How to banish painful night-time cramps with an over-the-counter health supplement that costs as little as 10p a tablet - and why up to a third of Britons could benefit
An over-the-counter health supplement that costs as little as 10p a tablet could help thousands of Britons beat painful night cramps for good.
Magnesium pills have been linked to heart health, better sleep and have even been touted as a cure for anxiety.
But a growing number of experts believe the mineral’s greatest strength may be its ability to banish painful night-time cramps.
The sudden, involuntary muscle spasms affect as many as a third of Britons and there are few effective treatments.
Earlier this month, The Mail on Sunday’s resident GP columnist Dr Ellie Cannon wrote about how, despite her long-time scepticism around supplements, she believed that magnesium had significant benefits for those patients with sleeping problems.
In response, we received countless letters and emails from readers who said that taking magnesium had all but ended their night cramps.
One was Linda Law, 73, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, who started getting regular seizures in her feet and legs in 2013 – often during the night but sometimes even when she was working out in the gym.
Linda Law felt the benefits of magnesium as soon as she started taking supplements
‘One night in September this year I woke four times with cramp – it was agony,’ says Linda. ‘Or I would get them after going to the gym, which I do five times a week.
‘At night, when cramp struck, I’d swing my legs off the bed to try and get moving, but I couldn’t even stand up. It was really scary.’
Early last year, a friend recommended Linda try taking magnesium. The impact was immediate.
‘I’ve not had any cramps since then,’ she says.
‘I take a 375mg dose about an hour before bedtime and it’s been a miracle for me. Now I can take part in all my gym classes without worrying about getting cramp and I’m sleeping so well that sometimes it’s quite hard to wake up in the morning.’
Experts say magnesium is one of the most important nutrients our bodies need. As well as helping muscles to relax, it keeps the immune system in good shape, regulates heartbeat, boosts bone strength, helps control blood sugar levels and aids the production of energy and protein.
The NHS website says a man aged 19 to 64 needs about 300mg a day to stay healthy and a woman of the same age needs 270mg.
Magnesium-rich foods include leafy green vegetables such as spinach or cabbage, as well as cashew nuts, beans, pulses and wholemeal bread.
Magnesium is thought to help combat cramps by helping stressed muscles to relax
But some studies suggest up to one in five adults in the UK lacks the right amount of magnesium. The mineral is thought to help combat cramps by helping stressed muscles to relax, and in so doing reducing the likelihood of them suddenly contracting. This is also thought to be the secret to its sleep-boosting qualities.
A 2021 study in Ukraine, involving more than 200 night-cramp sufferers, found muscle spasm rates were slashed when volunteers took 226mg of magnesium supplements daily for two months.
But other studies have found no such benefit, warns nutritionist Rob Hobson.
‘The research results are quite mixed and while magnesium may work for cramp in some people, there’s no guarantee it will work for everyone,’ he says.
‘It’s more likely to help if you are low in the mineral in the first place because you don’t have enough of the right foods in your diet.’
However, he says that, since the body absorbs only about half of the magnesium found in food, many people may unknowingly be deficient, meaning supplements could be beneficial.
‘Magnesium is mostly very safe and not expensive, so it’s definitely worth trying,’ says Hobson.
However, avoid taking too much. The NHS says taking high doses of magnesium (more than 400mg) can lead to some unpleasant stomach problems such as diarrhoea. Hobson advises users to go for magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate – rather than other forms of the mineral – as these forms tend to be gentler on the tummy. But he adds: ‘If it doesn’t help with your cramps, don’t just take more and more of it in the hope that it will.’
