Americans aren't getting enough sleep. Could magnesium supplements help?

doctor Chester Wu “Doctor, should I take a magnesium supplement to help me sleep?” says the Houston-based psychiatrist and sleep specialist.

“I feel like I've had more opportunities to talk about this with patients over the last year or two,” Wu says.

Some of this interest has been fuelled by social media. For example, Going viral on TikTokDrink a mixture of magnesium powder, tart cherry juice, and prebiotic soda about 30 minutes before bedtime.

You might think drinking a mocktail before bed is a bad idea, but sleep experts say Dr. Fariha Abbasi FeinbergHe says it might be worth a try.

“If someone asks me, 'Can I have a Sleepy Girl mocktail?' I would say, 'Sure. I don't think it will do any harm, but you should start with a low dose of magnesium, like half or less,'” she says.

But if you're looking for hard science that proves it works, you won't find it.

Abasi Feinberg, director of sleep medicine at Millennium Physician Group in Fort Myers, Florida, and other sleep specialists I spoke with all emphasized that there is little evidence on magnesium and sleep. American Academy of Sleep Medicine A policy statement on that topic is needed, said Abassi Feinberg, the group's executive director.

What we do know is that magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a key role in many bodily functions, including bone health, energy production, muscle relaxation, and the nervous system.

There are several theories about how magnesium helps with sleep. Tish Hall BrownChief of Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC

Hall-Brown points out that magnesium is involved in the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Magnesium can also help ease muscle spasms. She says some theories also suggest that magnesium may have an anxiety-reducing effect. That means that when a person is trying to fall asleep, “you may feel less anxious about what happened the day before and what's going to happen, and that may promote sleep a little bit.”

But again, it's just an unproven theory.

Wu says it's important to talk to your doctor before trying magnesium, as people with underlying conditions like kidney disease should be careful about taking it. But in general, he says, magnesium won't hurt and may even help, as long as you don't take too much of it (which can cause stomach upset). He says he's seen many patients who have responded well to magnesium.

“Whether it's a placebo effect or not [effect] Or, actually, they might just be benefiting from the magnesium, and I try not to worry too much about that, because at the end of the day, they're feeling better,” Wu says.

He points out that many Americans don't get enough magnesium in their diet, so a little extra can't hurt, but he wants people to get it from the foods they eat: Leafy greens like spinach and kale, seeds, nuts, salmon, beans, whole grains, and yogurt are all good sources of magnesium.

Some advice on social media suggests giving magnesium to children, but if there is little empirical evidence in adults, there is essentially no evidence at all for people under 18 to use supplements as a sleep aid, she says. Dr. Cora Collett BrunerHe is a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.

Bruner says he uses magnesium with some of his adolescent patients to treat migraines and tension headaches, not as a sleep aid. “We're not entirely sure how this works, but patients respond to it,” says Bruner, who is lead author of a forthcoming American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on supplement safety.

Dr. Beth Marrow Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, who studies sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, Clinical Data She suggests that magnesium may be effective for kids with ADHD and autism, but not as a sleep aid in general. Because children with autism and ADHD often suffer from sleep problems, she typically starts by recommending melatonin, which has been better studied in this group of kids. But if that doesn't work, “I'm totally open to trying magnesium,” Marrow says.

Dr. Bruner points out that magnesium dosage is based on age and weight, and that pediatric patients start at a much lower amount than recommended on the bottle. She recommends that parents talk to their pediatrician if they're interested, and then recommend that they look for magnesium from a trusted source that's been vetted by a third party, such as United States Pharmacopoeia.

But before turning to sleep aids, every doctor I spoke with said it's important to first focus on sleep hygiene: avoiding eating big meals before bed, sleeping in a dark, quiet room, sticking to a regular sleep schedule, and of course, avoiding screens before bed.

This story was edited by Jane Greenhalgh

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