What Magnesium Supplements Can Actually Do

Spend too much time in certain social media circles, and you may get the impression that a magnesium supplement is a wonder pill that can cure just about any ailment. One supplement that can fix your sleep, get rid of your headaches, or act as a natural anxiety relief aid. Unsurprisingly, many of these claims are overhyped.

No, magnesium isn’t a magic cure-all. But a number of studies do suggest a daily supplement can offer modest benefits, from fewer headaches to better sleep. Here’s what magnesium supplement might actually deliver.

Magnesium can help cut down on the frequency of migraines 

Although the evidence is still mixed, a number of studies suggest a daily magnesium supplement may help frequent migraine sufferers. As a result, it received a B rating from the American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology, indicating it’s a safe, well-tolerated supplement that may offer a potential benefits for people suffering from migraines, either as a stand-alone therapy, or in combination with other medications. If you are taking magnesium to prevent migraines, the suggested daily dose is between 400 to 600 milligrams.

“There is some clinical data to support its use,” said Stacy Smith, a physician at Houston Methodist Hospital who specializes in headache medicine. “It’s not just anecdotal.” In her experience, she will see a wide range of responses to adding in a magnesium supplement, with some patients reporting significant relief, and others reporting either a modest effect, or none at all.

If you are adding in a magnesium supplement to help prevent migraines, Smith suggests sticking with it for at least two to three months, during which time it can be helpful to keep a headache diary to track whether its effects on the frequency or duration of your migraines.

Magnesium can also be taken during a migraine, when it may offer an additional relief. If you have ever wound up in the ER due to a migraine, the IVs they administer to migraine sufferers will often include about 1,000 milligrams of magnesium, which has been shown to help ease symptoms of an acute attack.

Magnesium may help with sleep, anxiety, and high blood pressure too

Recently, the use of magnesium as a sleep aid has been gaining popularity, but the evidence for its effectiveness is still limited. Adding in a magnesium supplement won’t make up for poor sleep habits, although it may improve your sleep quality a bit. There is also some evidence to suggest that it can help improve sleep quality for people with restless legs syndrome.

Magnesium supplement have also been shown to ease feelings of anxiety, though the studies that did so were small, lacked a control group, and relied on self-reported data. More reliably, adding in magnesium can lead to a slight drop in blood pressure, especially in patients with pre-diabetes or insulin resistance, although the drop is very small.

How to add in a magnesium supplement 

There are a number of different forms of magnesium available, each of which will absorb in your body a little differently. “Start with what you can find and what is cheap,” Smith said.

The most common form is magnesium oxide, which is the least expensive, but also has one of the lowest absorption rates. It can also have a laxative effect, which can either be good or bad, depending on what you’re going for. If you start with a form like magnesium oxide and don’t experience a noticeable benefit, it’s worth trying out a different form before you give up on magnesium altogether.

Some other common forms of magnesium include magnesium citrate, magnesium lactate, magnesium malate, magnesium taurate, and magnesium glycinate. Depending on what you are taking the magnesium for, you may want to try out one form versus another. For example, magnesium citrate is more easily absorbed, while magnesium lactate tends to be gentler on the digestive system. (Some supplements contain a mixture of different types.)

The average recommended daily amount of magnesium, from all sources, is typically between 300 to 400 milligrams. For supplements, it’s generally recommended you don’t exceed 350 milligrams a day unless otherwise directed by a doctor. Excess magnesium amounts from food is considered to be safe.

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