Magnesium for Restful Sleep: The Benefits and Form You Need
Could your sleep problems be sabotaging your brain health? Sleep is a crucial part of keeping your brain strong now and in your later years. Yet, sleep issues are widespread, often linked to factors like sleep disorders, unhealthy habits, or even a lack of key nutrients in your diet. One of the nutrients often considered for its impact on sleep is magnesium. If you’re among the 1/3 of Americans missing out on restful nights, magnesium might be the missing piece.1
Magnesium is the second most abundant mineral in the human body and is involved in over 600 enzymatic reactions.2 It’s key for numerous body functions, yet up to 50% of Americans consume less than the recommended intake of magnesium, and close to 80% of the elderly are deficient.3 This deficiency can stem from poor dietary intake, health conditions, or reduced absorption with age. As we get older, your total magnesium levels decrease, largely due to a reduction in bone mass, which is the body’s primary magnesium storehouse.4 A deficiency in magnesium can affect everything from energy production to muscle function and, importantly, sleep quality.
But could this mineral be the key to improving your sleep quality? How exactly does magnesium support better sleep, and which form should you be taking? In this article, we'll explore how magnesium can help you sleep better and answer these important questions.
Magnesium’s Various Roles in Your Sleep
Without enough magnesium, the body's ability to regulate sleep is compromised, often leading to poor rest and sleep disruptions. However, when magnesium levels are adequate, you can experience a range of benefits for your sleep, with evidence suggesting taking magnesium before bed may help to improve your sleep quality through a combination of mechanisms.5
- Regulates melatonin production, which is helpful for maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm, allowing you to fall asleep and wake up at consistent times.6
- Helps slow down brain activity and puts you in a calm state by boosting the production of GABA, a neurotransmitter. GABA binds to specific receptors in the brain, helping to reduce the nervous system's excitability and promote relaxation.4
- Lowers cortisol levels, the body's primary stress hormone. By reducing cortisol, magnesium eases stress and allows the body to wind down.6
- Promotes muscle relaxation, which can be particularly beneficial for people who suffer from restless legs syndrome or muscle cramps that interfere with sleep.5
- Enhances the quality of deep, slow-wave sleep, the stage of sleep crucial for brain restoration and physical recovery.7
- Reduces anxiety by calming the nervous system. Lower anxiety levels make it easier to relax and unwind before bed.6
How Much Magnesium Should You Be Getting?
For optimal sleep and overall brain health, it's important to meet the recommended daily intake of magnesium. Adult males should aim for 420 mg per day, while adult females should target 320 mg.8 If you're unsure whether you're getting enough magnesium, NeuroReserve Medical Advisor, Dr. Annie Fenn offers a helpful short quiz to assess your intake and guide you towards the right amount for your needs. You can access it by joining her Substack community and visiting this article she recently published.
How To Increase Your Magnesium Levels
A crucial aspect of ensuring adequate magnesium intake is your diet. To boost your magnesium levels, focus on increasing your consumption of magnesium-rich foods such as nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, and dark green leafy vegetables.4 Adopting a Mediterranean or MIND diet can be particularly effective, as these dietary approaches are rich in these magnesium sources and have been associated with improved sleep quality and lower risk of sleep disorders.9 Alongside a good diet, supplementing with magnesium can be another option, as it allows you to choose specific forms that are best suited for enhancing your sleep.
The Best Magnesium Form for Better Sleep
We’ve explored the different forms of magnesium and their specific uses previously here. Dr. Annie Fenn also has a recommended list of magnesium supplements here. For improving sleep and relaxation, magnesium glycinate is the preferred choice. Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine, which offers several benefits:10
High Bioavailability: Magnesium glycinate has been shown to have the highest bioavailability out of all the salt forms of magnesium. Glycine enhances the absorption of magnesium, ensuring it effectively reaches your cells.
Ability to Cross the Blood Brain Barrier: Its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and increase magnesium levels in the brain contributes to better sleep and memory by interacting with NMDA receptors, which are crucial for information transfer between neurons.
Enhanced Calming Effect: Glycine has gentle calming properties that work synergistically with magnesium to promote relaxation, helping you achieve a restful state
Gentler on the Stomach: Magnesium glycinate is known for being gentler on the stomach compared to other forms, minimizing digestive discomfort while delivering the benefits of magnesium.
Smaller Dosage to Achieve Maximum Results: Other forms require higher dosages which can end up being quite costly. With this form, a smaller dosage of around 50-500mgs (depending on how much magnesium foods you eat) allows you to enjoy its full benefits.
Keep in mind that magnesium not only enhances your sleep but also supports overall brain health; by improving your sleep, you’re fostering better cognitive function, and vice versa. This simple addition to your routine can make a huge impact. Focus on eating more magnesium-rich foods, and if you’re in an older age group, struggle with diet, or have a digestive disorder or diabetes, consider supplementation to help ensure you’re getting the benefits you need.
Our brain health supplement, RELEVATE, features magnesium bisglycinate, for many of the reasons listed above plus its ability to maximize sleep and brain health benefits. In addition to magnesium bisglycinate, RELEVATE includes other sleep-promoting nutrients like vitamin D, L-theanine, and catechins. Nearly 50% of RELEVATE users have reported improved sleep quality.11 RELEVATE is designed to fill in nutritional gaps with diet-achievable doses, but pairing it with a balanced diet is crucial.
For added support, Our Medical Advisor Dr. Annie Fenn's Brain Health Kitchen Cookbook offers over 100 recipes focused on Mediterranean and MIND diet foods, rich in magnesium and other sleep boosting nutrients, complemented by scientific insights. Dr. Fenn also recommends the Litbear sleep mask, to help enhance sleep by blocking light and promoting deep rest. Through the end of this month, our Brain Healthy Nutrition Starter Pack includes Dr. Fenn's cookbook, two bottles of RELEVATE, and a complimentary Litbear sleep mask, providing a comprehensive approach to improving your sleep health and overall well-being. Use code ANNIESLEEP at checkout to receive the sleep mask and order here.
References
1. Sleep Statistics and Facts. https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/sleep/sleep-statistics/.
2. de Baaij, J. H. F., Hoenderop, J. G. J. & Bindels, R. J. M. Magnesium in man: implications for health and disease. Physiol Rev 95, 1–46 (2015).
3. Rosanoff, A., Weaver, C. M. & Rude, R. K. Suboptimal magnesium status in the United States: are the health consequences underestimated? Nutr Rev 70, 153–164 (2012).
4. Abbasi, B. et al. The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Res Med Sci 17, 1161 (2012).
5. Zhang, Y. et al. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study. Sleep 45, 1–8 (2022).
6. Cao, Y. et al. Magnesium Intake and Sleep Disorder Symptoms: Findings from the Jiangsu Nutrition Study of Chinese Adults at Five-Year Follow-Up. Nutrients 2018, Vol. 10, Page 1354 10, 1354 (2018).
7. Mah, J. & Pitre, T. Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther 21, 1–11 (2021).
8. Al Alawi, A. M., Majoni, S. W. & Falhammar, H. Magnesium and Human Health: Perspectives and Research Directions. Int J Endocrinol 2018, (2018).
9. fallah, M., Aminianfar, A. & Esmaillzadeh, A. Mediterranean diet adherence and sleep pattern: a systematic review of observational studies. BMC Nutr 10, 1–10 (2024).
10. Choosing the Best Magnesium Supplement (and Form) for Brain Health and – NeuroReserve Inc. https://neuroreserve.com/blogs/articles/choosing-the-best-magnesium-supplement-and-form-for-brain-health-and-beyond.
11. RELEVATE User Experience Study, RELEVATE Direct-to-Consumer users, administered through AYTM (2022).
