To support sleep, take on an empty stomach 1 - 2 hours before bedtime.

It depends on how deficient you are and your individual magnesium needs. If you’re under more physical or emotional stress, you may need more than an average person. Physical stressors include exercise and physical jobs. Vitamin D supplementation (which also helps with sleep) may also increase magnesium needs.^[37]

The recommended daily allowance for magnesium is ~400 mg/day for men and ~310 mg for women. However, very few people get this dose from food. If you haven’t taken magnesium for a long time and are deficient, taking the RDA dose can be like filling up an empty pool with a spoon. Therefore, it may be a good idea to start at a higher than the RDA dose to correct the deficiency faster.^[38]

Studies have shown benefits of magnesium supplementation from 125 mg to 2500 mg/day. You want to start with 1 - 2 capsules and slowly increase the dosage and observe your body’s response. If you have kidney problems or are on medications that may affect mineral balance (e.g. hypertension medication), it is important to speak to your physician before introducing a magnesium supplement.

Magnesium chelate, glycinate, citrate, and malate can promote relaxation and sleep. Magnesium Breakthrough contains all of these forms of magnesium.

• Mental/emotional stress
• Hard physical exertions
• Caffeine intake
• Being diabetic, or obese
• High doses of vitamin D supplementation
• Calcium and other mineral supplements
• An unhealthy diet with a lot of processed foods
• Alcoholism
• Stomach acid-reducing drugs
• Bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis
• Some antibiotics
• Diuretic drugs and blood pressure-reducing drugs
• Kidney disease
• Old age
• Gut issues that affect magnesium absorption, such as Celiac and colitis

If you have a medical condition or are taking medications, consult your physician before introducing any supplements or getting off the medications.

These foods could be high in magnesium if they’re grown in soil that contains it. However, due to modern agricultural practices, most soils are low in magnesium.

• Green leafy vegetables
• Dark chocolate
• Avocado
• Nuts and seeds

Magnesium does different things than melatonin. Melatonin is a nighttime hormone that tells your body it is time to sleep. Whereas, magnesium helps promote a relaxation response as you find down to sleep. There is time and place for both. However, taking high-dose melatonin more than what your body produces (0.35 mg/night) can override your body’s own circadian response. Whereas, taking magnesium provides nutritional insurance to prevent deficiency, which will improve all aspects of health.

Excessive doses of magnesium can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. However, these are much more common with inorganic salts (oxide, chloride, and sulfate) than organic salts (glycinate, chelate, sucrosomial, malate, taurate, etc).

Everyone should take magnesium given that the modern lifestyle depletes it and the modern diet doesn’t provide enough. If you have suboptimal sleep, such as taking a long time to fall asleep, waking up tired, or feeling tired in the afternoon, magnesium may help improve your sleep quality.