What to know about magnesium for anxiety and sleep

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Do magnesium supplements work for anxiety and sleep?

By Haley Weiss

Health Reporter

As a health reporter who spends a lot of time in online wellness spaces, I’ve learned to be automatically skeptical when a product suddenly gains a new wave of adherents. It was refreshing, then, to discover that TikTok’s latest supplement du jour is one that’s actually backed by some science. For a few months, the app has been full of people sharing their experiences adding magnesium supplements to their routine, primarily as a sleep aid or for a little help unwinding before bed.

While these supplements haven’t been studied in depth as an insomnia solution, the relaxing results that people are sharing online are pretty on par with some of the uses we do have for the mineral (which occurs naturally in food). Athletes use it to help loosen overworked muscles, and certain forms are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat migraines. Clinical trials looking at magnesium’s ability to ease symptoms of anxiety and depression have been picking up in the last few years.

Still, there's no perfect sleep aid—at east not one that you can find in the pharmacy aisles. If you find yourself tossing and turning, the healthier solution is to take stock of your bedtime habits.

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AN EXPERT VOICE

"I think there’s a lot of additional work that needs to be done in how we best balance the challenges of providing the highest quality care to our patients—but also allowing our residents, fellows, and attendings to get enough sleep."

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"I think there’s a lot of additional work that needs to be done in how we best balance the challenges of providing the highest quality care to our patients—but also allowing our residents, fellows, and attendings to get enough sleep."

—Dr. Frank Qian, resident internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School

What to know about magnesium for anxiety and sleep

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"I think there’s a lot of additional work that needs to be done in how we best balance the challenges of providing the highest quality care to our patients—but also allowing our residents, fellows, and attendings to get enough sleep."

—Dr. Frank Qian, resident internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School

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