Magnesium Supplements Might Help You Fall Asleep Better
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With the use of sleep-related supplements becoming more of the norm by the day, it’s only fair to be curious about the different kinds that are available. In fact, 8.4 percent of adults used sleep medication every day or most days in the past 30 days, per a survey done by the CDC in 2020. While you may be most familiar with melatonin (a.k.a., the supplement form of your body's sleep hormone), magnesium is another sleep aid to consider.
It’s also worth calling out that if you struggle getting to sleep or staying asleep, you’re not alone. More than 35 percent of all adults in the U.S. report sleeping on average for less than seven hours per night while adults between the ages of 18 and 64 should really be clocking at least seven to nine hours of sleep per night, according to the CDC.
It’s pretty much a given that going through your day feeling tired can negatively affect your mood, performance at school or work, and overall productivity. So the idea of a supplement that can help you get some shut-eye is certainly appealing.
Still, you should always speak with your doctor before giving any new supps a try, including magnesium. “Magnesium is reasonably safe because we need it in our diet to survive," says Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD, head sleep expert and neuroscientist at Wesper. "But before you start on any supplement or medication protocol, chat with your doctor to make sure that it’s not going to cause long-term health issues or interact with other medications you might be taking."
Curious to know more? Read on to learn what magnesium is, what its benefits are, and how it differs from melatonin.
Meet the experts: W. Christopher Winter, MD, is a sleep medicine and neurology expert. He is the author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How To Fix It. Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD, is the head sleep expert and neuroscientist at Wesper. Nicole Avena, PhD, is a research neuroscientist, author, and associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Rami N. Khayat, MD, is the medical director of the University of California, Irvine Health Sleep Medicine Services.
What is magnesium?
Magnesium is a mineral that assists more than 300 enzymes to carry out various chemical reactions in the body, including:
Blood glucose control
Blood pressure regulation
Energy production
Glycolysis
Muscle and nerve function
Oxidative phosphorylation
Protein synthesis
Magnesium also acts as an electrical conductor that contracts muscles and makes the heart beat steadily, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Can magnesium really help you sleep?
Yes, according to some evidence, says W. Christopher Winter, MD, the author of The Sleep Solution and a board-certified sleep specialist at Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia.
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For one, magnesium is an important player in many of the steps that allow you to take protein and convert it into the chemicals that help you feel sleepy, explains Dr. Winter. It also helps calm the nervous system down, helping it work more efficiently.
Magnesium also plays a role in muscle relaxation and nerve function. That's why magnesium is often a supplement docs use to help people with managing symptoms of restless leg syndrome, adds Dr. Winter.
Additionally, this mineral helps the body maintain levels of GABA (or gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that is responsible for "turning off" wakefulness.
What are the other health benefits of magnesium?
Magnesium can help the body's dopamine levels rise, which can improve your mood, says Dr. Winter. And if migraines are keeping you up, well, it can help alleviate those too, according to the American Migraine Foundation.
Overall, magnesium can have a calming effect on the body. In fact, it has the potential to improve anxiety symptoms in anxiety-prone people, as well as PMS-related anxiety in women, according to 2017 research published in the journal Nutrients. “It can help relax muscles, and because it can increase the function of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, that adds to its ability to help reduce anxiety,” says Nicole Avena, PhD, a research neuroscientist, author, and associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
“The link between magnesium’s effect on GABA is also related to depression,” Avena adds. “Chronically low levels of GABA have been shown to be a factor in depression, so taking a magnesium supplement can boost GABA, which could help reduce depression in some cases,” she explains. Case in point: Magnesium was an effective supplement for treating mild to moderate depression, a 2017 study of 126 people with symptoms of depression suggested. Sixty-one percent of study participants also reported that they'd continue using magnesium for depression symptoms in the future.
What can make you deficient in magnesium?
“Magnesium is pretty easy to get from your diet,” Avena says. “However, if you are not getting enough magnesium in your diet, you are at risk for a deficiency.” People who have a poor, imbalanced diet in general, anyone who cannot absorb magnesium due to overuse of laxatives, or folks who have kidney issues or diabetes may be more at risk for a magnesium deficit, according to 2017 research in Scientifica.
Additionally, the elderly can also benefit from these kinds of supplements. "The elderly tend to have more sleep issues, and they tend to have more muscular skeletal issues," says Rohrscheib. "Magnesium will help with muscle relaxation." She adds that other groups who may be deficient include those with digestive disorders like Crohn's Disease, allergies, and highly restrictive diets.
Still, plenty of people don't meet the daily recommended magnesium intake (this could be the case with nearly two-thirds of the Western population, a Scientifica study estimates). FYI, the Recommended Dietary Allowance for adults 19 to 51+ years is 310 to 320 mg for women and 350 to 360 mg for those who are pregnant, per the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Lack of magnesium could lead to symptoms including muscle twitches, cramping, depression, fatigue, and even high blood pressure, per Avena.
What foods are high in magnesium?
You can (and should) try to get a solid amount of magnesium from your diet. So you don't have to turn to a supplement unless you do have a diagnosed deficiency, says Dr. Winter.
That means adding more foods like almonds, spinach, soy milk, peanut butter, and avocado, which are all good sources of magnesium, to your meals. It's also commonly found in dairy products like eggs, milk and yogurt, Avena adds, along with bananas.
If your diet is low in dairy or plant foods such as almonds, bananas, and spinach, it might be worth talking to your doctor about taking a supplement.
So, magnesium is safe to take for sleep?
In essence, yes. A good, moderate dose of magnesium is about 100 to 350 milligrams daily, says Dr. Winter. That dose should be void of any side effects.
Avena reiterates that the best form of magnesium for the body’s absorption comes from food, but there are many supplement options available. You can try it in pill, powder, or gummy form; it’s really up to personal preference. But it’s probably easiest to take a gummy, Avena says.
Magnesium is not classified as a sleep aid, she points out, so you don’t need to worry about what time to take it before bed. Basically, it’s not going to knock you out, “but it can help to calm and relax you if taken one hour or so before you settle in for the evening,” says Avena.
That said, even if you take it with the intention of falling asleep, that may not happen, says Rami N. Khayat, MD, medical director of the University of California, Irvine Health Sleep Medicine Services.
"I recommend that patients decide what benefit they're trying to get from the supplement, and then take it semi-regularly for two to three weeks," says Dr. Khayat. "If it's not working, they can either abandon it completely or try a different brand or preparation. If it works, they can take it regularly—it's not harmful if it remains in a limited dose."
What is the best type of magnesium for sleep?
There are many kinds of magnesium supplements on the market. However, there are two that can be specifically helpful for sleep, according to Rohrscheib: magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate. Here's how the two differ.
Magnesium glycinate:
This form of magnesium is most involved with the neurotransmitter GABA. Its function is to send messages to block signals from your central nervous system to produce a calming effect on the body, according to Cleveland Clinic. “When magnesium glycinate is present, it stimulates the production and activity of the GABA neurotransmitter,” says Rohrscheib. “It has to be highly active to initiate and maintain sleep."
Magnesium L-threonate:
There’s evidence that this supplement can improve cognition, but it can also help with stress and anxiety, per a 2022 study in Nutrients. “Stress and anxiety are probably the number one reason why people develop things like insomnia,” says Rohrscheib. “So if you can do anything before bed, including taking a supplement that has a relaxation effect, that can certainly help you sleep a bit better.”
To avoid taking too much magnesium, do not take these two together without consulting your doctor first, adds Rohrscheib.
What are the side effects of taking too much magnesium?
If you go above that 350-milligram threshold, you’ll likely notice some diarrhea. In fact, milk of magnesia can be loaded in magnesium (one tablespoon might have 500 milligrams)—hence why it’s used as a laxative.
And very large doses of magnesium—like upwards of 5,000 milligrams a day—can lead to magnesium toxicity, which can cause heartbeat irregularities, impaired kidney function, or even cardiac arrest, according to Oregon State University research. But again, that’s in extremely high doses and isn't something to worry about if you take any amount within the daily recommended intake.
Is magnesium better for sleep than melatonin?
Actually, magnesium and melatonin are addressing two different things in regard to sleep. “Magnesium can help with relaxing and calming your body, while melatonin will directly lead to hormonal changes that can cause you to fall asleep,” says Avena.
Melatonin will more directly affect your sleep and likely have a stronger affect on sleep habits compared to magnesium, which will mainly just help relax you before bed. “It may be best to try magnesium first to help calm you before you rest at night,” Avena says. “And if you find that it doesn't do the trick, then consider trying melatonin.”
Bottom line: Magnesium supplement may help you relax if you're having a hard time calming down at bedtime, says Dr. Winter, but you can get enough via your diet. And if falling asleep at night is a chronic issue, it's time to check in with your doc.
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