mineral · for insomnia
Magnesium Glycinate
Calms your nervous system so your body can wind down.
Say that in clinical terms
Magnesium activates the parasympathetic nervous system, enhances GABA-A receptor binding, and regulates melatonin production via N-acetyltransferase. The glycine moiety activates NMDA receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, lowering core body temperature.
How strong is the research?
2 papers read, 2 supporting.
Tested as: magnesium bisglycinate
Who was studied: One trial was 46 elderly Iranians with diagnosed insomnia. A 2025 glycinate trial in adults 18 to 65 is the closer match.
How much to take
daily, 30-60 min before bed
300–400 mg
Glycinate form specifically chosen for sleep due to glycine content. Take consistently every evening.
Before you take it
- NIH ODS Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for supplemental magnesium is 350 mg/day for adults; the principal adverse effect above the UL is osmotic diarrhea; hypermagnesemia is rare with intact renal function but possible with chronically elevated doses.
- Tetracycline antibiotics (e.g., doxycycline, demeclocycline) and quinolone antibiotics (e.g., ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin): take the antibiotic at least 2 hours BEFORE or 4-6 hours AFTER magnesium supplementation, per NIH ODS. Note: this timing requirement is asymmetric.
- Bisphosphonates (e.g., alendronate): magnesium reduces oral bisphosphonate absorption; take at least 2 hours apart, per NIH ODS.
- Antihypertensive medications (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, calcium channel blockers): magnesium may potentiate blood-pressure-lowering effects; blood pressure should be monitored when these are combined.
- Loop diuretics (furosemide) and thiazide diuretics increase renal magnesium excretion; potassium-sparing diuretics decrease magnesium excretion — both are clinically relevant interactions in common patient populations.
- Long-term proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use reduces intestinal magnesium absorption and causes hypomagnesemia independent of dietary intake.
- Renal insufficiency and chronic kidney disease: impaired renal magnesium excretion substantially increases hypermagnesemia risk; supplementation requires medical supervision.
- The antacid effect seen with magnesium hydroxide, carbonate, and oxide forms is form-specific and does not apply to magnesium glycinate at typical supplement doses.
- The cited source RCT (Abbasi 2012) administered 500 mg elemental magnesium per day — 43% above the NIH ODS supplemental UL of 350 mg/day; this dose should not be referenced to support dosing recommendations for general use
When to take it
Best taken: evening
What we make of it
The trial used magnesium oxide in 46 people, and later pooling rated the evidence low quality.
The detail
The study is a genuine trial, but it used 500 mg of magnesium oxide rather than glycinate, in only 46 people. A 2021 pooling of three trials in 151 older adults rated the evidence low to very low quality.