Habits and Hustle
Episode 406: Ana Marie Schick: Using Magnesium for Sleep Fitness + Why You Should Skip the Gummies
Fri, 13 Dec 2024
Do you struggle to fall asleep at night, tossing and turning for hours? Many people turn to magnesium supplements, alcohol, or even marijuana gummies to help them drift off. But did you know these supposed solutions could be doing more harm than good? In this Fitness Friday episode, I am joined by Ana Marie Schick to discuss how to reach the deep, restorative stages of sleep your body needs to truly rest and recover. We discuss the surprising truth about magnesium supplements and sleep and why alcohol and marijuana gummies sabotage your sleep quality. We also share simple, effective strategies to wind down and get the restful sleep you need. Ana Marie discovered through three decades of training and coaching athletes, executives, and individuals that sleep was a critical yet overlooked component of recovery and optimal performance. Noticing a significant gap in sleep knowledge and practical solutions, she joined forces with the co-founders of Sleepme Inc. Her expertise in health, fitness, and sleep enabled her to develop innovative approaches to improve sleep quality while serving as a subject matter expert at Sleepme. She contributes to developing effective sleep solutions for individuals seeking to enhance their overall well-being. What we discuss: Magnesium and its role in promoting sleep Different forms of magnesium The negative effects of using alcohol, marijuana gummies, and sleep medications Falling asleep too quickly can be a sign of sleep deprivation The importance of establishing a personalized pre-sleep routine Thank you to our sponsors: Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off TruNiagen: Head over to truniagen.com and use code HUSTLE20 to get $20 off any purchase over $100. Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout. BiOptimizers: Want to try Magnesium Breakthrough? Go to https://bioptimizers.com/jennifercohenand use promo code JC10 at checkout to save 10% off your purchase. Timeline Nutrition: Get 10% off your first order at timeline.com/cohen Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers. Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements Find more about Ana Marie Schick: Website: https://sleep.me/experts/ana-marie-schick
Chapter 1: What role does magnesium play in sleep?
Hey friends, you're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits & Hustle podcast, where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self. So stay tuned and let me know how you leveled up. What about magnesium? Why is it that magnesium helps us fall asleep?
So magnesium, again, so many different forms of magnesium.
Chapter 2: What are the different forms of magnesium?
That's the other question I was going to have. There's so many different forms of magnesium. How do you know which one actually works for what? Because it's confusing for me. This is what I do.
So what magnesium ultimately, in a nutshell, it is for muscle and tissue relaxation, right? So a lot of people have the tension from the day, from the stress, from the workouts, from your day-to-day activities. And so the magnesium helps to release that tension, relieve that, and get into balance. and stay into that sleep cycle, those sleep cycles that you want to be in.
A lot of people like to take magnesium or Epsom salt baths, right? So again, a different form of magnesium, and you can absorb it through your skin as well. And then the bath, the warm bath, helps you kind of relax. So whatever, whether you're taking it or whether you're absorbing it, cutaneously, whatever you find that helps you. And that's what we tell people.
We've got to meet you where you're at. What helps you and what doesn't help you? And a lot of this has to do with documenting. Just like when you're doing a fitness plan or a nutrition plan, what seems to be working and what can we tweak? What can we change? So that has a lot to do with it. So a lot of people will find that
The wrong types of magnesium at the wrong types of day because excessive amounts of magnesium can also cause you to use the restroom. So it's typically when I supplement with magnesium, which I do, I take mine at night because I know that I feel like it helps me fall asleep. And I don't take a sleep supplement. We're trying to get people off of dependency of chemicals in general. Right.
And this includes alcohol. This includes… Marijuana.
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Chapter 3: How do alcohol and gummies affect sleep quality?
And these are all, by the way, ways that people are medicating themselves, like Ambien, marijuana, whatever, to fall asleep. So I'm glad that you said that because what I was going to ask you is like a lot of people I know are taking gummies to fall asleep. That's like the new Ambien thing. Especially here where I live in LA, right?
Like, I don't even think it's only in LA, but like, it's because it's legal. They're like, okay, I'm going to pop a gummy. It will calm me down. It will like de-stress me. And then I'm going to go to sleep. What is the effects of using gummies as a way to fall asleep? Marijuana? Is it the same type of effect as alcohol in terms of the sleep quality that people are getting?
So the sleep quality is terrible. I have not spoken yet to someone who can show me their hypnograph, their sleep quality, having fallen asleep using CBD, THC, marijuana, alcohol. They'll fall asleep fast. but they won't stay asleep and get quality sleep. And especially with alcohol, they won't stay asleep because A, it's a diuretic. They'll have to get up and use the restroom.
Chapter 4: Why is falling asleep too quickly a concern?
And B, it elevates their body temperature. So they're not going to get that deep sleep, right? Because it's sugar. So you're burning off that sugar, the alcohol, and so it elevates your body temperature. You may fall asleep, but it's not going to be quality sleep. And then the same thing happens with marijuana. What we have found in hypnographs is that even though it mellows you out,
It's not slow brain waves that occur, so it's not deep sleep that occurs. So they might get sleep, but it's not quality sleep. It's not restful sleep. What is it then? It's very light stages of sleep.
So there's no benefits to it. You're not getting the muscle repair, the hormone, the human growth hormone. You're not getting the emotional, as you were saying earlier, REM sleep. Well, they might get some REM sleep.
They'll probably have the vivid dreams, right? Right, that part. They'll get that part. So they're sorting through the memories, but then they're never getting to the point where they're filing them permanently. Right, and restoring their body. And restoring, right. And so that's an issue that, you know, people are like, oh, but I have to have my gummies to fall asleep.
Again, maybe here and there might be your stopgap solution because you can't fall asleep. Right, right. I'm not going to say nobody should ever do it. I'm not going to recommend it either. But sleep quality is just not there. It is just not there with people that use gummies for sleep. What's worse? I'm sorry. I hate to be the messenger.
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Chapter 5: What should be included in a personalized pre-sleep routine?
Yeah, I don't know. I like to know these things. What's worse, alcohol or THC for sleeping?
I mean, I think they're one in the same when you look at someone's sleep score. They're the same? I would say so. Probably worse as alcohol, mainly because of the effects that it has on the metabolism and on body temperature. But I would say either way, it's just not sustainable for quality sleep over a long period of time. It just isn't.
You know, people a lot of times, excuse the interruption, a lot of times people say, oh, I had some procedure and I had the Michael Jackson drug or I had the propofol. It's also not restful sleep. When a nurse comes in and says, get ready for a nice nap, it's a nap, but it's not a nice nap. It's not quality sleep. Again, they've tracked brainwaves of people who are under anesthesia.
It's very light sleep. It's sleep. You're closing your eyes, but it is not quality sleep.
Wow. I find this so interesting. Like you were even saying earlier, what I was blown away by is how people who fall asleep quick, that means they're actually sleep deprived. I didn't realize that. And I want to talk to you more about that because I'm really curious about that. And I'm also curious, and I've always wondered this, like a lot of people, this is what I do to fall asleep.
I know it's considered to be a bad sleep hygiene, but I like to watch comedy before I fall Like, not like, I don't like to watch dramas or thrillers, but comedy because it puts me in a happy mood, makes me smile, and I can doze off, like, and my brain is not having to, like, think of something that's, like, that's antagonizing to me, right?
Yeah.
And then I fall asleep. I like to watch Frasier or stand-up comedy. How is that not good if it actually gets me to sleep?
That's a really good question. And I'll start answering it by saying, I could already tell what that does for you because of your smiling and your body language and telling me about it. It's mindset, right? So again, the signals that we're giving our brain, like, this is a good thing for me. Relax. Relax. I'm smiling. I'm happy.
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