Magnesium Glycinate: Benefits, Uses, Comparisons

Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a crucial role in numerous bodily functions — it serves as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes in approximately 600 biochemical reactions. From energy production and muscle function to mood and sleep, it plays a vital role in your overall health.

However, many people don't get enough magnesium through diet alone. While many supplements exist, magnesium glycinate stands out for its high absorption, gentle effect on the stomach, and unique dual-action benefits.

In this guide, we'll break down the science-backed benefits of magnesium glycinate, see how it stacks up against other forms, and cover how to use it safely and effectively.

 

The five domains of intrinsic capacity and the subdomains in which Magnesium plays a significant role (adapted from Souza, A. C. R., et al., 2023)

 

 

What Is Magnesium Glycinate?

Magnesium glycinate, also known as magnesium bisglycinate, is a compound formed by combining Magnesium (~14%) with Glycine (~86%), an amino acid.

This form is highly bioavailable, meaning your body can absorb and use it more efficiently than other common forms like magnesium oxide. It's also gentle on the digestive system, minimizing the laxative effect some people experience with other magnesium supplements.

Moreover, glycine by itself also helps improve sleep and can provide various other health benefits.

 

 

Benefits of Magnesium Glycinate

While much of the research is on magnesium in general, the superior absorption of the glycinate form makes it an excellent way to achieve these benefits.

 

1. 🧘 Relaxation & Reduced Anxiety

Stress depletes your body's magnesium, and low magnesium levels make you more susceptible to stress—a vicious cycle. Magnesium helps by regulating neurotransmitters that promote calm.

• How it Works: Magnesium helps calm the nervous system by supporting GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that "puts the brakes" on brain activity. As the infographic below illustrates, it helps regulate the body's stress-response system (the HPA axis).

 

Magnesium Status and Stress (adapted from Pickering, G. et al., 2020)

 

Animal studies

5 animal studies have shown that the deficiency of Magnesium (Mg) elevates anxiety states. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

• "...we report that Mg-depletion leads to enhanced depression- and anxiety-related behavior in mice..." [2]
• "Overall, the present findings demonstrate the robustness and validity of the Mg2+deficiency model as a mouse model of enhanced anxiety..." [4]

2 studies have shown that supplementing with Magnesium reduces anxiety-related behavior. [6, 7]

• "Combination of Mg salts and [vitamin B6] can be effective at treating some behavior form of primary Mg deficiency." [6]
• "The antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effect of Magnesium was demonstrated in groups treated acutely and chronically with Magnesium..." [7]

 

Human studies

7 clinical trials have studied the effects of Magnesium supplementation on measures of anxiety.

5/7 studies reported significant positive results. [8, 9, 10, 11, 12] Several of these studies combined Magnesium with other substances, like plant extracts [8] and vitamin B6 [10, 12].

• "...After 6 months of magnesium prophylaxis... physical and psychosocial well-being improved. Children also reported fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms." [9]
• "At the end of the study, the mean level of anxiety and depression was significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group, moreover, mean sleep quality improved in the intervention group compared to the control group" [11]

1 study has shown no results, but the dosage in that study was very low — 65 mg of elemental magnesium. [13]

1 study reported decreased anxiety scores only when magnesium was combined with 50 mg of vitamin B6. However, there was also evidence that the bioavailability of the magnesium oxide in that study was too low. [14]

In summary, there were improvements in six different anxiety & depression scores in those studies. [15, 16]

 

 

2. 😴 Better Sleep

If you struggle to fall or stay asleep, magnesium glycinate might be the solution. Its calming effect on the nervous system, combined with the sleep-promoting properties of glycine, makes it a powerful sleep aid.

• How it Works: Magnesium helps regulate melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle. The glycine component also plays a role by helping to lower your core body temperature, which signals to your body that it's time to sleep.

 

The Neurochemistry of Magnesium in Stress & Sleep (adapted from Pickering, G. et al., 2020)

 

Magnesium

By 2024, there were 7 clinical studies on the efficiency of Magnesium in improving sleep with clear, significant results.

2/7 studies reported no efficiency, but:

• In one study, the dosage was extremely low: ~12 mg of elemental Magnesium [17];
• In another study, Mg was taken with the breakfast, which is too early [18].

5/7 studies reported positive results of Magnesium intake on sleep parameters. [11, 19, 20, 21, 22]

• "...Sleep efficiency improved from 75±12% to 85±8%...Our study indicates that magnesium treatment may be a useful alternative therapy in patients with mild or moderate RLS- or PLMS-related insomnia." [19]
• "Our results suggest that Mg(2+) partially reverses sleep EEG and nocturnal neuroendocrine changes occurring during aging." [20]
• The results of this study should be interpreted with caution, because no control group with placebo was investigated. Both subjective and, partly, objective parameters of sleep improved during the 4-week study period" [21]
• "Supplementation of magnesium appears to improve subjective measures of insomnia such as ISI score, sleep efficiency, sleep time and sleep onset latency, early morning awakening, and likewise, insomnia objective measures such as concentration of serum renin, melatonin, and serum cortisol, in elderly people." [22]
• "At the end of the study, the mean level of anxiety and depression was significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group, moreover, mean sleep quality improved in the intervention group compared to the control group" [11]

 

Glycine

3 clinical studies have shown that Glycine improved sleep quality, alertness, and cognition, and decreased fatigue and sleepiness in dosages of 3 g/day before bedtime. [23, 24, 25]

• "We found that orally administered glycine acts on
  NMDARs in the SCN and decreases CBT, resulting in an improvement in sleep quality." [23]
• "...ingestion of glycine before bedtime seems to produce subjective and objective improvement of the sleep quality..." [24]
• "The glycine ingestion significantly improved the following elements: “fatigue”, “liveliness and peppiness”, and “clear-headedness”. These results suggest that glycine produced a good subjective feeling after awakening from sleep." [25]

 

Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Dosage

The magnesium glycinate dosage for sleep varies depending on the individual, but a typical magnesium glycinate sleep dosage ranges from 200 mg to 400 mg of elemental Magnesium (which is about 1,500-3,000 mg of Magnesium Glycinate), taken an hour before bedtime.

For even better sleep improvement, you can combine it with Ashwagandha and Sleep Gummies.

 

 

3. 😃 Reduced Headaches

A lot of scientific literature suggests a relationship between Magnesium deficiency and mild and moderate tension-type headaches and migraines. [26, 27]

The American Migraine Foundation even recommends magnesium as a preventive treatment. And the Cochrane review grades Magnesium as one of the strongly recommended treatments for migraine headaches. [28]

5 randomized placebo-controlled clinical studies have shown the efficiency of Magnesium in reducing frequency, duration, and intensity of migraines. [29, 30, 31, 32, 33]

• "81 patients aged 18–65 years with migraine...received oral...magnesium...daily for 12 weeks or placebo. In weeks 9–12 the attack frequency was reduced by 41.6% in the magnesium group and by 15.8% in the placebo... The number of days with migraine and the drug consumption for symptomatic treatment per patient also decreased significantly in the Magnesium group..." [29]
• After a 3-month treatment period with oral Magnesium for migraine without aura, there were a significant improvement in attack frequency and severity. [30]
• Magnesium increased the efficacy of ibuprofen and acetaminophen for the acute treatment of primary migraine in children. Magnesium pretreatment induced a significant decrease in pain intensity, and in pain frequency. [31]
• "...magnesium could enhance the antimigraine properties of sodium valproate in combination therapy and reduce the required valproate dose for migraine prophylaxis." [32]
• "This study has shown that 500 mg magnesium oxide appears to be effective in migraine prophylaxis similar to valproate sodium without significant adverse effect." [33]

 

 

4. 💪 Muscle Health, Growth & Cramps Reduction

Magnesium is essential for muscle health, growth, and recovery.

• A 2023 review on the role of Magnesium in Muscle Health: "...skeletal muscle houses approximately 20% of the body’s total magnesium...It plays a central role in processes such as protein synthesis, energy production, and muscle contraction while also offering anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits" [34]

Although Magnesium intake can't provide additional muscle growth, its deficiency can significantly slow muscle growth and recovery.

• Over 50% of the population may have Magnesium deficiencies, consuming less than 360-420 mg/day (5–7 mg/kg/day). [35, 36]
• A 2022 study of 766 adolescents 14-18 years old in the southeast US has concluded that "The average daily magnesium intakes were ~200 mg and ~205 mg for males and females, respectively, far below the recommended amounts of 410 mg for males and 360 mg for females...Almost none of the adolescents met the recommendations...Lower magnesium intake was associated with higher CRP [inflammation marker] and lower muscle mass." [37]

Moreover, athletes require more Magnesium than sedentary people:

• "...individuals engaged in intense exercise should have a Mg requirement 10–20% higher than sedentary people...These studies showed that Magnesium supplementation reduced muscle soreness, improved performance, recovery..." [38]

And, Magnesium can help with nocturnal muscle cramps:

• "The number of nocturnal leg crumps (NLC) episodes has significantly decreased by the end of the study..., indicating a higher decrease in the Magnesium group as compared to the placebo group (− 3.4 vs − 2.6). In addition, Magnesium treatment resulted in a greater reduction in NLC duration and greater improvement in sleep quality as compared to placebo." [39]

 

 

5. ❤️ Overall Health & Well-being

Magnesium

Magnesium is crucial for the work of around 300 enzymes in 600 biochemical reactions, across all body systems. Magnesium regulates muscle contraction, protein synthesis, energy production, blood sugar control, heart contraction, blood pressure, and many other crucial processes. [40, 41]

There were too many studies of Magnesium on different aspects of human health, so here are just a few summaries from the reviews of those studies:

• "Because of Magnesium’s many functions within the body, it plays a major role in disease prevention and overall health. Low levels of magnesium have been associated with a number of chronic diseases including migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus." [42]
• "...Increasing dietary magnesium intake is associated with a reduced risk of stroke, heart failure, diabetes, and all-cause mortality..." [43]
• "...high Mg intake is associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular risk factors (mainly metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension), stroke and total cardiovascular diseases" [44]
• "Level I evidence supports the use of magnesium in the prevention and treatment of many common health conditions including migraine headache, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, asthma, premenstrual syndrome, preeclampsia, and various cardiac arrhythmias. Magnesium may also be considered for prevention of renal calculi and cataract formation, as an adjunct or treatment for depression, and as a therapeutic intervention for many other health-related disorders." [45]
• "...Magnesium supplementation can not only preserve liver function, but also slow the progression of liver disease, and reduce the mortality associated..." [46]
• "In all studies there was a benefit both in terms of bone mineral density and fracture risk." [47]

 

Glycine

As you know, Magnesium glycinate consists of 14% elemental Magnesium and 86% of the amino acid Glycine.

In animal studies, glycine has shown:

• anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects [48, 49, 50].
• lifespan extension of C. elegans by up to 33% [51, 52], rats by ~20% [53], and mice by 6% [54].

In human studies, glycine has shown:

• sleep quality improvement and enhanced alertness and cognition next day [23, 24, 25]
• and protective effect against metabolic diseases [55, 56, 57]

 

 

Magnesium Glycinate vs Other Forms of Magnesium

Magnesium Glycinate vs Citrate

When comparing magnesium glycinate vs magnesium citrate, both forms are popular, but they serve different purposes. Magnesium citrate is well-known for its laxative effect, making it a good option for those dealing with constipation. However, magnesium glycinate and citrate differ significantly in absorption and side effects. Magnesium glycinate is absorbed more effectively and is gentler on the stomach, making it a better choice for long-term supplementation, especially for sleep and anxiety.

Magnesium Glycinate vs Oxide

Magnesium glycinate vs oxide is another common comparison. Magnesium oxide contains a higher percentage of elemental magnesium, but it's not as well absorbed as glycinate. Moreover, magnesium oxide is more likely to cause digestive discomfort, such as diarrhea, compared to the more tolerable magnesium glycinate.

Magnesium Glycinate vs Threonate

When comparing magnesium glycinate vs threonate, it's important to note that magnesium l-threonate is often touted for its potential cognitive benefits, such as improving memory and focus. However, for general magnesium supplementation, especially for sleep and anxiety, magnesium glycinate is usually the preferred choice due to its calming effects and ease of absorption.

Magnesium Bisglycinate vs Magnesium Glycinate

You might also come across magnesium bisglycinate vs magnesium glycinate. It's important to understand that these terms are often used interchangeably. Both refer to the same compound and offer the same benefits, so there's no significant difference between the two.

 

 

Magnesium Glycinate Dosage and Side Effects

Magnesium Glycinate Dosage

The recommended magnesium glycinate dose varies depending on individual needs. For general health, a typical magnesium glycinate dosage ranges from 200 mg to 400 mg per day (for elemental Magnesium). However, for specific conditions like sleep or anxiety, the dosage may differ.

Side Effects of Magnesium Glycinate

While magnesium glycinate is generally well-tolerated, there are some potential side effects of magnesium glycinate to be aware of. These may include mild digestive issues, such as nausea or loose stools, especially if taken in high doses. However, these side effects are less common for glycinate, compared to other forms of magnesium.

 

 

Conclusion

For anyone looking to improve their sleep, reduce anxiety, support muscle health, or simply ensure adequate magnesium levels, magnesium glycinate is an outstanding choice.

Its combination of high bioavailability, minimal side effects, and the added calming benefits of glycine makes it a superior and versatile supplement.

As with any new supplement, it's always best to consult with a healthcare provider to determine the right dosage for your specific needs and ensure it doesn't interact with any medications you are taking.