Is Magnetic Therapy Living Up to All the Hype It's not Getting?

Most people would not normally welcome the idea of sleeping on magnets. There are many misconceptions as to how one interprets “magnet”. Most would think of those small, round black magnets adorning the back of porcelain figurines stuck in endless rows across the front of a refrigerator. Others may see the same setting, but as business card size advertisements for local restaurants, plumbers, or law offices. The latter may be about the closest one could get to what medicinal sleep magnets are really like.

Oriented in concentric circles, medicinal sleep magnets are thin and are usually encased in a soft cover. Even the most scrutinizing sleepers may not tell the difference between their bed and one topped with a magnet cover. So what exactly are the benefits of magnets as sleeping aides? Well, ancient Greeks used magnetized metal rings to treat joint pain as far back as the third century AD. Even today, magnetic therapy is being used worldwide and has been approved for medicinal use in 50 countries including Germany, Israel, and Japan.

These magnets work (in theory) by stimulating positively and negatively charged particles in the blood stream. When these particles start moving around at an accelerated rate, heat is a byproduct. The body’s natural tendency is to pump more blood to the area that is warm to try and cool it down thus transporting more oxygen to the area. This also allows the blood to remove more waste from the surrounding cells which increases the potential for the body to heal itself effectively. One argument with this theory is the idea that the magnetic fields somehow dull pain receptors in the brain and, in turn, release endorphins into the body resulting in an almost euphoric feeling within the patient. In this, the magnets aren’t really helping the body heal, only masking the pain through some sort of chemical reaction.

The short of it: I know some people who have mattresses fabricated around these magnets. I know a few others who use the magnets as jewelry to promote healing and general good health. I have also known some who tried the magnets and could not tell a difference in a few days and subsequently disposed of the magnetic product. The science is there and makes sense but finding a general consensus on the effects produced by medicinal magnets is long from being a reality. If you suffer from joint pain or are just looking for a deeper more restful sleep, you may want to give the magnets a try.