Is it the magnesium or the massage? The facts about magnesium lotion for sleep

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The latest wellness craze to deed societal media: magnesium lotion.

Magnesium is an basal mineral that nan assemblage uses for a number of functions. It has agelong been thought to thief pinch slumber erstwhile taken arsenic an oral supplement, though location is little technological evidence to backmost up that claim.

Influencers now beforehand magnesium successful lotion shape arsenic an elixir for improving slumber arsenic good arsenic for addressing a wide scope of problems, including cortisol and insulin imbalance, musculus soreness, fibromyalgia and arthritis.

"Did you cognize rubbing magnesium pick connected your child's feet tin thief pinch sleep?" asks 1 female connected TikTok who goes by cottagecalderon and who promises that it tin thief pinch increasing pains and improving mood.

"No midnight limb cramps," says a man connected nan relationship tap.the.orange.cart. "It useful for maine and my wife."

"Y'all," says different TikTokker, good complete 40ish, "this magnesium lotion and spray is magic successful nan bottle."

The claim 

Enthusiasts declare that magnesium lotion — specifically applied to feet — tin amended sleep. Many besides reason it tin beryllium applied each complete nan assemblage to remedy a assortment of different wellness ailments.

People are buying nan idea, literally. One marketplace investigation group estimated nan marketplace successful 2024 for topical magnesium was much than $400 million.

The evidence 

There is small impervious that magnesium tin beryllium absorbed done nan skin.

"The problem pinch this is that nan tegument is simply a barrier, not a sponge," says Nicholas Theodosakis, a dermatologist and interrogator astatine Harvard University.

Most medications are champion delivered orally, which allows for speedy absorption into nan bloodstream. A fewer kinds of substances are good suited to absorption done nan skin, he says. Often, transdermal patches are utilized for medications that request to beryllium slow absorbed complete time.

There's nary grounds that magnesium is successful this category.

Theodosakis theorizes that immoderate benefits realized from magnesium lotion are apt from nan massage utilized to use it aliases nan lotion's moisturizing ingredients.

" You use a pick aliases a lotion aliases an ointment that contains immoderate progressive constituent and, yeah, your tegument looks amended than possibly immoderate spot you didn't use it," says Theodosakis. "But that's because nan pick itself promotes tegument health. Anything that comes successful for illustration a pick guidelines aliases an ointment guidelines is conscionable automatically gonna beryllium bully for nan skin."

The nuance

Despite nan deficiency of evidence, astatine slightest 1 expert says if magnesium lotion is moving for you — spell for it. "I deliberation nan risks of applying magnesium to your tegument are astir apt highly small," says Dr. John Winkelman, a slumber master astatine Harvard.

He says he had astatine slightest 1 diligent study utilizing "magnesium butter," for sleep. (" I thought you put that connected toast, but no, successful fact, you swipe it connected your legs," says Winkelman.) "She did opportunity magnesium food was helping."

Winkelman says successful matters of slumber especially, placebo tin beryllium powerful — and he's not 1 to discourage immoderate safe remedies activity for his patients.

That said, Winkelman is not readying to urge it anytime soon.

The Food and Drug Administration doesn't o.k. supplements and related products based connected information and efficacy information nan measurement it does for drugs, truthful there's nary guarantee these products will present connected their claims.

For immoderate of nan slumber conditions that magnesium lotion supposedly treats, says Winkelman, location are medically proven treatments. Restless legs syndrome, for illustration — thing immoderate influencers opportunity is eased pinch an exertion of magnesium lotion — has existent tested aesculapian therapies.

"I really don't consciousness that it's adjacent to urge things that I really don't deliberation person been substantiated arsenic effective," says Winkelman. "I'm a large believer successful technological evidence."

The bottommost line

Though location is nary impervious that magnesium lotion promotes slumber aliases addresses aesculapian problems, experts, including dermatologist Nicholas Theodosakis, work together that magnesium lotion apt won't hurt, except, he says, "in nan pocketbook."

He notes that arsenic a dermatologist, he sees galore wellness fads. "I deliberation it's conscionable nan quality of skin," he notes. "It's highly linked to affectional well-being and psychology and culture. Also, you conscionable person rather a batch of it."