This is the supplement I was talking about on the podcast.
Did you know that magnesium is needed for over 300 bodily functions? Did you know that a lot of people are deficient in magnesium? Did you know that one cup of coffee in the morning can deplete the body of all your magnesium stores? Did you know that it can takes days, weeks even, to build up the magnesium stores in your bloodstream?
Well, now you do!
Most importantly, did you know that magnesium can help you achieve good sleep? Why? Because magnesium has the ability to normalize and extend stage 3 and stage 4 of slow-wave sleep. This is crucial for athletes as a deeper state of sleep can help to raise growth hormone levels that peak during the night at hour 6 & hour 8 of sleep:
Research suggests that Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin b6 taken together has significant benefits to the endocrine system. There was a study performed at Western Washington University (Bellingham) that had NCAA football players take ZMA or a placebo every night during an eight-week spring training program. Athletes taking the ZMA experienced more than a 30-percent increase in testosterone levels, and about a 5-percent increase in levels of the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).* Those taking a placebo had a 10-percent decrease in testosterone levels and a greater than 20-percent decrease in levels of IGF-1.
In addition to benefits seen with hormone levels, the ZMA-supplemented athletes made significantly greater gains in strength, power, and achieved better sleep quality, than the placebo group. Better sleep quality also helps to aid muscle recovery from tough workouts.
These benefits occurred in the ZMA group despite the fact that the analyses of their diets found that the NCAA football athletes were all consuming well over the recommended intake for zinc. It would appear that ZMA increases the bio-availability and nutritional content of food. Meaning that more nutrients are being absorbed into the human body from food with the ZMA group.
It Is Good For Cortisol Balance
Both zinc and magnesium are also suggested to stunt cortisol, a catabolic hormone. I’ve written about cortisol here. German researchers found that triathletes taking a magnesium supplement for four weeks maintained healthy cortisol levels at rest and after a triathlon, as compared to athletes taking a placebo. And Brazilian researchers also reported that subjects supplementing with zinc maintained healthy cortisol balance.
How and when to take?
I’ve been taking my own ZMA right before bed but I’m just learning now that it should be taken 1 hour before bedtime to maximize absorption.
Timing of supplements is important so I will heed to this advice and make the adjustment. I’ll keep you all updated on the latest episode of my podcast!