Insomniacs say natural supplement helps them sleep through the night... and science says they're right
Sleep-deprived Americans are turning to a common drugstore supplement in droves after Reddit users hailed magnesium as a 'game-changer' for insomnia.
Fans claim magnesium glycinate, a gentler form of the mineral, helps them drift off without digestive distress.
Magnesium glycinate is having a moment, with wellness experts, TikTok influencers, and some sleep specialists singing its praises online for its ability to improve sleep and reduce anxiety.
Magnesium is commonly found in legumes, peanut butter, leafy greens, soybeans, among many other foods. It is critical for hundreds of basic biochemical processes, including muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, the ability of cells to create proteins, and blood pressure regulation.
It also calms the nervous system before bed, relaxes the muscles, and helps produce the sleep hormone melatonin.
Over 70 million Americans struggle with insomnia, and around a quarter of Americans experience daytime sleepiness as a result.
Magnesium has been shown in double-blind placebo-controlled trials, the research gold standard, to extend a person's time asleep, improve sleep quality, increase the concentration of melatonin, and decrease the stress hormone cortisol.
For sleep improvement, it is crucial to choose magnesium glycinate over magnesium citrate, which is a laxative.
The recommended daily amount of magnesium is 320 milligrams (mg) a day for women and 420 mg a day for men.
Blood tests can show whether someone is deficient in magnesium, which can lead to muscle cramps and fatigue, or more serious conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The normal range for blood magnesium is 1.7 to 2.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
One fan of the supplement on Reddit said: 'It does really improve my sleep in my own experience.
'When I tried magnesium, it's the first time in like decades that I'm sleeping straight for like eight to nine hours. I used to sleep like six hours a day.'
Another person said: 'Magnesium did wonders for my restless legs and overall capability to rest. Great stuff!'
A third added: 'I've taken magnesium for the past five years and swear by it.'
Some people mentioned, though, that the benefits to their sleep were short-lived, with one saying: 'It's effects wore off after doing it two nights in a row or so.'
Some combine it with other supplements for a boost. A commenter said she takes magnesium glycinate combined with calcium and zinc, 'and I believe it has helped me.'
Nature's Bounty magnesium glycinate $19.99
Shop
The three-part nighttime cocktail can bring out several benefits, such as enhancing muscle relaxation and melatonin synthesis, boosting GABA (which slows down brain activity), and supporting deeper sleep. The trio may also stabilize circadian rhythms.
Magnesium glycinate is well-absorbed in the body, making it more effective, and its gentle nature on the stomach makes it a popular choice for people who struggle to fall asleep or sleep through the night.
A 2012 double-blind, randomized clinical trial suggests that magnesium supplementation may significantly improve both subjective and objective measures of insomnia in older adults, offering a potential alternative to conventional sleep medications.
The study, conducted among 46 elderly people, found that an eight-week regimen of 500 mg of magnesium daily led to notable improvements in sleep duration, efficiency, and key hormonal markers linked to sleep regulation.
The findings, while they seem small, were statistically significant improvements.
They revealed that compared to placebo, the magnesium group experienced statistically significant increases in sleep time by 0.2 percent and sleep efficiency increased by three percent, alongside reductions in sleep onset latency by two percent and insomnia severity scores down by 0.06 percent.
Biomarkers such as serum renin, an enzyme that helps regulate blood pressure, and melatonin rose significantly, by more than 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Cortisol levels associated with wakefulness declined significantly by 0.8 percent, suggesting that magnesium plays a dual role in modulating both brain chemical pathways and the body's circadian rhythm.
Getting too little sleep, generally considered to be fewer than seven hours, contributes to several health issues, including bloating, brittle nails, overeating, diabetes, and poor skin. It can also leave people with too little energy to exercise and be active.
Past research has shown that ghrelin, a hormone promoting hunger, increases with insufficient sleep, while leptin, a hormone contributing to satiety perception, decreases.
Poor sleep hygiene has also been linked to inflammation in the body, which can spur the growth of cancer cells, and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, dementia, and autoimmune disorders.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'I'm an expert - injecting coffee into your bum is yet another dangerous DIY hack'
Coffee enema's have become the latest alarming health trend being popularised on social media - but experts issue warnings over the dangerous craze that could lead to serious health risks TikTok is full of health trends and tips and tricks for a healthy life - but this new trend is 'dangerous' according to experts. 'Coffee enema' is the latest craze that sees health-conscious coffee drinkers injecting it up their bum. While many people will usually just drink their morning coffee to wake themselves up in the morning, others are using it in alternative ways for a 'detox'. It involves injecting a mixture of brewed, caffeinated coffee and water into the colon through the rectum in a bid to stimulate bile flow and the production of glutathione, a detoxifying antioxidant, according to Healthline, however, there are no medical guidelines about who might benefit from coffee enemas, and more research is necessary to understand the possible benefits. READ MORE: 'I was born through rape in a war-zone - when I met my mother I saw my face in hers' For many people, one of the main reported benefits of a coffee enema is relief from constipation and coffee enema supporters claim the procedure can also have other benefits, such as: liver detoxification intestinal detoxification boosting the immune system treating cancer However there is no evidence to support these claims, and more research still needs to be done. The idea originated from a Max Gerson, a German-American doctor who believed that you could detox the body and give it the nutrients it needs to heal itself using an organic plant-based diet, raw juices, and coffee enemas. His rigorous program became known as the Gerson therapy. For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror's Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox. Ginger DeClue, an American detox coach hailed the use of the enema's in a TikTok video, detailing the "amazing" benefits. One person commented: "They make me feel AMAZING!!" But many others have shared their concerns over the alarming trend. Beauty expert Trifonia Asmar from Cult Beauty shares her insights on why this method could be harmful for your body and skin. 'The coffee enema trend is yet another dangerous DIY wellness hack circulating online," she said. "While it might seem like a quick fix, it can pose serious risks from burns and infections to potentially harmful caffeine overdoses. And we urge you to take a far safer and more enjoyable way to take care of your skin and body without injecting coffee." It's dangerous as firstly, your rectum isn't designed to handle coffee. The caffeine and acids can irritate the delicate tissue, leading to inflammation, pain and even burns if the coffee isn't cool enough and over time, repeated enemas could damage the mucosal lining, increasing the risk of chronic problems, Dr Nish Manek told BBC. Because it's a DIY job, by doing something so invasive, you're also risking serious infections or even injuries such as rectal tears and these could also lead to sepsis and even be life-threatening. While the trend promises "detoxification," your liver and kidneys are already well-designed to clear out toxins, so you don't need to try something so risky yourself. If you are struggling with digestion, home remedies that are safer include eating more fibre, drink water and move your body. And if digestion's a struggle, chat with a healthcare professional, not an influencer on social media. Lets stick to our coffee in our mugs! Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
At 33, Sharon felt an ache in her leg. Within two years, she couldn't walk or speak due to a disease that used to be vanishingly rare in young people
She was playing netball when she first noticed something wasn't right. 'Looking back, I do remember feeling just a little bit more uncoordinated than normal - kind of like my body couldn't quite make the move that my brain was trying to tell me to make,' Sharon Kirkwood, now 41, tells Daily Mail.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Woman who had $400-a-day nitrous oxide habit is found dead outside smoke shop
A Florida woman died after developing a crippling, $400-per-day addiction to nitrous oxide that once left her temporarily paralyzed. Meg Caldwell, 29, of Clermont in the Orlando area, was found dead outside a smoke shop in late 2024 years after becoming hooked on whippets, a slang term for canisters that contain nitrous oxide. She began doing whippets recreationally in college before it spiraled into a full–fledged addiction, her sister said. Leigh Caldwell told Boston 25: 'She would spend $300, $400 at a smoke shop in a day.' On one occasion, after overdosing on the drug, Meg temporarily lost use of her legs. Leigh said: 'A doctor in the hospital said, "This is going to kill you. You're going to die."' Even after the terrifying experience, she continued to use nitrous oxide. Leigh added:'Her whole life had become derailed due to her addiction to this drug.' Meg would buy nitrous oxide from local smoke shops, inhale it in the parking lot and then head back inside for more. Another sister, Kathleen Dial, told the BBC: 'She didn't think that it would hurt her because she was buying it in the smoke shop, so she thought she was using this substance legally.' The youngest of four sisters, Meg was 'the light of our lives,' Dial added. Nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas - is sold legally in the US, though some states regulate the product's sale. Meg's family has filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers of nitrous oxide and seven Florida smoke shops to stop retail sales of the drug. John Allen Yanchunis, an attorney who represents the Caldwells, said: 'This is not a wrongful death case. The Caldwells made a decision that their focus would be for the public good.' Meg isn't the only one who has suffered from the dangerous addiction. From 2019 to 2023, the number of deaths attributed to nitrous oxide poisoning rose by more than 100 percent, according to the CDC. Dr Gaylord Lopez, executive director of the Georgia Poison Centertold Boston 25 that 'a lot of these patients are adults who are being seen in the emergency room after having experienced blackouts, unconsciousness.' He described how chronic use of nitrous oxide robs the brain and heart of oxygen. This can lead to blood conditions, blood clots and temporary paralysis. Nitrous oxide can cause death through a lack of oxygen, or by the substance's effect on the cardiovascular system – as it can lead to dangerous changes in heart rate and blood pressure. Drug addiction counselor Kim Castro told Boston 25 that she's had four clients who have died from nitrous oxide poisoning. She said: 'You really don't know when you'll stop breathing, when you'll lose consciousness, when your body will stop functioning. It's pretty scary.' Galaxy Gas, a company that produces flavored whipped-cream chargers and dispensers containing nitrous oxide, is named in the lawsuit. Its dispensers became famous after going viral last year, as people filmed themselves using the products. TikTok has since blocked 'Galaxy Gas' as a search result. In March, the FDA released a statement advising consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products, including Galaxy Gas and many other brands. Lawyers for the brand said it was sold to a Chinese company last year.
