Can Magnesium Help With Schizophrenia?

What is Schizophrenia and How common is it?

Schizophrenia is not very common, but it is a serious mental health problem in the United States. About 1% of people have it. That adds up to about 2.8 million adults living with this illness. It often starts in the late teen years or in early adult life. Schizophrenia can make it hard for someone to think clearly, manage feelings, or connect with other people.

Schizophrenia comes with several symptoms that touch how a person thinks, acts, and feels. These symptoms are often put into three main groups: the “positive,” the “negative,” and the cognitive symptoms.

What are called “positive” symptoms are things like hearing or seeing things that are not really there. A person may also have false beliefs or ideas that are not real. Their speech or thoughts can feel mixed up. These symptoms are called “positive” because they are changes or things added to how a person would normally feel or act.

Negative symptoms are when a person loses or has less ability to-do normal things. This can show up in many ways. A person may not show as much emotion. They might feel less motivated. Some people have a hard time feeling happy. Others may not feel like being around people. It can also be tough for them to handle daily tasks like before.

Cognitive symptoms can cause problems with memory, attention, and making choices. A person may find it hard to concentrate, keep up with talks, or understand what people say.

The severity and mix of symptoms can change a lot from one person to another. These signs can go away and then come back. There may be times when symptoms get worse and then get better.

What causes schizophrenia?

The exact reason why people get schizophrenia is not fully clear. It is thought to happen because of a mix of genes, the body, and things around us.
Genes play a big part. If a person has a close family member with schizophrenia, like a parent or brother or sister, they have a higher chance of getting it too. But, just having the disorder in the family does not mean someone will always get it.

The way the brain works and is built plays a big part too. If the brain does not have the right amount of chemicals like dopamine and glutamate, it can lead to symptoms. Also, brain scans show that people with schizophrenia have some differences in their brains. These can be things like bigger spaces inside the brain, called ventricles, and less activity in some brain areas.

Environmental factors can start schizophrenia in people who already have a higher chance of getting it. These things can be being in contact with viruses or not getting enough food before birth. Problems during birth, bad things that happen in early childhood, or having a lot of stress can also play a part. Using drugs like cannabis, LSD, or methamphetamine when you are a teenager or a young adult can also make the risk go up in some people.

Can nutrient deficiencies like magnesium contribute to schizophrenia?

Not getting enough nutrients can also cause schizophrenia. This can happen with things like calcium, lithium, zinc, and even magnesium. Magnesium is important for your brain and how your nerves work. If you do not have enough magnesium, it can make the signs of schizophrenia much worse. Studies show that people who have schizophrenia often have less magnesium in their blood or brain. When your body is missing magnesium, it may cause more problems with how your brain works. Magnesium helps to control certain chemicals in the brain, like dopamine and glutamate. These are key in schizophrenia. If they get thrown off, a person may have things like seeing or hearing things that are not there, strange beliefs, or mixed up thoughts.

When there is not enough magnesium, the brain can get too much stimulation and feel more stress from damage caused by things in the body. This can make psychotic symptoms worse. Magnesium works by blocking a certain part in the brain called the NMDA receptor. This part deals with glutamate. If it works too much, it can hurt or even kill nerve cells. People who have schizophrenia can have more thinking problems and feel less stable if the NMDA receptor is overactive. Not having enough magnesium can also make it harder to sleep, bring up more worry, and cause people to feel more restless. These problems are seen a lot in people with schizophrenia and can make health worse.

What symptoms of magnesium deficiency overlap with schizophrenia?

Magnesium deficiency can cause many problems in the brain and mind. Many of these problems can be the same as those found in schizophrenia. This can make the condition worse or cause things that look the same as schizophrenia. Some of the main symptoms that can happen in both are:

Low magnesium in the body can make the nervous system more active. This may cause people to feel restless, upset, and uneasy. People with schizophrenia often feel these things too, mainly when they have strong episodes.

Sleep problems like trouble sleeping or having bad sleep happen a lot with both low magnesium and schizophrenia. Magnesium helps your body make melatonin and keeps your nerves calm. When you do not have enough magnesium, it can mess up your sleep. This may also make mental health symptoms feel worse.

Cognitive impairments – Both of these conditions can have problems with focus, remembering things, and feel mixed up in the mind. Magnesium helps with the way brain cells work together and send signals. So, if there is not enough magnesium, it may add to the thinking problems people often have with schizophrenia.

Depression and emotional instability – When there is not enough magnesium in the body, it can lead to low mood and mood swings. People with schizophrenia, especially when they feel less emotion, may feel even less motivated and feel down. A lack of magnesium can make these feelings stronger.

Hallucinations (in severe deficiency) – While it does not happen often, very low magnesium in the body has been linked with signs like seeing or hearing things that are not real, and confusion. These may look a lot like the signs some people with schizophrenia have, such as hearing or seeing things that are not really there.

Muscle twitches or tremors – These are not the main symptoms of schizophrenia. But, when they happen because of low magnesium, they can look like side effects from antipsychotic medicine. In people with this condition, the signs can also seem like other movement problems caused by the medicine.

Because these things can happen at the same time, not having enough magnesium can make schizophrenia symptoms worse. It can also make it hard for doctors to find out what is wrong or how to treat it. By making sure you get enough magnesium in your food or with supplements, and doing this with your doctor's help, you may feel a bit better. This can also help support your mind and body.

So, taking magnesium can be helpful. Why not try our Upgraded Magnesium today?