Magnesium deficiency is occurring at epidemic rates, 80% is one estimate.   Magnesium  rbc (red blood cell testing) is the most accurate test,  serum magnesium tests are worthless.

Mega Dose magnesium sulfate increases testosterone levels in animal studies.

From a nutritional perspective, several research studies have shown certain minerals to be an effective natural insomnia remedy to help people fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. James F. Balch, M.D., author of Prescription for Nutritional Healing, writes: "A lack of the nutrients calcium and magnesium will cause you to wake up after a few hours and not be able to return to sleep."

Calcium is directly related to our cycles of sleep. In one study, published in the European Neurology Journal, researchers found that calcium levels in the body are higher during some of the deepest levels of sleep, such as the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The study concluded that disturbances in sleep, especially the absence of REM deep sleep or disturbed REM sleep, are related to a calcium deficiency. Restoration to the normal course of sleep was achieved following the normalization of the blood calcium level.

William Sears, M.D. writes: "Calcium helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to manufacture the sleep-inducing substance melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods."

Magnesium sulfate supplementation increases testosterone levels , and a magnesium-rich (brown rice) diet helps the elderly maintain testosterone levels.

There's been quite a bit of HYPE pimping MAGNESIUM L-THREONATE as a superior form of MAGNESIUM with claims of unique NOOTROPIC effects.

I've looked into what research exists to support these facts and I am sorry to report that the evidence simply does not stack up.

In short, there is conclusive substantiated scientific evidence that MAGNESIUM L-THREONATE does not in fact offer any superiority over MAGNESIUM SULFATE

The hype regarding MAGNESIUM L-THREONATE stems from claims that MAGNESIUM L-THREONATE increases BRAIN MAGNESIUM LEVELS to a greater extent than other magnesium forms, which would include MAGNESIUM SULFATE.

THIS IS A FALLACY

As is happens, administration of both MAGNESIUM SULFATE and MAGNESIUM L-THREONATE increase CEREBROSPINAL FLUID (CSF) LEVELS (= BRAIN LEVELS) of MAGNESIUM by exactly the same amount, namely 7-15%

The following study demonstrates that administration of MAGNESIUM SULFATE increases CEREBROSPINAL FLUID (CSF) LEVELS (= BRAIN LEVELS) of MAGNESIUM "by 15% and 11% relative to baseline":

Crit Care Med. 2005 Mar;33(3):661-6.

Analysis of the brain bioavailability of peripherally administered magnesium sulfate: A study in humans with acute brain injury undergoing prolonged induced hypermagnesemia.

McKee JA, Brewer RP, Macy GE, Phillips-Bute B, Campbell KA, Borel CO, Reynolds JD, Warner DS.

Source
Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

In magnesium deficiency, chronic insomnia is one of the main, central symptoms. Sleep is usually agitated with frequent nighttime awakenings. On the other hand, a high magnesium, low aluminum diet has been found to be associated with deeper, less interrupted sleep. This was proven in a study done by James Penland at the Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota. The study was titled "Effects of trace element nutrition on sleep patterns in adult women." It's important to note that a balanced ratio of calcium and magnesium is important to overall health, and these two minerals should be taken together for best results.

A magnesium deficiency CAN cause insomnia.

A study conducted at the Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota, "Effects of Trace Element Nutrition on Sleep Patterns in Adult Women," proved conclusively that a diet high in magnesium and low in aluminum led to sounder, longer sleep.Researchers at the East Texas Medical Center and the University of North Carolina have discovered that vitamin D helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.  They've found a definite link between vitamin D deficiency and the current global epidemic of sleep disorders. 

There is a wealth of evidence that Magnesium Orotate is beneficial in situations ranging from athletic performance to survival of heart disease patients.  

Restoration to the normal course of sleep was achieved following the normalization of the blood calcium level.  As a note, calcium works best when its balanced with magnesium in a two to one ratio (with twice as much calcium as magnesium).

What are the causes of hypomagnesemia? David R. Mouw, MD, PhD; Robyn A. Latessa, MD University of North Carolina, MAHEC Family Practice Residency,  Asheville, NC Elaine J. Sullo, MLS East Carolina University, Laupus Library,  Greenville, NC   EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER The causes of magnesium depletion and hypomagnesemia are decreased gastrointestinal (GI) absorption and increased renal loss. Decreased GI absorption is frequently due to diarrhea, malabsorption, and inadequate dietary intake. Common causes of excessive urinary loss are diuresis due to alcohol, glycosuria, and loop diuretics. Medical conditions putting persons at high risk for hypomagnesemia are alcoholism, congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic diarrhea, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, and malnutrition

Sixty percent of cases of clinical depression are considered to be treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Magnesium-deficiency causes N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) coupled calcium channels to be biased towards opening, causing neuronal injury and neurological dysfunction, which may appear to humans as major depression. Oral administration of magnesium to animals led to anti-depressant-like effects that were comparable to those of strong anti-depressant drugs. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)magnesium has been found low in treatment-resistant suicidal depression and in patients that have attempted suicide. Brain magnesium has been found low in TRD using phosphorous nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, an accurate means for measuring brain magnesium. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987709007300

Magnesium Deficiency

Insomnia is one of the central, or neurotic, symptoms of chronic magnesium deficiency.  A number of parasomnias (night terrors; nocturnal verbal and motor automatisms; restless legs syndrome) may be related to magnesium deficiency.  Sleep in magnesium deficiency is usually agitated with frequent nocturnal awakenings. Nocturnal instrument monitoring reveals major disorders of sleep organization. The deficiency may be severe enough to be diagnosed on the basis of clearly low blood magnesium levels. Conversely, a high magnesium, low aluminum diet has been found to be associated with high-quality sleep time and few nighttime awakenings, and magnesiumsupplementation has been reported to reduce sleep latency and result in uninterrupted sleep. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786

Case histories are presented showing rapid recovery (less than 7 days) from major depression using 125-300 mg of magnesium (as glycinate and taurinate) with each meal and at bedtime. Magnesium was found usually effective for treatment of depression in general use. Related and accompanying mental illnesses in these case histories including traumatic brain injury, headache, suicidal ideation, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, postpartum depression, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco abuse, hypersensitivity to calcium, short-term memory loss and IQ loss were also benefited. Dietary deficiencies of magnesium, coupled with excess calcium and stress may cause many cases of other related symptoms including agitation, anxiety, irritability, confusion, asthenia, sleeplessness, headache, delirium, hallucinations and hyperexcitability, with each of these having been previously documented. The possibility that magnesiumdeficiency is the cause of most major depression and related mental health problems including IQ loss and addiction is enormously important to public health and is recommended for immediate further study. Fortifying refined grain and drinking water with biologically available magnesium to pre-twentieth century levels is recommended.

Although the first report of magnesium treatment for agitated depression was published in 1921 showing success in 220 out of 250 cases, and there are modern case reports showing rapid terminating of TRD, only a few modern clinical trials were found. A 2008 randomized clinical trial showed that magnesium was as effective as the tricyclic anti-depressant imipramine in treating depression in diabetics and without any of the side effects of imipramine. Intravenous and oral magnesium in specific protocols have been reported to rapidly terminate TRD safely and without side effects. Magnesium has been largely removed from processed foods, potentially harming the brain. Calcium, glutamate and aspartate are common food additives that may worsen affective disorders. We hypothesize that – when taken together – there is more than sufficient evidence to implicate inadequate dietary magnesium as the main cause of TRD, and that physicians should prescribe magnesium for TRD. Since inadequate brain magnesium appears to reduce serotonin levels, and since anti-depressants have been shown to have the action of raising brain magnesium, we further hypothesize that magnesium treatment will be found beneficial for nearly all depressives, not only TRD.

Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment.

Eby GA, Eby KL.

Source

George Eby Research, 14909-C Fitzhugh Road, Austin, TX 78736, USA. george.eby@coldcure.com

Abstract

Major depression is a mood disorder characterized by a sense of inadequacy, despondency, decreased activity, pessimism, anhedonia and sadness where these symptoms severely disrupt and adversely affect the person's life, sometimes to such an extent that suicide is attempted or results. Antidepressant drugs are not always effective and some have been accused of causing an increased number of suicides particularly in young people. Magnesium deficiency is well known to produce neuropathologies. Only 16% of the magnesium found in whole wheat remains in refined flour, and magnesium has been removed from most drinking water supplies, setting a stage for human magnesium deficiency. Magnesium ions regulate calcium ion flow in neuronal calcium channels, helping to regulate neuronal nitric oxide production. In magnesium deficiency, neuronal requirements for magnesium may not be met, causing neuronal damage which could manifest as depression. Magnesium treatment is hypothesized to be effective in treating major depression resulting from intraneuronal magnesium deficits. These magnesium ion neuronal deficits may be induced by stress hormones, excessive dietary calcium as well as dietary deficiencies of magnesium. Case histories are presented showing rapid recovery (less than 7 days) from major depression using 125-300 mg of magnesium (as glycinate and taurinate) with each meal and at bedtime. Magnesium was found usually effective for treatment of depression in general use. Related and accompanying mental illnesses in these case histories including traumatic brain injury, headache, suicidal ideation, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, postpartum depression, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco abuse, hypersensitivity to calcium, short-term memory loss and IQ loss were also benefited. Dietary deficiencies of magnesium, coupled with excess calcium and stress may cause many cases of other related symptoms including agitation, anxiety, irritability, confusion, asthenia, sleeplessness, headache, delirium, hallucinations and hyperexcitability, with each of these having been previously documented. The possibility that magnesium deficiency is the cause of most major depression and related mental health problems including IQ loss and addiction is enormously important to public health and is recommended for immediate further study.