The magnesium lotion is popular for sleep. Does it work? : NPR

The latest health craze for social media: Magnesium lotion.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that the body uses for a number of functions. It has been assumed for a long time that it will help sleep when it is assumed as an oral supplement, even though there are Small scientific evidence to secure this claim.

Influencers now promote magnesium in lotion form as an elixir to improve sleep and to treat a variety of problems, including cortisol and insulin -keeping weight, sore muscles, fibromyalgia and arthritis.

“Did you know that rubbing magnesium cream on your child’s feet can help with sleep?” Asks a woman on Tikkok who goes to CottageCalderon and promises that this can help with the growing pain and improvement in the mood.

“No midnight leg cramps,” says a man on the Tap.the.orange.cart account. “It works for me and my wife.”

“All of you,” says another Tikkker, well over 40, “This magnesium lotion and spray is magic in the bottle.”

The claim

Enthusiasts claim that magnesium lotion – especially applied to feet – can improve sleep. Many also argue that it can be used anywhere in the body to remedy a variety of other health problems.

People literally buy the idea. A market research group According to estimates, the market was more than 400 million US dollars in 2024 for topical magnesium.

The evidence

There is hardly any evidence that magnesium can be absorbed through the skin.

“The problem with this is that the skin is a barrier, no sponge,” says the skin, “says Nicholas TheodosakisA dermatologist and researcher at Harvard University.

Most medications are best delivered orally, which enables a quick absorption into the bloodstream. Some types of substances are well suited for absorption through the skin, he says. Transdermal stains are often used for medication that must be slowly absorbed over time.

There is no evidence that magnesium is in this category.

Theodosakis theorizes that all the advantages that are achieved from the magnesium lotion are probably from the massage with which they were used, or the moisturizing ingredients of the lotion.

“You apply a cream or lotion or an ointment that contains an active ingredient, and your skin looks better than a place where you have not applied it,” says Theodosakis. “But this is because the cream itself promotes skin health. Everything that comes like a cream base or an ointment base will automatically be good for the skin.”

The nuance

Despite the lack of evidence, at least one doctor says if magnesium lotion works for them – do it. “I think the risks of applying magnesium to your skin are probably extremely small,” says Dr. John WinkelmanA sleep expert in Harvard.

He said he had at least one patient report with “magnesium butter” to sleep. (“I thought they put it on toast, but no, they rub it on their legs,” says Winkelman.) “She said magnesium butter helped.”

Winkelman says that placebo can be powerful, especially in sleep questions – and he is not the one who discourages the safe secure means for his patients.

But Winkelman does not plan to recommend it soon. Dietary supplements and related products are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means that consumers are susceptible to buy the lotion without knowing exactly what is in it.

There are medically proven treatments for some of the sleeping conditions that Magnesium Lotion allegedly treated. The restless LEGS syndrome, for example – that some influencers say, is relaxed with the use of magnesium lotion – actually tested medical therapies.

“I really don’t have the feeling that it is fair to recommend things that I really don’t consider effective,” says Winkelman. “I am a large supporter of scientific evidence.”

The end result

Although there is no evidence that magnesium lotion promotes sleep or medical problems concerns, experts, including the dermatologist Nichola’s Theodosakis, agree that magnesium lotion will probably not hurt except in the paperback.

He realizes that as a dermatologist he sees many health hunters. “I think it’s just the nature of the skin,” he notes. “It is strongly associated with emotional well -being, psychology and culture. In addition, they only have a lot of it.”