Skip to content
EvidenceBased
SavedSign in
Skip to content
EvidenceBased
interventions / Magnesium

Magnesium: what the evidence actually shows

settled  magnesium — evidence and attention roughly aligned

Reviewer and governance status are shown on each atomic claim below.

What it is

Magnesium is tracked as a health intervention in this evidence graph. Also known as: magnesium glycinate.

Studied forms and doses

Mechanisms

Mechanistic plausibility is context, not proof that a clinical outcome improves.

⚠ Safety in context

Products and verification

No product label snapshot is mapped in this released catalog. Ingredient evidence does not establish any bottle’s identity, potency, purity, availability, or value.

Evidence by outcome

heart healthgrade Bmoderate certainty— Meta-analysis of 38 RCTs (2709 participants): magnesium supplementation modestly lowered blood pressure — systolic by about 2.8 mm Hg and diastolic by about 2.0 mm Hg versus control. A small but consistent blood-pressure effect; not shown to reduce cardiovascular events directly.
inflammationgrade Bmoderate certainty— Meta-analysis of RCTs: magnesium supplementation significantly reduced several inflammatory markers, most consistently serum C-reactive protein (and nitric oxide), versus control. The effect on downstream clinical outcomes is not established — this is a biomarker signal.
sleepgrade Clow certainty— may modestly reduce sleep-onset latency in older adults with insomnia, but the evidence is limited and low quality; benefit for general adults or magnesium glycinate specifically is uncertain
stressgrade Clow certainty— may modestly reduce subjective anxiety/stress, esp. in deficiency
blood sugargrade Cmoderate certainty— modest improvement in insulin sensitivity / fasting glucose, mainly in deficiency or diabetes
migraine frequencygrade Clow certainty— 10 oral-magnesium RCTs (n=789): reduced migraine frequency and intensity vs. placebo (odds ratios 0.20 and 0.27, no CIs given); some trials had inadequate randomization per the review authors. A separate IV arm covered acute attacks, not prevention.
bone healthgrade Clow certainty— Systematic review in older adults: higher magnesium status/intake is associated with greater bone mineral density and, in some studies, lower fracture risk. Evidence is largely observational, so the association does not establish that supplementation prevents fractures.
cognitiongrade Clow certainty— Systematic review of magnesium and cognitive health in adults: the evidence linking magnesium status or intake to cognition is limited and inconsistent, drawn largely from observational data, and the authors call for better-designed studies with repeated magnesium biomarkers before any conclusion. No demonstrated cognitive benefit from supplementation.
moodstudied, no effectmoderate certainty— Not recommended for unipolar depression

People say · Evidence shows

“Magnesium glycinate is better for sleep because it crosses the blood-brain barrier”

aheadlargemechanistic speculation

What it probably doesn't do

Grade history

Re-review cadence: every 12 months (Grade A/B) · next scheduled by · methodology v1.

By outcome — the money pages

Compare

More

sources: PMID:41000008 · PMID:35277037 · PMID:35184264 · PMID:33865376 · PMID:28445426 · PMID:35045911 · PMID:26752497 · PMID:34666201 · PMID:39009081 · PMID:35311615

Cite this page

Citation is encouraged. The proposed reuse license is CC-BY-4.0; status: pending-governance-ratification.

Plain-text citation
Substrate. Magnesium: what the evidence actually shows. https://evidencebased.info/interventions/magnesium. Updated 2026-07-19.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_terventionsmagnesium,
  author = {Substrate editorial},
  title  = {Magnesium: what the evidence actually shows},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/magnesium},
  note   = {evidencebased.info}
}

This filtered view rechecked source-context candidates for current publication and source integrity. Other papers were not evaluated; an empty result does not establish that research is absent. Browse the broader bounded research library.

Source-reported research findings

AI-extracted — pending human review. These findings retain the studied context and are not pooled treatment estimates.

Single study

PMID 39252819: Oura ring

  • AI-extracted — pending human review
  • Extraction status: machine extracted. Source status is not human clinical review.
  • Publication status: published. Record review status: not reviewed.
  • Not poolable: one source-reported result, not a pooled treatment estimate.

Direction for deep sleep score, REM sleep score, light sleep time, and activity and readiness parameters activity score, activity daily movement score, readiness score, readiness activity balance, and readiness sleep balance (Oura ring) remains unresolved in this record.

Reported p < 0.05.

  • Studied combination: MgT.

Eighty 35-55-year-olds with self-assessed sleep problems; randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study. 1 g/day of MgT versus placebo. deep sleep score, REM sleep score, light sleep time, and activity and readiness parameters activity score, activity daily movement score, readiness score, readiness activity balance, and readiness sleep balance (Oura ring) at 21 days MgT or placebo.

Related research with a different studied context; applicability to this question remains limited.

That’s the gist — a fine place to stop. This describes the studied groups, not personal suitability.

Read this finding in study context →Original source · Bring into My Profile

Single study

PMID 39252819: standardized questionnaires

  • AI-extracted — pending human review
  • Extraction status: machine extracted. Source status is not human clinical review.
  • Publication status: published. Record review status: not reviewed.
  • Not poolable: one source-reported result, not a pooled treatment estimate.

Direction for behavior upon awakening, energy and daytime productivity, grouchiness, mood and mental alertness (standardized questionnaires) remains unresolved in this record.

Reported p < 0.05.

  • Studied combination: MgT.

Eighty 35-55-year-olds with self-assessed sleep problems; randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study. 1 g/day of MgT versus placebo. behavior upon awakening, energy and daytime productivity, grouchiness, mood and mental alertness (standardized questionnaires) at 21 days MgT or placebo.

Related research with a different studied context; applicability to this question remains limited.

That’s the gist — a fine place to stop. This describes the studied groups, not personal suitability.

Read this finding in study context →Original source · Bring into My Profile

Single study

PMID 38745424: PSQI

  • AI-extracted — pending human review
  • Extraction status: machine extracted. Source status is not human clinical review.
  • Publication status: published. Record review status: not reviewed.
  • Not poolable: one source-reported result, not a pooled treatment estimate.

Authors reported a direction only for sleep quality (PSQI): favours the studied intervention.

Reported p < 0.05.

  • Studied combination: 1.9 mg melatonin + 200 mg elemental magnesium.
  • Studied route/context: unclear.

otherwise healthy individuals with sleep disturbances; double-blinded, randomized, crossover trial. supplement condition versus placebo. sleep quality (PSQI) at 4 week intervention.

Related research with a different studied context; applicability to this question remains limited.

That’s the gist — a fine place to stop. This describes the studied groups, not personal suitability.

Read this finding in study context →Original source · Bring into My Profile

Single study

PMID 39138397: ISI

  • AI-extracted — pending human review
  • Extraction status: machine extracted. Source status is not human clinical review.
  • Publication status: published. Record review status: not reviewed.
  • Not poolable: one source-reported result, not a pooled treatment estimate.

Authors reported insomnia severity (ISI) as Mg sulphate group 17.45 score and Control group 22.4 score, each summarised separately.

Reported p < 0.001.

  • Studied route/context: intravenous.

patients undergoing lumbar fixation; randomized controlled trial. Magnesium sulphate versus general anesthesia. insomnia severity (ISI) at 2 weeks after surgery.

Related research with a different studied context; applicability to this question remains limited.

That’s the gist — a fine place to stop. This describes the studied groups, not personal suitability.

Read this finding in study context →Original source · Bring into My Profile

Studied contexts, side by side

These studies measured their own outcomes in their own populations. Differences between columns are differences in what was studied — not a ranking, and not a head-to-head result.

One column per source-reported finding. Values are as reported; nothing is combined across columns.
Studied contextPMID 39252819: Oura ring Full studyPMID 39252819: standardized questionnaires Full studyPMID 38745424: PSQI Full studyPMID 39138397: ISI Full study
Participants / populationEighty 35-55-year-olds with self-assessed sleep problemsEighty 35-55-year-olds with self-assessed sleep problemsotherwise healthy individuals with sleep disturbancespatients undergoing lumbar fixation
Study designrandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm studyrandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm studydouble-blinded, randomized, crossover trialrandomized controlled trial
Studied intervention1 g/day of MgT1 g/day of MgTsupplement conditionMagnesium sulphate
Studied combinationMgTMgT1.9 mg melatonin + 200 mg elemental magnesiumNot encoded in this record
Studied route / contextNot encoded in this recordNot encoded in this recordunclearintravenous
Comparatorplaceboplaceboplacebogeneral anesthesia
Measured outcomedeep sleep score, REM sleep score, light sleep time, and activity and readiness parameters activity score, activity daily movement score, readiness score, readiness activity balance, and readiness sleep balance (Oura ring)behavior upon awakening, energy and daytime productivity, grouchiness, mood and mental alertness (standardized questionnaires)sleep quality (PSQI)insomnia severity (ISI)
Timepoint21 days MgT or placebo21 days MgT or placebo4 week intervention2 weeks after surgery
Source-reported resultDirection for deep sleep score, REM sleep score, light sleep time, and activity and readiness parameters activity score, activity daily movement score, readiness score, readiness activity balance, and readiness sleep balance (Oura ring) remains unresolved in this record. Reported p < 0.05.Direction for behavior upon awakening, energy and daytime productivity, grouchiness, mood and mental alertness (standardized questionnaires) remains unresolved in this record. Reported p < 0.05.Authors reported a direction only for sleep quality (PSQI): favours the studied intervention. Reported p < 0.05.Authors reported insomnia severity (ISI) as Mg sulphate group 17.45 score and Control group 22.4 score, each summarised separately. Reported p < 0.001.