How Does Magnesium Affect Sports Performance, Muscle Growth and Sleep?

Magnesium, is a key mineral required for hundreds of basic physiological processes in the human body. But did you know that if you play sports regularly, your body uses up even more of it than it would if you weren’t active? In fact, it is involved in processes such as nutrient metabolism, muscle regeneration and more, which directly affect your athletic performance.

Magnesium sufficiency is reflected not only in training progress, but also in the health of the athlete. Its intake should therefore not be neglected. When is it adequate to consume it from the diet and for whom is it advisable to supplement it?

What is magnesium and what are its functions in the body?

Magnesium is one of the essential minerals without which your body would be virtually unable to function. In fact, it is part of more than 300 biological processes in the body. The human body requires it for the proper function of the bones, the psyche or even for the very process of cell division. Everyone needs magnesium, but athletes, who are the focus of today’s article, value its role in the body perhaps even more than others. Processes such as muscle contraction, energy metabolism or protein synthesis, without which, among other things, your muscles would not grow, cannot do without it. ^[12]

Why should athletes and physically active people take specific care to ensure that they have a sufficient intake of magnesium? For one essential reason – the body can’t make this mineral on its own. Therefore, it is purely up to you and I to supply it with enough magnesium from our diet.

Today we will focus primarily on magnesium in the context of sports performance, but if you are interested in its other functions in the body, how a magnesium deficiency manifests itself or what to eat for optimal magnesium levels in the body, don’t miss our article Cramps, Fatigue, Irritability or Sleep. What Other Effects Does Magnesium Have?

Why is magnesium so important for athletes?

It is probably already clear to you that magnesium is an essential mineral for all life. However, for athletes it plays an even more important role, as their bodies require more magnesium due to increased physical activity. Think of magnesium like the fuel in your car – the more you use your car, the more often the fuel needs to be topped up. Athletes have a more active metabolism, and since magnesium is part of many physiological processes in the body, it is expended more rapidly.

In addition, magnesium is lost from the body through perspiration. Thus, athletes naturally have greater losses than inactive people. Endurance athletes who spend long hours training should especially keep this in mind. However, magnesium deficiency in general can affect all people who play sports regularly, so they should not neglect their magnesium intake. Deficiencies are also common in ordinary people – as shown, for example, by a large study that looked at the proportion of micronutrients in the diets of Europeans. For example, it found that 40% of British women and 36% of British men aged 18 to 60 had intakes below the so-called Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for magnesium. ^[10]

This is quite a problem, as low magnesium levels can affect the quality of athletic performance – from reduced muscle endurance to increased fatigue. Therefore, it is important to monitor magnesium intake from your diet and possibly consider supplementation. ^[2]

How exactly does magnesium contribute to athletic performance?

1. Involved in energy metabolism

Magnesium is like an invisible helper that works behind the scenes in your cells to ensure that your body has enough energy to function properly. Its important role is to influence energy production in cells and stabilise ATP – the molecule that stores and transfers energy necessary for life. Thanks to magnesium, the body can efficiently move energy in the form of ATP to where it is needed. This ensures, for example, that energy is available for your muscles.^[2]

In addition, magnesium helps speed up the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. For example, many steps in glycolysis, the process that converts glucose into fuel for the body, inevitably need magnesium. ^[2]

What is the importance of having optimal magnesium levels for athletes?

• The body can convert glucose (sugar) or fats, for example, into energy and use it efficiently during sport.
• Studies show that getting enough magnesium has a positive effect on endurance and muscle endurance during prolonged activities. This is especially valuable for runners, cyclists and other endurance athletes. ^[11]
• It is also related to better strength performance. ^[11]
• Optimal magnesium levels help prevent fatigue. ^[17]
• Magnesium helps the body obtain immediate energy from creatine phosphate (which stores roughly 60% of creatine). This is important, for example, during high-intensity exercise, when the body does not have time to rebuild its ATP stores and needs a more rapid source of fuel. ^[2,3]

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2. It is essential for proper muscle function

Magnesium plays a vital role in every movement your body makes. You already know that it makes energy available to the muscles in the form of ATP. But that’s not all, because in addition to that, it is also a key player in muscle contraction. What you and I see, for example, as a simple lifting of a dumbbell for a biceps curl, is actually the result of the contraction and relaxation of hundreds to thousands of muscle fibres. Magnesium is one of the conductors of this vast orchestra and makes sure that the resulting movement is smooth and fluid. ^[2]

When magnesium is deficient in the body, muscle cramps can occur – painful and sudden muscle contractions that you cannot control. Cramps can have several causes. Magnesium deficiency can be one of them, so having an optimal daily intake of magnesium should be part of their prevention. ^[6]

It cannot be forgotten that this mineral also plays an important role in building muscle mass. Magnesium is essential for almost every step of muscle synthesis – the process of muscle formation. In fact, it is a component of the enzymes without which their growth could not take place. ^[2,11]

What is the importance of having optimal magnesium levels for athletes?

• It takes care of the perfect interplay of muscles, which is important for overall performance. It’s not just about strength, but also power, speed and agility.
• An adequate magnesium intake helps prevent muscle cramps.
• Magnesium is essential for effective muscle building.
• It also helps the body and muscles regenerate better. ^[2]

4. Improves sleep

If you play any sport yourself, you will know that after a restful night’s sleep, you perform much better than when you go to your workout without sleep. Inadequate and poor quality sleep translates into less strength, speed, and overall performance. Moreover, it increases the risk of injury. Thus, a proper night’s sleep should be among every athlete’s top priorities if they want to perform at their best. ^[7]

It is also a good idea to make sure you are getting enough magnesium on your journey to a full night’s sleep. Studies have shown that low levels of magnesium can cause sleep problems. Conversely, sufficient daily intake or supplementation of magnesium can help improve it. This can translate into, for example, a quicker rate of falling asleep as well as uninterrupted sleep.^[9,13]

If you’re having trouble sleeping, you can try magnesium as a stand-alone single-ingredient supplement or as part of a comprehensive dietary supplement. For example, Sleep&Relax or VitaCalm, which also contain a number of other active ingredients. You can also supplement with melatonin, which helps you fall asleep.

Supplements are just one piece of the puzzle for getting a better night’s sleep. If you are wondering what more you can do to improve it, read our article How to Fall Asleep Quickly? Try These Simple Tips for a Better Sleep.

5. Takes care of mental well being

Active sport, whether professional or recreational, can be quite demanding on the psyche. It is an added stress not only for the body, but also for the mind. This means that athletes should definitely not put their mental health on the back burner. On the contrary, if they take care of it regularly, it will reflect in their sporting performance.

Previous research shows that magnesium can also affect our mood and overall psychological state. It helps to reduce the production of stress hormones (e.g. cortisol) or, on the contrary, to boost the production of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that contributes to feelings of happiness and well-being. Its beneficial effect is shown to be beneficial even for anxiety and depression.

Athletes can certainly benefit from these advantages. In fact, magnesium can help you endure tough workouts better, stay calmer when you need to focus on performance, and practically better withstand the mental strain associated with sport in general.

Does magnesium improve athletic performance?

As you’ve already found out for yourself, magnesium plays a pretty major role in how you perform when you exercise. In research, it turns out that the most important thing is to ensure the body has optimal levels of it. A deficiency can be responsible for poorer athletic performance, and when this deficiency is corrected, it can be seen by their improvement.^[5]

However, according to researchers, there is no visible change if you supplement with magnesium at a time when you have sufficient amounts of it in your body. So it’s useless to think that if you have enough magnesium in your body, you’ll see a significant improvement in your mile run time after one dose of magnesium. However, once the body is deficient (e.g. due to a deficiency in diet, perspiration, or increased physical activity), supplementing it from your diet or supplements can make you happier with your improved speed and overall performance. ^[8,14]

What is the effect of magnesium on athletic performance and sleep as seen through the lens of science?

1. Effect of magnesium supplementation on strength

To see how magnesium supplementation can specifically affect strength performance, let’s take a look at a British study that investigated the effect of short- and long-term magnesium supplementation on strength performance. The research involved 13 recreational athletes, some of whom took magnesium for one week and the rest for up to four weeks. In both cases, the effect of magnesium was compared with a placebo. At the end of taking it, strength was tested on the bench press.

It showed that one week of magnesium supplementation led to a significant increase in strength by 17.7%. However, taking magnesium for four weeks did not result in even greater strength. According to the researchers, these results suggest that supplementing magnesium levels to normal levels may translate into better performance. But once the amount of it in the body is no longer in the optimal range, performance doesn’t improve any further. ^[8]

For us mere mortals, this means that if you have a low level of this mineral in your body long-term low, its supplementation or a significantly higher intake in the diet can surprise you by increasing your performance during your daily workouts.

2. Effect of magnesium supplementation on sleep

American researchers conducted a thirty-year study, known as CARDIA, which examined risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This research, which involved about 3,900 people, also looked at the link between magnesium levels in the body and sleep quality and duration. The data showed that a higher magnesium intake was associated with improved sleep quality. The best sleep was experienced by those who had a daily intake of around 190 mg of magnesium per 1000 kcal – or 380 mg at a reference intake of 2000 kcal.

As for sleep duration, according to the research, people with the aforementioned daily magnesium intake also had the longest sleep duration. Specifically, compared to others, they most often slept more than 7 hours a day. ^[13]

What does this study tell you? In order to sleep longer and better, the body needs to have enough magnesium.

How much magnesium does an athlete need?

According to the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), the recommended daily intake of magnesium for an average healthy person is 300 mg. The nutritional recommendations of the German Society for Nutrition (DACH) suggest 310 mg for women and 400 mg for men. However, there is no exact recommended dose specifically for athletes, as their need for magnesium varies according to intensity and type of training and other factors. ^[4,16]

However, it is generally believed that athletes need about 10-20% more magnesium than inactive people. This is about 30 – 60 mg extra. This is the dose found in, for example, two small bananas. But as we have already mentioned, the need for magnesium can be even higher during intense sports. Therefore, if you want to make sure you have an adequate intake, it pays to reach for a well-absorbed form of magnesium, such as magnesium chelate.^[18]

How does a magnesium deficiency manifest itself?

Since this mineral is involved in hundreds of processes in the body, its deficiency can really result in a large number of manifestations. How does an athlete know based on the symptoms that they are lacking magnesium?

• tired and lacking energy
• underperforms (strength, endurance, etc.)
• suffers from muscle cramping
• is nervous and irritable
• has poor quality sleep
• does not regenerate as well
• has a higher incidence of injury ^[2,4]

If you’re suffering from any of these symptoms, you can’t go wrong when you start supplementing with magnesium.

Should athletes supplement with magnesium?

Although this appears to be a very simple question at first thought, it is not possible to say unequivocally whether all athletes should take magnesium supplements or not. However, it is already known that the main goal should be to reach an optimal range of magnesium in the body. Which factors increase the risk of deficiency?

• Intense endurance activities.
• Long periods of time spent exercising.
• Excessive perspiration.
• Low magnesium intake from the diet. ^[2]

If any of the above points apply to you, magnesium supplementation may be suitable for you. But even if this isn’t the case for you, it’s good to keep in mind that as a physically active person, you’re susceptible to magnesium deficiency. This is shown by several studies that compare magnesium stores in the body in athletes and non-athletes. In fact, athletes in general often have low magnesium levels.^[2]

If you don’t know which group you belong to, always make sure you have plenty of magnesium in your diet as a precautionary measure in the first place. If you observe any of the signs of deficiency, reach for a nutritional supplement. It is possible that your body uses so much magnesium during sport that it is simply not enough to consume it through diet alone. It’s also worth supplementing magnesium as a preventative measure to avoid missing out on its benefits, but always dose according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you want to know for sure how you are doing, you can reliably find out your magnesium levels from blood tests that your doctor can prescribe.

Sources of magnesium in food for athletes

When it comes to magnesium, we are fortunate that it is quite abundant in food. Therefore, it may not be so difficult to obtain it from your diet if you know which foods to reach for. So which ones are they?

• leafy vegetables
• legumes
• whole grain foods
• nuts and seeds
• bananas and avocadoes

7 magnesium-rich foods

Food	Magnesium content/100 g
Almonds	258 mg
Pumpkin seeds	500 mg
Spinach	93 mg
Red beans	164 mg
Oats	129 mg
Banana	28 mg

If you want to know more about how to easily add magnesium to your diet, read our next article Cramps, Fatigue, Irritability and Sleep. What Else Does Magnesium Affect?

Which magnesium is best to supplement with?

When an athlete wants to supplement with magnesium, they have several options on how to take it. They can reach for capsules, effervescent tablets, a soluble powder or even a concentrated shot.

Which of the options they choose depends on what suits them. However, if you want to get the most out of magnesium, it’s worth choosing the most effective biological form. What options are there?

• Magnesium in the form of citrate, malate, bisglycinate or lactate are among the better absorbed forms of magnesium.
• Carbonate, oxide or sulphate are less easily absorbed.

When should you take magnesium?

You’ll reap the benefits of magnesium whenever you supplement. In general, it doesn’t matter if you take it in the morning or in the evening. In some cases, however, it’s a good idea to think about when you take your daily dose, so you can get even more out of it.

• When you take it after exercise, you help your body and muscles to regenerate more effectively.
• Supplementation during exercise is particularly useful for prolonged endurance activities such as running, long bike rides or strenuous hiking.
• A dose of magnesium before bedtime will help calm the body and improve your quality of sleep.
• If you are taking magnesium as a preventative measure and just want to maintain a healthy level of magnesium in your body, take it at any time during the day.

Possible side effects with heavy supplementation

Are you wondering what happens if you supplement with magnesium when you already have enough in your body? Don’t worry, it won’t have significantly negative effects on your body. In fact, excess magnesium is normally excreted out of the body in your urine. People with impaired kidney function may be at risk of problems because their body is not able to excrete magnesium. ^[2]

A normal healthy person may experience problems after excessive supplementation of magnesium in the form of magnesium salts (oxide, citrate or carbonate). The latter may cause diarrhoea or increase the risk of dehydration. Therefore, always take it in the amount stated on the product packaging. When this problem occurs, halve the dose and if problems persist, reach for another form of magnesium. ^[2]

What is the lesson?

Magnesium is a mineral that you need to obtain from your diet in order for your body to function properly. However, athletes and active people have a slightly higher need for it than non-athletes. This can be seen in the fact that a healthy level of magnesium in the body translates into better strength and endurance performance, more efficient muscle growth or better restorative sleep. In order to meet these higher demands, it is important to have plenty of magnesium in your diet. Recreational and professional athletes alike, however, will do well to hedge their bets by taking magnesium supplements. In this way they can successfully prevent muscle cramps, fatigue and irritability from magnesium deficiency.

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Sources:

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[2] BOHL, C.H. - VOLPE, S.L. Magnesium and Exercise. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12487419/

[3] BURKE, L. Clinical Sports Nutrition. .

[4] EFSA PANEL ON DIETETIC PRODUCTS, NUTRITION AND ALLERGIES (NDA) Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to magnesium and electrolyte balance (ID 238), energy-yielding metabolism (ID 240, 247, 248), neurotransmission and muscle contraction including heart muscle (ID 241, 242), cell division (ID 365), maintenance of bone (ID 239), maintenance of teeth (ID 239), blood coagulation (ID 357) and protein synthesis (ID 364) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1216

[5] FIORENTINI, D. et al. Magnesium: Biochemistry, Nutrition, Detection, and Social Impact of Diseases Linked to Its Deficiency. – https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1136

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[7] CHAREST, J. - GRANDNER, M.A. Sleep and Athletic Performance: Impacts on Physical Performance, Mental Performance, Injury Risk and Recovery, and Mental Health. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9960533/

[8] KASS, L.S. - POEIRA, F. The effect of acute vs chronic magnesium supplementation on exercise and recovery on resistance exercise, blood pressure and total peripheral resistance on normotensive adults.– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419474/

[9] LUO, X. et al. Association between magnesium deficiency score and sleep quality in adults: A population-based cross-sectional study. – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724007183

[10] MENSINK, G.B.M. et al. Mapping low intake of micronutrients across Europe. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3785176/

[11] NICA, A.S. et al. Magnesium supplementation in top athletes - effects and recommendations. – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275335093_Magnesium_supplementation_in_top_athletes_-_effects_and_recommendations

[12] VOLPE, S.L. Magnesium and the Athlete. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26166051/

[13] ZHANG, Y. et al. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8996025/

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[15] Adult Dehydration - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555956/

[16] Dietary Reference Values | DRV Finder. – https://multimedia.efsa.europa.eu/drvs/index.htm

[17] EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods (v.3.6). – https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/claims/register/public/?event=search

[18] FoodData Central. – https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173757/nutrients