Magnesium as a Sleep Aid
- 22 hours ago
- 5 min read
If you read my post on social media ads targeted at perimenopausal women, you'll know that I see a lot of ads, particularly for sleep aids. There did however seem to be quite a bit of positive noise specifically about magnesium, so I decided to look into it.
Declaration of interest: I am not associated with Amazon or any of the brands featured in this review and am not being paid, nor offered any form or inducement, to write this article.
How much magnesium should I take?
There are a lot of magnesium supplements out there, offering a vast range of doses, so I went on the NHS website to understand how much I should really be taking. They recommended 300mg a day for men (19 to 64 years) and 270mg a day for women (19 to 64 years), but warned that more than 400mg per day can cause diarrhoea. They also said you should get all the magnesium you need from a varied and balanced diet, but taking up to 400mg per day is unlikely to cause harm.
Which form of magnesium?
Next, I wanted to know which form of magnesium would be the most beneficial. A quick Google search told me that Magnesium Glycinate is highly absorbable, gentle on the stomach, and best for calming the mind, as well as being useful for anxiety, insomnia and stress conditions; while Magnesium Threonate is for known for brain health and Magnesium Malate for muscle relaxation.
Given that I was looking to improve my sleep and reduce my stress levels, Magnesium Glycinate seemed the right way to go. Being smaller than average, I wanted to err on the side of caution and start with a low dose, so I could increase it if I didn't get the desired effect, rather than start high and not know if a lower dose would have sufficed. This led me to search for 100mg Magnesium Glycinate, but that only narrowed my search from the thousands to 946 possible products.
What else should I look out for?
Based on the articles I'd read, the advice was to:
Look for certifications. Unlike medicines, supplements aren't regulated. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is the minimum standard medicines manufacturers must meet and good supplement manufacturers will meet them too.
Go GMO free if you don't want genetically modified ingredients. You may also want to avoid soy, palm oil and gluten. Vegan supplements are also commonly available.
Check sugar content. Many supplements, particularly gummies, can be high in sugar, which can be detrimental. You also don't want to add unnecessary calories to your diet.
Know where the product is manufactured. I wanted supplements made in the UK, as that gave me confidence they were more likely to be genuine.
Your preferred format. I decided I wanted gummies vs. tablets, as I already take Vitamins C, D & K2, Cerelle and a daily antihistamine, plus I'd heard that gummies were highly effective.
What did I choose and why?
These criteria reduced the pool to under 200 and I ultimately chose Intense Wellness Easy Sleep Gummies for Adults – Magnesium Glycinate 100mg + Valerian Root, Ashwagandha & Lemon Balm.
At £17.99 for 90, at the time of writing (May 2026), that works out at about 20p per gummy, which seemed both reasonable and not alarmingly cheap.
My reasons for choosing this particular product were two-fold.
Firstly, it ticked all the boxes: sugar, soy, palm oil and GMO free, made to GMP standards, manufactured in the UK and at the low end of the dose spectrum, at 100mg per gummy.
Secondly, I liked that it contained natural ingredients that had worked well for me in herbal teas in the past: Valerian Root, Ashwagandha, Lemon Balm, Passionflower and Chamomile, but I'd had to stop drinking herbal tea at bedtime because it made me need the toilet in the night, which seemed counterproductive, when the purpose of drinking it was to improve my sleep!
What happened when I took magnesium as a sleep aid?
The first thing I noticed was that I was sleeping more deeply and not stirring as often in the night.
After the 2nd or 3rd night, I found that I wasn't waking in the early hours needing the toilet. As I had suspected, the 3-5 am "comfort breaks" had been a habit developed while I'd had a UTI a few months previously and been born out of routine, rather than necessity. I would wake up and automatically go the loo, when in fact I often found that I didn't even need to go. Sleeping more deeply meant that I didn't wake up and therefore didn't feel the unnecessary urge to pee.
Following a week or so of taking a gummy every night, I discovered that I was also falling asleep more easily. So much so that I was dozing off and dropping my phone during my nightly "doom scroll" that I'd started precisely to avoid trying to sleep when I wasn't tired and getting into the sleep anxiety trap, where I'd worry I wasn't going to get enough sleep and that in itself would keep me awake! Safe to say that is no longer a problem. Reducing my screen time just before bed has also obviously had a positive "side effect" on my psychological health, as well as my sleep quality.
I'm not sure if I dare say it yet, as it has only been just over 3 weeks, but I also think my irritability and stress levels have reduced significantly during the day. That could be down to getting more, better quality sleep, rather than a direct effect of the supplements themselves, or it could be my natural cycle, as I haven't yet hit that crucial 4-week milestone; but I do feel less short-tempered and slower to anger than I have since puberty!
I wouldn't go so far as to say they are addictive, but the strawberry flavour is very pleasant and I now find myself craving it by the time 10pm rolls around.
Based on my experience, I would advise following the instructions and taking the gummy 30-60 minutes before you want to sleep - perhaps starting at 60 minutes and reducing to 30 as the effectiveness builds up - or you may find yourself feeling drowsy too early. Even though they are sugar free, they still contain other ingredients that you don't want on your teeth overnight, so I would also recommend taking them before cleaning your teeth.
Summary
Despite my scepticism for products advertised in targeted social media ads, I have finally found one that actually works for me!
That said, I wouldn't advocate clicking on sponsored links found online and would instead recommend doing what I did and conducting your own research to find the product that best suits your own personal needs before making a purchase. Before taking any supplement, it is also sensible to seek proper medical advice and to always read the instructions on the label.
Please let me know in the comments if you've had a similar experience with Magnesium and what effect it had on you.
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