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There are a number of reasons you might be feeling fatigued lately—poor sleep, stress, an active toddler perhaps? But one sneaky culprit behind fatigue you may not have considered is a mineral deficiency.

How a magnesium deficiency can contribute to fatigue

Magnesium is an essential mineral that helps keep our bodies functioning at their best, and when you aren’t getting enough of it, you’ll definitely notice a difference (even if you don’t realize it’s the lack of magnesium behind your symptoms).

As registered dietitian nutritionist, Natalie Butler, RDN, L.D., previously wrote for mindbodygreen, fatigue and exhaustion are generalized symptoms of a magnesium deficiency. “You may attribute your tiredness to stress, poor sleep, or a host of other reasons and not realize just how much nutrition is playing a role,” she says, adding, “This is because magnesium is required for the production of energy. If the body has inadequate access to magnesium, then energy production suffers, leaving you prone to fatigue.”

To that end, chronic inflammation is associated with fatigue as well, furthering the importance of making sure your magnesium levels are adequate to keep both inflammation and fatigue in check.

What to do about it

If you think you could be deficient in magnesium, the only way to know for sure is to test your levels with either a blood or urine sample.

But as Butler explains, “While you’ll need formal testing to know if you’re clinically deficient, you can also add more magnesium-rich foods to your diet or try a magnesium supplement to see if your symptoms improve.” After all, she notes, research on chronic fatigue syndrome2 has indicated that magnesium actually provides nutritional support to combat fatigue.

The takeaway

Fatigue is certainly no fun, especially when you can’t figure out why you’re feeling exhausted. If that sounds all too familiar, including more magnesium in your routine could be the missing link you’re looking for.