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CEvidence grade · Last reviewed

Magnesium glycinate (bisglycinate): sleep, calm and what the trials show

One 2025 randomized trial of magnesium bisglycinate (the same amino-acid chelate as glycinate) in 155 adults with poor sleep found a modest Insomnia Severity Index drop versus placebo. Older insomnia evidence is mostly other forms, small samples and low certainty. Grade C.

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A person in a balance pose in silhouette. Photo: Patrick Hendry, CC0 1.0

Editorial section. Research summaries are not product claims and contain no product links or offers. A summary is never proof that any product works.

The question
What do human trials show for magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate on sleep and calm, and how does that compare with other magnesium forms?
Study design
A 4-week randomized double-blind trial of 250 mg elemental magnesium as bisglycinate versus placebo in 155 healthy adults aged 18 to 65 who reported poor sleep (Schuster 2025); a systematic review and meta-analysis of three randomized trials (151 older adults) of oral magnesium for insomnia (Mah 2021), including an 8-week trial of magnesium oxide at 500 mg elemental a day in 46 older adults (Abbasi 2012); a systematic review of magnesium for subjective anxiety and stress (Boyle 2017); a meta-analysis of 34 blood-pressure trials (Zhang 2016); and NIH Office of Dietary Supplements guidance on magnesium intake and the supplemental upper limit. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
What they found
In Schuster 2025, Insomnia Severity Index scores fell more with bisglycinate than with placebo by week 4 (about -3.9 versus -2.3 points; P = 0.049). The effect size was small (Cohen's d = 0.2). Exploratory analyses hinted at larger gains in people with lower dietary magnesium at baseline. Other questionnaire outcomes did not differ clearly. Mah 2021 pooled older-adult trials and estimated about 17 minutes shorter time to fall asleep with magnesium, with low-quality evidence and no clear change in total sleep time; Abbasi 2012 used oxide, not glycinate. Boyle 2017 found mixed anxiety signals, mostly in people already vulnerable to anxiety, and called for better trials. Zhang 2016 found a small average blood-pressure drop (about 2 mmHg systolic) at a median 368 mg a day; that is a marker change, not our sleep claim. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
Limitations
Schuster 2025 lasted 4 weeks, used self-report sleep scales (not lab sleep studies), and reported a small effect with a P value just under 0.05. One co-author runs a contract research organization that takes nutraceutical funding and has received speaker honoraria from nutraceutical companies; the trial itself was funded by Leibniz University Hannover as an internal academic project. Most older insomnia trials in Mah 2021 used oxide or mixed forms, so their results do not prove that glycinate works the same way. Head-to-head outcome trials of glycinate versus oxide or citrate for sleep are still scarce. Boyle 2017 and Zhang 2016 address anxiety and blood pressure, not sleep quality.
What this does not mean
These studies do not show that magnesium glycinate is a treatment for insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure or any disease. Our claim is structure/function only: supports muscle relaxation and a calm wind-down. NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements sets the adult upper limit for supplemental magnesium at 350 mg elemental a day; higher doses often cause diarrhea. People with kidney disease, or who take antibiotics, bisphosphonates or other prescription drugs that interact with magnesium, should ask a clinician first. Not for children unless a clinician advises it.
Sources
  1. Schuster J et al. Nat Sci Sleep. 2025;17:2027-2040. Magnesium bisglycinate RCT. doi.org/10.2147/nss.s524348
  2. Mah J, Pitre T. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021;21:125. doi.org/10.1186/s12906-021-03297-z
  3. Abbasi B et al. J Res Med Sci. 2012;17(12):1161-1169. Magnesium oxide, not glycinate. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23853635/
  4. Boyle NB et al. Nutrients. 2017;9(5):429. doi.org/10.3390/nu9050429
  5. Zhang X et al. Hypertension. 2016;68(2):324-333. Blood pressure meta-analysis; not a sleep claim. doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.07664
  6. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium fact sheet for health professionals. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

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