Your Muscles Are Twitching and Cramping
That annoying eye twitch that won’t go away? Those sudden leg cramps that wake you up at night? These involuntary muscle twitches and spasms are often the first red flags of magnesium deficiency. Your muscles depend on magnesium to function properly, and when levels drop, they can go haywire. Magnesium controls the contraction and relaxation of muscles, and it makes your muscles stronger by synthesizing protein. The scary thing is, stress or excessive caffeine can also cause these symptoms, so many people brush them off. But if you’re getting enough sleep and cutting back on coffee doesn’t help, your body might be crying out for more magnesium. The mineral acts like a natural muscle relaxer—when it’s missing, your muscles basically forget how to chill out.
You’re Exhausted Despite Getting Enough Sleep
Feeling like you’re running on empty even after a full night’s rest? Low magnesium levels affect multiple body processes, including nerve signaling and potassium levels in muscle cells, which can cause fatigue and weakness. Here’s what’s really happening: magnesium is important for energy metabolism, which converts food into energy. Without enough of it, your body isn’t producing enough energy to carry on with your daily activities, resulting in tiredness. Think of magnesium as the spark plug in your body’s engine—without it, everything runs sluggishly. Magnesium supports over 300 enzyme systems in the body, helping with energy production, muscle function and blood pressure. When you’re deficient, even simple tasks can feel overwhelming, leaving you wondering why that third cup of coffee isn’t doing the trick.
Your Blood Pressure is Creeping Up
Magnesium deficiency may increase blood pressure and promote high blood pressure (hypertension), which is a serious warning sign many people miss. Low magnesium not only causes high blood pressure but also increases the risk of heart diseases. The connection is pretty straightforward—magnesium helps your blood vessels relax and stay flexible. When you don’t have enough, those vessels can become tighter, forcing your heart to work harder to pump blood through them. Research shows that magnesium supplements lowered blood pressure by a few points in people with high blood pressure, and getting more magnesium from foods was linked to an even greater drop in blood pressure. If your doctor mentioned your blood pressure numbers are trending upward, it might be time to look at your magnesium intake before things get more serious.
Your Mood is All Over the Place
Feeling unusually irritable, anxious, or down? A 2023 systematic review found an association between magnesium supplementation and improved depression, and a 2024 systematic review found that supplementation may benefit people with mild anxiety and insomnia. Depression and anxiety are symptoms of low magnesium levels because magnesium is responsible for mood stabilization and calming activity in the brain. Your brain needs magnesium to produce neurotransmitters—the chemical messengers that help regulate your emotions. Magnesium deficiency affects how your brain perceives different situations and environments and makes you vulnerable to stress and low moods. It’s like trying to have a conversation with a bad phone connection—the signals just aren’t getting through clearly. Many people notice they feel more balanced and less reactive when their magnesium levels are adequate.
Your Bones Are Getting Weaker
Magnesium deficiency is a risk factor for osteoporosis because deficiency might weaken bones directly, but it also lowers the blood levels of calcium, the main building block of your bones. Osteoporosis makes your bones weaker and increases the risk of bone fracture, and magnesium deficiency lowers the level of calcium in the blood, which causes weak bones. Here’s the kicker—in younger people, magnesium deficiency may prevent bone growth, while in older people, it may increase the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Think of magnesium as the construction foreman for your bones—it doesn’t just provide the building materials, it also directs where calcium should go and how it should be used. Without enough magnesium, calcium can’t do its job properly, leaving you with a frame that’s not as sturdy as it should be.
Your Heart is Beating Irregularly
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include abnormal heart rhythms, and left unchecked, it can cause seizures. Low magnesium level is known to increase ventricle contractions, causing irregular heartbeat. This isn’t something to mess around with—when your body’s magnesium level drops too much, it can be a life-threatening emergency. Your heart is essentially an electrical system, and magnesium helps maintain the steady rhythm that keeps blood flowing smoothly throughout your body. When magnesium levels are too low, that electrical system can misfire, causing palpitations, fluttering sensations, or even more serious arrhythmias. Your brain, heart and muscles rely heavily on magnesium to do their job, and magnesium has a direct effect on the balance of other electrolytes, including sodium, calcium and potassium. If you’re experiencing any unusual heart symptoms, this definitely warrants a conversation with your doctor.
You’re Having Digestive Issues
Constipation is one of the weird magnesium deficiency symptoms, and low magnesium levels can cause constipation because magnesium acts as a laxative and prevents constipation. Magnesium regulates bowel movement by increasing the water in the intestine for easy bowel movement. Beyond constipation, symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, and loss of appetite. Your digestive system is basically a series of muscles that need to contract and relax in a coordinated way to move food through your body—and guess what controls muscle function? That’s right, magnesium. Magnesium supplements are often used to treat constipation, which explains why milk of magnesia has been a go-to remedy for generations. When your system isn’t getting enough of this essential mineral, everything from your stomach to your intestines can start acting up, leaving you feeling uncomfortable and sluggish.
