Mineral Research ProjectWhat minerals can you eat to help you

sleep at night, and what are the benefits?

By: Audrey and Amelia

How our questions GREW:

• 1. What minerals are linked with getting better sleep? Magnesium, potassium feldspar, calcium, zinc, and iron

• 2. What food could these minerals be found in?

• 3. What are the benefits of eating these minerals?

• Final question: What minerals can you eat that will help you get better sleep and what are the benefits?

Why we were interested in this topic?

• We did not know much about this topic, and it sparked our interest and curiosity. We both thought it would be worth knowing how you can get a better night’s sleep, so we can inform other people and also get better sleep ourselves.

Obstacles• We came across a lot of obstacles with picking

the project we wanted to make. It was very difficult for us to decide what the project was going to be. First we were going to do minerals in makeup, then in basketballs, then in lacrosse sticks, then in hair care products, then in lotions, then minerals to cure acne, and finally we came with the projects we have now. This was very hard because when we finally decided our project we had little time left so we had to use our time wisely.

5 minerals that help you sleep better are…

Magnesium Potassium Calcium Zinc

Iron

MagnesiumThis functions to relax nerves and muscles and also promotes healthy circulation

throughout your body. Lacking magnesium in you body is linked with several sleep disorders like insomnia and restless leg syndrome. Foods high in the mineral magnesium are some of the most sleep-friendly food around. This is a very important mineral to have. Being deficient in magnesium is a big causing problem of why people can’t fall asleep or why people wake up in the middle of the night a lot, or even when they get a lot of sleep but still feel very tired throughout the day.

Find it in: Bananas, avocados, berries, melons, spinach, swiss chard, cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, black beans, soybeans, tofu, brown rice, millet, wheat and oat bran

Magnesium is in the rock form mineral Talc

Potassium

Potassium: Key mineral for the body to hep relax muscles and nerves, also promotes helpful digestion and circulation in the body. Research has shown a possible genetic link between potassium and slow wave sleep. Slow wave sleep, also known as delta sleep, is the deepest sleep in our sleep cycle, in this stage we get the most restorative sleep.

Find it in: Bananas, leafy greens, mushroom, tomatoes, cauliflower, lima beans, soybeans, lentils, pinto beans, kidney beans, salmon, cod, flounder, and citrus (especially in juice form, like orange juice)

Potassium is found in the rock form mineral potassium feldspar.

Calcium

Calcium: This natural relaxant has a calming effect on the body's nervous system. It plays a direct role in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, that helps to maintain your bodies 24 hour sleep/wake cycle. Which is important as you can probably tell is a key ingredient in getting sleep.Find it in: Low-fat yogurt, milk, cheese, other dairy products, and

fortified orange juice.

Zinc

Zinc: Deficiency in this mineral has been linked to insomnia.

Find it in: Oysters, beef, crab, fortified cereal, chickpeas, yogurt, cheese, cashews, and almonds.

• Zinc comes from the rock mineral form zinc ore.

Iron

Iron: A lack of this mineral can cause symptoms similar to restless leg syndrome.

Find it in: Oysters, clams, beef tenderloin, dark-meat turkey, clams, liver, sunflower seeds, nuts, beef, lamb, beans, whole grains, dark leafy greens (spinach), dark chocolate, and tofu

Focus on…• Magnesium!! We think that lacking magnesium in your body is the main source

of not getting enough sleep at night.

• How magnesium works? In the case of sleep, it’s the primary ingredient in muscle relaxation, it has a “neuro-protective” effect on your body which is crucial for every stage of sleep. It also slows down metabolic processes and lowers brain temperature as your body attempts to repair daily damage during your sleep cycles, and helps regulate important hormones that help you fall asleep, and keep you asleep.

Consequences of being magnesium deficient?Unfortunately, the majority of our population is deficient in magnesium. This means a lot of

people are wondering why they cannot fall asleep, or why they keep waking up in the middle of the night, or even when you feel like you haven't slept at all but in reality slept for over eight hours. With insufficient amounts of magnesium available to carry out these functions, many of these processes become chaotic and fall apart.

Studies have shown that without the actions of magnesium, sleep stages lose their tedious order, becoming erratic and unpredictable in their occurrence. On top of that, when that "nerve-calming" protection is not there anymore, you instead have long periods of wakefulness. This is the most common result of being magnesium deficient.

Melatonin

This is a sleep hormone inside of your body that helps you fall asleep and have a good night's rest. During the day it will make sure you are awake and alert. Melatonin levels naturally rise at night which help you get a good nights rest, and the level of melatonin lowers during the day which makes you alert and awake.

Lacking magnesium in you body, will make simulating melatonin much harder since magnesium plays a big part in melatonin production, and then your sleep quality plummets.

The Experiment We Conducted

• We made an experiment to test if the foods we found and ate for dinner and for a bedtime snack would actually help us get better sleep. We used the app sleepbot to help us track our sleep. We tracked our movement, and the sound we made.

• Meal Plans:Audrey:Dinner: Salmon(potassium), baked potatoes(potassium), banana(potassium), watermelon(magnesium), glass of milk(calcium)Bedtime Snack: banana

Amelia: Dinner: Beef tenderloin(iron), spinach salad(magnesium), berries(magnesium), glass of milk(calcium)Bedtime Snack: 1 slice whole wheat toast and 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Mrs. Stachelski:Dinner: Salmon(potassium), baked potatoes(potassium), banana(potassium), watermelon(magnesium), glass of milk(calcium)Bedtime Snack: 6 ounces low-fat yogurt and a sprinkling of berries

Audrey’s Day One DataSoundMovement

SoundMovement

Amelia’s Day one Data Movement Sound

Amelia’s Day Two DataMovement Sound

Mrs. Stachelski Day One Data

Mrs. Stachelski Day Two Data

SoundMovement

Movement Sound

Site Our Sources

"Want Better Sleep? Change Your Diet." //The Oz Blog//. Michael J. Breus, Phd, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.http://blog.doctoroz.com/oz-experts/want-better-sleep-change-your-diet

"Sleep Well: What to Eat for Better Sleep." Fitness Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

"Materials Science Assessment Task." : Materials Task. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

"Magnesium & Sleep." Magnesium & Sleep. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Picture of Potassium Feldspar:"Potassium." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Picture of Banana:"The Mineral Potassium." //The Mineral Potassium//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Picture of talc:"Mineral 1.0: Photo of Talc." Mineral 1.0: Photo of Talc. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.