I will go into deep and uninterrupted sleep tonight, or so they say.

This is what first came to mind when I put on my new cap that purports to relieve stress through the (allegedly) curative properties of magnetism. I bought this gadget from a hair and skin care center in Jeddah for a mere SR400.

The packaging that contains this magical hat says that I should wear it under my ghotra (the Saudi headdress for men) throughout the day to gradually bring down my vital statistics to healthier, more restful levels. The vendor at this hair and skin center said the cap — which could be worn by men or women — would cure insomnia; wear the cap day or night with no side effects!

The vendor also helpfully recommended a magnetic bracelet for weight loss. But being a skinny guy, I wasn’t impressed until I learned from the vendor (and the manufacturer’s website) that these magnetic products are also good for arthritis, rheumatism, back pain, headaches, blood pressure and circulation, coughs, asthma and congestion. These amazing products would also give me more energy and, um, vitality. Oh, and if that’s not enough: Magnets also help to maintain smooth, silky skin and even fights baldness!

The website of the manufacturer also was helpful enough to point out that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends magnetic therapy to drugs. Actually, the WHO makes no claims about the benefits of putting magnets on your body. In fact, New York City’s prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center not only points out that no studies have supported the health benefits of magnetism but warns people with pacemakers not to use this treatment because it may interfere with the mechanics of the device.

“Evidence supporting the use of magnetic therapies for the above conditions are limited,” says the Sloan-Kettering website, pointing out that clinical studies have found no difference in people who used magnetic therapy and people who took a placebo. “State consumer protection agencies and the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) have prosecuted various marketers of magnetized devices and therapies, forcing them to halt unsubstantiated claims of health benefits.”

Dr. Mahmoud Abdul Jawwad, assistant director general of health affairs for the private sector in Jeddah, said the Health Ministry has no department to regulate alternative medicine and that the only such procedure it licenses is acupuncture.

“We are not able to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong in these practices,” he said, explaining why the Health Ministry lets the authorities deal with practitioners of healing “techniques.” Abdul Jawwad said his department has stopped some of these shysters, such as a woman who claimed she could control energy to cure disease, a man who claimed he could treat illness with fish and another who was using a divining rod (also commonly known as a stick) to heal people.

Other authorities are involved in arresting people engaged in health care confidence rackets. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice regularly arrests people who provide black magic or folkloric curatives, but as far as magnetism is concerned, apparently, the verdict is still out and products making incredible claims are freely available in shops.

As far as my magnetic cap is concerned, it really hasn’t helped with my insomnia.