Are magnesium supplements just good for sleep?

One scroll on TikTok and magnesium seems to have broken free from the confines of the periodic table into everyone’s medicine cabinets.

Magnesium supplements have long been recommended by experts for their calming and sleep-boosting benefits. But they can do more than help you count sheep.

Scroll to see what else magnesium supplements can do for your health.

Benefits of magnesium supplements

Known for its relaxing, sleep-inducing powers, multi-tasking magnesium is a bit of an overachiever when it comes to other health benefits, too.

Our Head of Nutrition, Lorraine Perretta, says: “Magnesium is part of 300 enzyme systems in the body – it works with every facet of our health.”

Helps reduce fatigue

Its hero benefit for a reason, magnesium supplements can help you get a great night’s sleep by targeting the neurotransmitters that produce melatonin (the sleep hormone). This helps keep the sleep-wake cycle in sync, and sleep patterns more regular.

Supports cell and organ function

“Being part of 300 enzyme systems in the body, magnesium plays a key role in maintaining healthy organs and supporting their daily functions,” says Lorraine. Taking magnesium supplements daily can help keep your bodily functions running smoothly.

Supports brain health

“Magnesium works brilliantly with Vitamin B” explains Lorraine. “They work in synergy together to support healthy cognition and neurotransmitters (your body’s chemical messengers), which also helps to stabilise our mood.”

Maintains bone and muscle health

Essential for healthy muscles and bone density (which naturally declines as we age, particularly during menopause for women) magnesium helps to transport calcium around the body, helping build strength.

Supports the immune and nervous systems

“If you’re looking to boost immunity, magnesium is a key part of the process of supporting antioxidants around the body,” says Lorraine. “This helps boost illness-fighting white blood cells to assist immune function and keep coughs and colds away.”

Which foods contain magnesium?

We think of supplements like a wellness safety net – there to fill in any nutritional gaps in our diets. So, we always recommend trying to get as many nutrients as possible from food first.

We asked Head of Nutrition Lorraine to share her favourite sources of magnesium.

Leafy green vegetables

“Magnesium is found in chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants. Try adding vegetables like kale leaves to salads or cavolo nero to soups and stews.”

Grains, nuts and seeds

“Whole grains like oats and nuts including Brazil, almond and cashew nuts are full of magnesium, plus brown rice, chia and pumpkin seeds are all excellent sources.”

Fish

"Fish like mackerel and salmon are packed with magnesium, as well as essential fatty acids. These two nutrients work really well together to reduce inflammation, calm inflammatory skin conditions and prevent inflammageing – which can lead to signs of ageing, including wrinkles.”

3 ways magnesium can support skin health

1. Hydrates skin from within

Recent studies (Ikarashi, 2023) prove magnesium can increase a protein found in the skin that helps to transport water, keeping skin moisturised. As protein also makes up the building blocks of skin cells, this also assists barrier repair for strong, healthy skin.

2. Supports healthy skin cells

Like Google Maps for your insides, magnesium helps vitamin D to travel around the body and get where it needs to be. It helps to activate vitamin D (Uwitonze, 2018), as well as controlling how skin cells grow and develop (Bikle, 2012).

3. Enhances beauty sleep

Sleep is one of the best things you can do for your skin – it's when cell renewal peaks and blood flow increases to deliver essential nutrients to skin. Magnesium has a calming effect on the brain. So, while you catch ZZZs, your body works the night shift to help you wake up glowing.

How much magnesium should you take?

The NHS recommends women aged between 19 and 64 years old get 270mg of magnesium a day, while this increases to 300mg for men. It’s important to get as much as possible from your diet first. So, try and add some of the foods above to your diet, then add supplements to fill in any gaps.

Magnesium supplements to try

When it comes to taking magnesium, our Head of Nutrition Lorraine explains it works better alongside other nutrients to get even more benefits.

“A single nutrient cannot work as effectively or efficiently as a group of nutrients working together in synergy,” she says. “Skin Vitality is formulated with magnesium plus a host of other nutrients to support all-round health. Taking a multivitamin is a great catch-all to fill the nutritional gaps in our diets.”

Ready to add this mineral into your health routine? Shop our clinically proven supplements to support from the inside out.

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