Sleep is still somewhat of a mysterious enigma, but we know it serves many critical and nourishing purposes, as noted by both Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, and Shakespeare centuries ago. Modern science confirms some of the functions of healthy sleep include waste clearance via the glymphatic system; immune support...
 To understand how magnesium contributes to high-quality sleep we must first understand what magnesium is. Most of us are likely already aware of magnesium and we may even be aware of its biochemical importance, but what exactly is magnesium? Discovered by the English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy in 1808, magnesium is a relatively lightweight metal with reactive properties found naturally in the earth’s crust. As a naturally occurring element, we consume magnesium in foods every day as part of our diet. When introduced into our body, magnesium exists as a doubly charged ion Mg2+ and is an essential cofactor in hundreds of biochemical reactions. These reactions include normal metabolic processes, the synthesis and replication of nucleic acids (DNA and...