5 Reasons Why Magnesium Helps to Improve Your Mental Capacities

Did you know that magnesium can help to improve your mental capacities? Not only that, but it can also help your body to cope with stress.
5 Reasons Why Magnesium Helps to Improve Your Mental Capacities
Valeria Sabater

Written and verified by psychologist Valeria Sabater.

Last update: 09 October, 2022

Magnesium is the vital nutrient that everyone is talking about. This multipurpose mineral appears to be the key to our well-being.

This isn’t an exaggeration given that magnesium has an irreplaceable importance in the large part of human biochemical reactions in the human body. Thanks to this mineral, your body carries out 300 enzymatic processes, including something special: the production of energy.

Now, what if we told you that his mineral is also key for your psychological well-being?

This is, without a doubt, an interesting piece of information that couldn’t stick out more: patients with major depression, for instance, notably benefited from magnesium-based supplements.

Also, those who suffer from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, convulsion, ataxia, or psychosis episodes have seen their quality of life increase to the point of increasing their probability of recuperation.

Today in this article, we want to explain how magnesium is able to improve your mental health. And, how it even increases your well-being and mental abilities.

Improve Your Mental Capacities with Magnesium

1. Magnesium improves your memory

Key to memories

Something that we read very often is that half of the population in industrialized countries don’t eat the minimum required amount of magnesium.

  • This deficit has an impact when we reach middle age. During this stage of life many of our cognitive functions start to become less acute.
  • Something interesting that is good to keep in mind is that magnesium makes your synapses that are located in the hippocampus stronger. This is the part of your brain that helps you store long-term memory.
  • At the same time, this mineral carries out a vital function in the prefrontal cortex.
  • Thanks to magnesium, your brain can remember these memories that are stored in your short-term memory (like where did I leave the key, turning off the oven, buying something important…).

Magnesium also strengthens the synaptic nerve endings that are responsible for transmitting and consolidating information, memory, and data, among others.

2. Magnesium increases your learning

Many of us might think that the ability to learn is lost with time.

It’s clear that your learning potential isn’t equal to a child of 3 years of age when you’re 70 years old. However, we need to see our brains as they really are: it’s an organ with an incredible capacity.

  • Its plasticity, its possibilities to make new connections never stops. In other words, if we exercise it and we take care of it like a muscle, we guarantee that it’ll reach older ages in good condition.
  • A way to do this is eating magnesium supplements.
  • Thanks to this mineral, we can make it easier for your nerve cells to communicate. We also make our memories, mood, and reception of new information better.

3. It helps you reduce stress

Woman concentrating

When we suffer stress, our bodies have an excess of cortisol in their blood.

This excess of cortisol hurts your brain structure in a very concrete manner: the hippocampus.

This harm makes us have lapses in memory. It makes it hard for us to concentrate. And, it intensifies your negative emotions.

Now, it’s interesting to know that magnesium also acts on our hormones to the point of reducing cortisol and controlling your stress response.

At the same time, magnesium can act as a blood-brain barrier. In other words, it impedes stress hormones from getting into your brain. Without a doubt, this is something fantastic.

4. Magnesium can prevent Alzheimer’s

Magnesium by itself doesn’t prevent anyone from developing Alzheimer’s disease at any given moment.

  • However, it can act as a protector reducing the risk of its development by an interesting amount.
  • What this mineral does, for instance, is prevent the accumulation of amyloid plaque in the hippocampus of your brain.
  • It also reduces the presence of his plaque in the prefrontal cortex.

Without a doubt, this is interesting data. It calls us to improve our diet to cover the possible deficits related to this mineral.

5. Magnesium reduces anxiety and allows you to be more “centered”

being pessimistic

 

WE have all gone through certain times in which our brains appear to go much faster than the time itself. We feel accelerated and any stimulus, any event that “erupts” on us making us lose control.

  • Everything goes by us, we feel nervousness, insomnia, and a great overwhelming feeling.
  • These periods of anxiety can be prevented by managing our day to day lives better. They can also be prevented by also taking care of our levels of magnesium.
  • WE can’t forget that magnesium is the most important ingredient in our cells. This is because it acts as “fuel” for a biological process that they do.
  • The organ that needs the most energy is your brain. It needs high doses of magnesium.
  • To increase our condition if we suffer from an intense period of anxiety, nothing is better than eating a “magnesium diet”.
  • In other words, we need to eat foods that are rich in this mineral. And, we need to consult our doctors to see whether or not it’s a good idea to take supplements and the recommended doses.

Little by little, over a few weeks, you’ll notice that your nerves improve. Muscle tension will be reduced. Plus, you’ll be much more focused on the here and now..


This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.