You Need Magnesium for Daily Living and Strong Rides, But Taking It to Improve Sleep Is Questionable
To be a successful athlete, you need a solid nutrition and exercise plan, but good sleep hygiene also plays a crucial role. That’s likely why so many of us search the internet in hopes to find magical ways to improve our nighttime rest. (Also, so we can simply stay awake during the day!)
Much like melatonin, magnesium has recently been highlighted as a nutrient you can use to get better shut-eye. But could these claims be fluffier than the pillow you sleep on at night?
We asked two experts to explain the benefits of magnesium for sleep, how magnesium works in general, and whether you should stock up on supplements. Here’s what they had to say.
What is magnesium and how does it help you function?
Magnesium is an electrolyte and therefore, a key nutrient cyclists need to monitor and replenish after a hard workout. It can be found in a wide variety of foods like nuts, seeds, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, beef, poultry, seafood, and a variety of drinks that contain electrolytes. Also, you can take it as a supplement in the form of pills, soft gels, powders, or tablets.
Magnesium is important in producing a number of different functions throughout the body, Alon Avidan, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Disorder Center at the University of California Los Angeles tells Bicycling. For example, it helps regulate muscle and nerve functions, and it plays a role in your circadian rhythm, which is your normal sleep and wake pattern, Avidan explains. Magnesium also helps maintain blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and it helps your body produce protein, bone, and DNA.
More specifically, magnesium is responsible for moving things in and out of cells, which means it plays a role in energy-requiring metabolic processes, protein synthesis, nerve conduction, and muscle contraction, Joseph Schellenberg, M.D., a pulmonologist who specializes in sleep medicine at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Easton, Pennsylvania tells Bicycling.
While daily recommended amounts of magnesium vary depending on age and gender, men should aim to consume about 400 to 420 milligrams a day and women 310 to 320 milligrams (those pregnant or lactating need more), either from diet alone or with supplementation, according to the National Institutes of Health.
So, whether you’re going for a long bike ride or just living your daily life, you need magnesium. But when it comes to better sleep, it might not play the biggest role.
What are the benefits of magnesium for sleep, specifically?
If you’re searching for ways to sleep better or have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, like insomnia or restless leg syndrome, you might have heard that consuming more magnesium can help. While there is some truth to this claim, it’s subjective and results vary from person to person.
Some scientific evidence suggests that magnesium can positively impact your sleep, even if you haven’t been diagnosed with a sleeping disorder. A recent systematic review published in the journal Biological Trace Element Research in 2022, examining nine total studies and involving more than 7,500 participants, found that the observational studies reveal a link between magnesium status and improved sleep quality, as observed by daytime tiredness, snoring, and sleep duration. The randomized controlled trials involved in the study, however, showed mixed results on whether magnesium intake influenced sleep quality.
In the end, researchers concluded we need larger and more long-term studies, which involve control groups, to clarify the relationship between magnesium and sleep.
Researchers of another systematic review and meta-analysis published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies in 2021, involving three studies and more than 150 older adults, could not definitively conclude magnesium supplementation had a positive effect on sleep in those with insomnia. This was after comparing the sleep parameters of those who took magnesium—such as how quickly they fell asleep, total sleep time, insomnia severity index scores, and sleep quality questionnaire scores—to placebo groups. Researchers suggested magnesium supplementation had somewhere between a positive and null effect on sleeping disorders.
If you have insomnia, however, Avidan says it could be triggered by a magnesium deficiency, because the nutrient plays an important role in the chemical process that helps you fall asleep. Therefore, if you’re deficient and have issues with restless leg syndrome or an irregular sleeping pattern, then taking a magnesium supplement may be beneficial, Avidan explains. But it’s important to see your doctor to help pinpoint this. A blood test would reveal if you’re low on the nutrient.
On the flip side, Schellenberg says many factors can play a role in sleep problems, including underlying medical conditions, like anxiety and depression, so magnesium is not always the culprit and it’s actually uncommon to be deficient.
“It’s very hard for a person with a normal healthy diet and no significant underlying medical conditions to have magnesium storage problems. So, the benefits of magnesium supplementation are likely to be minimal,” says Schellenberg. People with intestinal malabsorption problems, severe osteoporosis, and kidney conditions can all be more prone to low magnesium levels because it’s absorbed through the small intestine, stored in bone, and resorbed when needed by the kidney, he explains.
Most people don’t need to worry about their magnesium levels, Avidan adds, but if you are dealing with alcohol abuse or an age-related chronic condition that limits dietary absorption, such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or type 2 diabetes, then you might be at risk for having low levels of the nutrient. Again, your doctor can tell you your magnesium levels after a simple blood test, so they’ll be able to warn you if your levels are dangerously low.
If you don’t consume enough of this nutrient, Avidon says you may experience fatigue, weakness, muscle cramps, seizures, and even abnormal heart rates. But the likelihood of experiencing these symptoms is rare.
If you and your doctor decide you do need to supplement your diet, look for something that includes about 250 milligrams of magnesium, Avidan says.
Are there risks to increasing your magnesium intake or taking a supplement?
You can consume too much magnesium—about 5,000 milligrams or more per day. If you over do it, Avidan says you may be at risk for magnesium poisoning, which may lead to projectile vomiting, diarrhea, and muscle weakness.
“It’s hard to get your bodies to overdose on magnesium because most of it you’ll just sort of excrete out and get rid of it,” Schellenberg adds.
As we mentioned earlier, if you maintain a balanced and healthy diet, filled with fruits and vegetables, and don’t have an underlying condition, you likely won’t need to rely on magnesium supplements (or any supplements, for that matter) to ensure your fully nourished. Also, know that the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, meaning what appears on the label isn’t always what’s in the bottle.
If you do decide to supplement, it’s always smart to talk to your doctor first to determine any risk or contraindications.
The bottom line on magnesium for sleep
There is limited research to back up the claim that increasing your magnesium intake will improve your overall sleep quality, especially if you don’t have a sleeping disorder. So, if you would like a good night rest, both Avidan and Schellenberg suggest you start by reviewing your sleep schedule, and ensuring you have a calm, cool, quiet, dark, and comfortable bedroom with no electronics. It might also require addressing things like anxiety and depression.
If sleep problems persist, consider talking to you doctor about arranging a sleep study to identify any, “intrinsic sleep disorders, which can include things like obstructive sleep apnea, and then restless legs,” says Schellenberg. From there, he says your doctor can help you find a solution to your sleeping aliments. Just don’t be surprised if magnesium isn’t the first suggestion.
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