Magnesium Making Things Feel Worse Before They're Getting Better?

“I thought magnesium was meant to calm my child, but now their sleep or behaviour seems even worse!" 

It can be unsettling, but in a small percentage of children magnesium can briefly make some symptoms appear worse before they improve.³ It’s like a good spring clean, you haul everything out so it looks messier at first, but once it’s sorted and returned, the whole house feels lighter and calmer.

What might be happening at first?

Magnesium supports hundreds of processes in the body.³ When levels rise after a shortage, there are some quick shifts which can temporarily make you feel out of sorts before you see the improvements:

1.  The Mineral Shuffle

Magnesium works in a tight team with potassium, calcium and sodium.³ When magnesium rises, the body tells the kidneys to conserve potassium, fine-tune sodium balance, and move a little extra calcium back into the bones.⁴ While this electrolyte mix resets, legs might twitch, sleep can become lighter and the heart may beat a bit faster as the body adjusts to the changes.^1,5

2. Nerves tune in

Nerve cells rely on a steady stream of magnesium to block "too much" stimulation, sitting at the gate of NMDA receptors and acting to boost calming GABA signals.^2,6 When magnesium levels surge following supplementation, some nerve circuits quiet down faster than others. So your child may swing between hyperactive and extra chilled as these circuits retune – with those short-term swings fading as receptors reset. 

3. Gut check-in

Many forms of magnesium – such as magnesium citrate or magnesium oxide – draw water into the intestines, which can lead to upset in the gut.³ Mighty Kids uses magnesium bisglycinate, a chelated form of magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine, which is far gentler on the gut.⁶ However, in a small number of very sensitive individuals, adding in anything new, such as a supplement, can result in mild and temporary side effects, such as stomach issues or looser bowel movements.³ Starting small (as little as 1ml even), splitting the dose across the day, or taking it with food can help to smooth this out.

4. Brain spring clean

The brain uses magnesium to balance dopamine (focus and drive), serotonin (mood) and melatonin (sleep).^2,6 When adding more magnesium to the system, it acts to restore the balance. At first, everything gets shuffled around, and during the reshuffling, some sensitive individuals may find that headaches, vivid dreams or mood swings can appear while the bodies levels settle into their proper place.^1,2 Once magnesium intake is steady, things begin to run smoothly again. 

What you might notice – and why it's temporary, and not cause for alarm

• Sleep slip-ups – Hormones are recalibrating while minerals shift.¹
• Faster heartbeat – blood vessels relax, so the heart beats a little faster at first to keep pressure steady.⁵
• Mild headache – nerves and blood flow are adapting to the new mineral balance.²
• Extra energy or chattiness – dopamine gets a quick nudge before it evens out.⁶
• Gut issues, tummy aches or nausea – extra magnesium may irritate an empty stomach; this is quite uncommon with liposomal magnesium bisglycinate, and usually eases if doses are spread out or taken with food.³

These reactions are often just signs the body is adjusting to its new helper. They are usually mild, short-lived and are just precursors to the many improvements magnesium can produce!

Practical tweaks you can try right now

Everyone's bodies and brains are different; you may just need to adjust how you are taking your magnesium. These practical tweaks and ideas come from answering different questions about our magnesium and can be mixed and matched until you find that sweet spot:

1. Start small and build slowly – drop back to as little as 1 ml per day and increase gradually over a few days.³
2. Try doubling the dose of magnesium for 2-3 days, then return to the regular amount; sometimes the body is just in need of that initial boost.³
3. Split the dose and have half in the morning and half with dinner for the first week; these smaller peaks can give the body more time to adapt.³
4. Taking with food can help cushion the dose and make it easier on the stomach.³

If you're still not seeing the expected or desired results you were hoping for with magnesium after a week or two, it is important to remember that below-optimal levels of other nutrients could be at play. Read this post where Rachael shares her personal experience with one of her boys on this very topic.

References:

1. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study | SLEEP | Oxford Academic
2. Effect of Vitamin D and Magnesium Supplementation on Behaviour Problems in Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - PMC
3. Magnesium - Health Professional Fact Sheet
4. Magnesium in headache - Magnesium in the Central Nervous System - NCBI Bookshelf
5. The Link Between Magnesium and Ventricular Arrhythmias
6. The Role of Magnesium in Sleep Health: a Systematic Review of Available Literature | Biological Trace Element Research