FATIGUE

Q: I've had sleep maintenance insomnia for several years and I'm hoping ATP will help. I wake up in the middle of the night for 1-2 hours almost every night. 

You said in the Week 1 workbook, "While most people will sleep better with magnesium, a small number of people may actually find that they have worse sleep with it!" Is that true for all forms of magnesium (e.g., all the magnesium salts) or just some forms?  In other words, does taking any magnesium at night make insomnia worse in some people? 

A: A few years ago we did a survey on magnesium citrate vs. glycinate, and asked people who were taking either one of those forms how they felt as far as sleep. Some people slept much better with magnesium citrate, while some people slept much better with magnesium glycinate. Then there were people who slept terribly with both. 

I have seen so many cases of magnesium glycinate causing issues, as some people may convert glycinate to glutamate, which can provoke a lot of anxiety and can cause insomnia. Typically, for people who struggle with glycinate, I recommend taking P5P, which addresses the glycinate to glutamate conversion. However, it seems that hasn't helped you either, so I'm guessing that's probably not the mechanism. 

Generally, people do better with one form of magnesium than the other, and if you've done poorly with both of them, then it's probably something that's happening with magnesium. It could be lowering your blood sugar. Although most people feel that magnesium reduces insomnia, for some people this may not be the case. Taking an Epsom salt bath might be an alternative way for some people to sleep better. The other things to look into would be blood sugar balance, and I'm a big proponent of using a CGM, continuous glucose monitor. You wear it on the back of your arm and it lets you know if you're going hypoglycemic throughout the night, so then you can start adjusting your blood sugar. 

Also, some people who are chromium deficient, when they don't eat enough food, can experience reactive hypoglycemia at nighttime. For many people more protein helps, along with fewer carbs and more fat. Sometimes eating earlier in the day, before sunset, can make a really big difference. For some people eating later in the evening can make a really big difference. For some people eating a little bit more carbs in the evening can make a big difference. For some people taking chromium can make a really big difference. For some people it might be a low iron issue.  Not eating enough fiber can also contribute. There are a lot of things to tweak. I would definitely start with that continuous glucose monitor to see what's happening with that blood sugar of yours.