This isn’t a flex, but I’ve always taken sleeping for granted. From the time I was young, I could sleep anywhere – cars, planes, hotel rooms – virtually anywhere. That, plus my nighttime ritual of bathing, always produced an easy night of restful sleep no matter what was on my mind.
Hot flash forward to earlier this year. With the disruption in my hormones, I was a walking, talking mood swing that could not sleep more than 5 hours a night. My internal alarm clock would wake me up at 3:21am on the dot, every single morning, no matter what time I went to bed or what I ingested to promote sleep the night before. I tried every natural supplement to no avail. And as a single mom, I’m not a sleeping-pill-type-of-gal: I have too much fear that if the sh*t came down, I’d be too groggy to protect my kids from {insert every irrational fear here.}
My ah-ha moment came when a wise friend reminded me that our skin is our largest organ, and capable of absorbing things that our bodies may not be able to utilize by taking internally. My thoughts turned to magnesium; a mineral that can help calm our internal systems as our estrogen production declines. While I had tried taking magnesium supplements internally, my research told me that a little pill was unlikely to be enough to help me with my issue.
So, I turned to soaking in magnesium flakes (specifically, magnesium chloride flakes, which are more bioavailable for absorption) as part of my bedtime ritual, to see if there were any noticeable differences. I decided that three nights of baths would be enough to tell if there was any difference – not because that is scientific, but because I live by my mother’s “three date rule” when it comes to decision making about most things.
The first night, I slept 7 hours straight. It was life changing – I had more energy throughout the day, and I felt more like myself than I had in a long time. The second night, I slept 9 hours: I rationalized I was catching up on sleep and had been sleep-deprived. On top of that, I had a calm, drama-free day. And the third night? Another 9 hours of sleep and not one hot flash that day. What the flake? I was ready for a new long-term relationship with magnesium flakes.
Need help with hormone-disrupted sleep? We suggest trying BE’s Magnesium Flakes, sourced from a pristine salt bed in the North Sea region of Europe. While we usually feel that more is better, we suggest that you add only 4 ounces of our highly bioavailable flakes to your warm (not hot) bath and soak for 15-20 minutes for best absorption. Sweet dreams 😊