Magnesium to aid sleep.

After decades of poor sleep and really bad episodes when sleep is awful for days on end. Sometimes it has made me feel quite ill and it has affected the quality of my life in many ways. I started to take Magnesium Citrate 3.5 months ago.

In the past I've tried everything going but nothing worked only prescription sleeping tablets which I have taken as sparingly as possible.

Since taking 2 magnesium capsules the past 3 months sleep has been remarkably better, and I feel more relaxed in general so even if I'm awake for a couple of hours in the night I can actually drift back to sleep when I couldn't before. It's been wonderful.

I've had no digestive problems at all, in fact digestion is better than ever.

Piriton is just the branded name given to the drug
Chlorphenamine.

Chlorphenamine is an anti-histimine which lasts around six hours. It acts within about half an hour, so one should feel sleepy by then.

I buy this from an online chemist and it can be really inexpensive, less than £1.00 for 28 tablets. The branded version could be seven times as much.

I agree with others that this should be used occasionally rather than daily. If I have a bad run of nights I use one of these and usually do obtain some sleep.

Hope it works for you!
NB. I was prescribed Piriton three times a day as a teenager for my dreadful hay fever and took public exams with eyes - and brain - half closed! Thank goodness I was allowed to take some exams in the winter!

I use magnesium glycinate to help me sleep. For me it’s been brilliant.

I find that antihistamine helps too but agree occasional use is best.
I've noticed lately that their price has increased a lot (eg Piriton) so perhaps the pharm. industry has been warned.
I also have the problem of restless leg, and this seems to be related to digestion and bowel action.
Sleep is such a blessing when you find it.
Men don't seem to have this problem so often - perhaps we women are programmed to wake up at the least thing, to look after crying babies.

I am another who swears by a weighted blanket! I've been a terrible sleeper since my 20's (honestly don't think I've ever slept right through the night) but buying a WB a year ago was one of the best things I have ever done. I also get hot in bed (although usually cold by day!) but the blanket seems to breathe and somehow keeps to a warm, but comfortable temperature. Don't let the initial weight put you off - once under the blanket it just slips snuggly round you. Wonderful!

Thank you all for your responses.

I have ordered a Mg sleep spray ( don't want to be constipated with tablets).

I am a hot body and sleep with only a sheet covering me, so I can't bear the thought of a weighted blanket!

I take a calcium with Vit D tablet in the evenings so will change that.

I love my weighted blanket!!

Thank you Maybee I will swap it to breakfast time .

They say you shouldn’t take VitD in the evening as it can sometimes cause sleep problems.

I have been taking it for 2 months , along with vitamin D and it hasn’t made any difference so far .

Have you tried a weighted blanket ? Definitely improved my sleep pattern .

I use a magnesium oil spray which I spray onto my feet. It’s very drying though so I have to put cream onto my feet the next day.

Magnesium does work, but it's poorly absorbed through the gut as a supplement. The best way to boost your levels is to have an Epsom Salt bath, or even a foot bath. It's also comparatively cheaper.

I tried a magnesium supplement when I was having sleep problems but it had no effect, just made me constipated. In a programme about sleeping Doctor Michael Mosley said there is a link between digestion and sleep and recommended taking probiotics and prebiotics. For the latter he recommended inulin powder which I have been taking since before Christmas and my sleep has recently improved. Last night and the night before I slept from around midnight until about 7am. I still have bad nights and sometimes I take an antihistamine which makes me drowsy. Like annsixty I am wary of taking them too often.

I take Nytol, not the herbal one, a few times a year for just 3/4 nights and they are a help to me.
I was advised not to get used or rely on them, just occasional use.
My GD tried them and while they worked she felt like a zombie next morning and as she is working she left them off after 2 nights.
I think poor sleep and very vivid dreams, some very disturbing, seem to be very prevalent in these difficult days.

Nytol (the blue one) it's a type of antihistamine. You have to ask behind the counter for it, or buy from an online pharmacy.

Shysal, you, and indeed everyone else who has the ill fortune to be awake, are more than welcome to pop into the Night Owls thread ? for a chat.
There is usually someone about (more than likely me). You will get a very warm welcome and a cup of tea (not Pukka) or Ovaltine.

I started taking Magnesium recently as recommended it to help migraines. I don't think it has made a difference yet and no change in my sleep pattern.

I take Magnesium Citrate (which also helps my osteoporosis), L-Glycine (recommended for sleep) and Valerian.

I take the L-Glycine at about 8.15pm, then the Valerian and Magnesium at 9.30pm with a bite of supper - then go off to bed to read, feel drowsy by 10.10pm and lights out.

Good luck. PM me if you want to know details of brands and stockists.