Magnesium and fatigue: how magnesium supports your energy levels
- Dec 11, 2024
We all experience fatigue from time to time, whether it’s due to a busy day, lack of sleep, or just the demands of daily life. But did you know that magnesium plays an essential role in your energy levels? This mineral not only helps relax your muscles but also supports your energy production. If you often feel tired, magnesium tablets might be a solution. In this blog, we’ll explore how magnesium can help maintain your energy levels and combat fatigue.
How Does Magnesium Help With Fatigue?
Magnesium contributes to your body’s energy production. It plays a vital role in reducing fatigue and tiredness. This mineral is involved in converting food into energy. Magnesium helps activate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main energy carrier in your cells. Without enough magnesium, this process can slow down, leaving you feeling tired and sluggish. This is one of the reasons magnesium is often recommended for fatigue and exhaustion.
Additionally, magnesium can aid in muscle recovery after exercise. When your body recovers optimally, you’ll feel re-energized more quickly. Magnesium malate, for example, is a form of magnesium specifically recommended for people who often feel tired, as it supports both muscle recovery and energy production.
Benefits of Magnesium for Fatigue:
- Helps convert food into energy through ATP activation.
- Supports muscle recovery after physical activity.
- Reduces fatigue by providing energy to cells.
Magnesium and Vitamin B6: A Strong Combination
Magnesium is often combined with vitamin B6 in supplements, and that’s no coincidence. Vitamin B6 aids in the absorption of magnesium in the body, meaning your body can utilize it more effectively. Moreover, vitamin B6 itself plays a significant role in energy production. It helps your body convert proteins and carbohydrates into energy, contributing to a balanced energy level. This combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 can be particularly effective if you often feel tired and are looking for ways to support your energy levels.
Which Magnesium Should You Take for Fatigue?
There are different forms of magnesium that can help if you’re dealing with fatigue.
- Magnesium malate:
Magnesium malate is an excellent choice if you want to reduce fatigue and support your energy levels. This form of magnesium is bound to malic acid (malate), a compound directly involved in the citric acid cycle. This process plays a key role in your cells’ energy production, allowing your body to convert food into energy more efficiently. Additionally, magnesium malate helps your muscles recover faster after physical activity, making it particularly suitable for athletes or individuals with physically demanding jobs who often feel fatigued. - Magnesium bisglycinate:
If your fatigue is primarily caused by stress or poor sleep, magnesium bisglycinate is the best option. This form of magnesium is bound to the amino acid glycine, which has relaxing properties. Magnesium bisglycinate is easily absorbed by your body and brain, helping not only with physical relaxation but also with calming your mind. It promotes deeper sleep, which is essential for staying energetic during the day. - Magnesium taurate:
For stable energy levels without peaks and troughs, magnesium taurate is an excellent choice. This form combines magnesium with taurine, an amino acid known for its supportive effect on the nervous system. Magnesium taurate helps maintain balance in your body, reduces stress, and supports a steady supply of energy throughout the day. It’s ideal for people who often feel drained due to a hectic or stressful lifestyle.
How Much Magnesium Do You Need for More Energy?
If you want to use magnesium to reduce fatigue, it’s important to know how much magnesium you need daily. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for adult men is around 350 mg per day, and for adult women, around 300 mg per day. Besides the amount, the high bioavailability of magnesium is also crucial. This refers to how well your body can absorb magnesium from supplements or food.
Bioactive forms like magnesium bisglycinate and magnesium malate are known for their high absorption rates, allowing you to get the most benefit from the amount you take. This makes them ideal for people looking to support their energy levels and reduce fatigue. Forms like magnesium oxide, on the other hand, have lower bioavailability, meaning your body absorbs less of them, reducing their effectiveness.
Supplements can help meet your daily magnesium needs, but you can also obtain magnesium from food. Leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fatty fish are excellent sources of magnesium that can help keep your energy levels up.
Does the Form of Magnesium Affect Your Energy Levels?
The effectiveness of magnesium isn’t only determined by how much you take but also by the form of magnesium in your supplement. Magnesium is bound to other substances, such as amino acids, and this binding can affect how well your body absorbs it and the specific benefits it provides, such as for energy levels.
Magnesium malate, for example, is bound to malic acid (malate), a compound directly involved in your cells’ energy production. This makes magnesium malate an excellent choice for people looking to reduce fatigue and boost their energy levels. Malic acid is involved in the citric acid cycle, one of the most important processes cells use to produce energy, offering extra support in converting food into energy.
Magnesium bisglycinate, on the other hand, is bound to the amino acid glycine. Glycine itself has relaxing properties and helps calm both the body and mind. While this form has a less direct impact on energy production, it supports better relaxation and deeper sleep. As a result, bisglycinate can indirectly support energy levels since restful sleep is essential for feeling energetic during the day.
Magnesium taurate combines magnesium with the amino acid taurine, known for its supportive effect on the nervous system. Taurine can help reduce stress and maintain balance in your body, contributing to stable energy levels without spikes or dips.
Form of magnesium | Benefit | Specifically useful for |
Malate | Supports energy production via the citric acid cycle and aids in muscle recovery. | Fatigue, physical exertion |
Bisglycinate | Helps with relaxation, sleep quality and mental acuity. | Stress, lying awake, mental fatigue |
Taurate | Supports the nervous system and helps maintain stable energy levels without peaks and troughs. | Stress balance, daily energy |
Can Too Much Magnesium Cause Fatigue?
No, an excess of magnesium doesn’t directly cause fatigue. In fact, magnesium plays a key role in supporting your energy levels. When your body gets more magnesium than it needs, the excess is usually expelled naturally, primarily through your urine[1]. This is especially true for well-absorbed forms like magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium taurate, and magnesium malate.
Magnesium and Fatigue: Finding the Balance
Fatigue can have various causes, from stress to physical exertion. Magnesium can help support both your energy levels and recovery, especially if you choose the right form. Magnesium malate helps maintain your energy, while magnesium bisglycinate helps you relax and improve your sleep so that you wake up refreshed and energized.
If you often feel tired and believe magnesium might help, it’s important to choose a form that suits your needs. And as always, stick to the recommended daily allowance and consult a specialist if you’re unsure about your magnesium intake.
[1] https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4186