Heather Kew, RMT 
Insomnia has been an issue for me for as long as I can remember. I either sleep for long periods of deep, heavy sleep or not at all. When periods of insomnia do come on, I try and get my sleep pattern back into rhythm as quickly as possible and sometimes it takes some help from some natural supplements.
One of my favorite natural supplements for a lot of different reasons is magnesium. Most of us suffer from a magnesium deficiency and it can create some odd symptoms that don't even seem related. Difficultly sleeping, anxiety and muscle soreness are all things that magnesium can help with. Ingesting magnesium supplements is an option, but it can often cause stomach upset for a lot of people, not to mention that you can actually absorb more magnesium through your skin rather than through your diet. To learn more about how magnesium acts in the body, I found this amazing article about it here.
Magnesium lotion is an amazing way to combine essential oils with magnesium to amplify the effects of both of these treatments. It also combines some skin quenching oils and butters to help avoid drying out the skin with magnesium - since it does come in salt form. I love applying this lotion to the bottoms of my feet and my shoulders and neck just before bed. It takes about 30 minutes to take effect, but it really does work!
Magnesium Brine or Oil
Magnesium oil isn't really an oil at all, but rather a brine: a salt dissolved in water. It is really simple to make:
You will need:
50 g Magnesium Flakes
50 g Distilled water
- Boil your distilled water.
- Add your boiling water to the magnesium flakes and stir until dissolved.
Magnesium Lotion
Heat Phase
Oil Phase
10 g Refined Shea Butter
9 g Avocado Oil (or any carrier oil of your choice)
Water Phase
80 g Magnesium Brine
2 g Xanthun Gum
Cool Down Phase
2 g Perservative (Geogard ect)
Essential Oils
18 drops Cedarwood
12 drops Lavender
12 drops Bergamot
6 drops Vetiver
Directions
- Create a Heat Bath - either in a medium sauce pan or in a crock pot, fill 1/3 full of water and place on low heat.
- In a heat resistant container (such as a pyrex measuring cup) measure your Oil Phase ingredients together and place in the heat bath.
- In another heat resistant container, measure your Water phase ingredients together and place in the heat bath.
- Once all ingredients are melted and heated through, removed the Oil Phase and the Water Phase from the heat bath and combine. Blend together, using pulsations with an immersion blender, until the mixture has cooled down to a luke-warm temperature and is a creamy color and consistency.
- Once the mixture has cooled, add in the essential oils and preservatives. Blend until full incorporated.
- Once the lotion is completely cooled, place lotion into a pump top bottle for storage. Make sure to label - my favorite label is this sleepy time label from Oil Culture Labels.
