral we evolved to have little and often and our digestive systems are not well equipped to absorb large single doses of magnesium such as those found in tablets and capsules.

「鎂會隨著人們年齡的增加而逐漸減少，而且大量服用鎂補充片劑和膠囊對我們的消化道構成了負擔。」

Either, much of the dose is simply not broken down and absorbed or it is lost through a loosening of the bowels, a common effect seen with a high intake of ingested magnesium tablets.

「大部分的鎂得不到分解和吸收或被我們排出體外，這是大量服用鐵片後的常見反應。」

There are a number of clinical studies published showing that magnesium delivered via the skin is an effective alternative to traditional tablet supplementation, said Mr Weatherhead.

大量公開的臨床研究顯示，通過皮膚輸送鎂是比補充片劑的更有效。

In 2017, a study published in PLOS One, found that magnesium absorbed through skin significantly boosted magnesium levels in the blood.

2017年，美國公共科學圖書館發現，皮膚中產生的鎂能大量提升血液中的鎂的含量。

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF A MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY?

缺乏鎂元素的徵兆：

· Poor quality sleep

· 睡眠差

· Stress

· 壓力

· Anxiety

· 焦慮

· Restless legs

· 不寧腿

· Joint discomfort

· 關節疼痛

· Muscle tension and pain

· 肌肉緊張和疼痛

· Muscle or eye twitching

· 肌肉痙攣或眼睛跳動

· Weak bones

· 骨頭脆弱

· Low mood

· 心情低落

· Headaches

· 頭疼

· Migraines

· 偏頭痛

· Poor concentration

· 注意力不集中

source：http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5908759/Do-suffer-insomnia-deficient-MAGNESIUM.html