Best magnesium supplements for sleep

• Magnesium glycinate is useful for anxiety, insomnia and stress conditions.
• Magnesium chloride has a calming effect on the nervous system, helping to relax the body.

Getting enough magnesium from your diet is usually not difficult to achieve for most people, and nutritionists generally advise to increase the number of magnesium-rich foods you eat if you are looking to improve your levels, such as nuts, seeds and leafy green veg.

Many people, however, choose to take a supplement to support good sleep. If you are considering a supplement, we have looked at the leading options to discover which can help to promote a good night’s sleep.

Read on to find out which magnesium supplements brands we rated. There's also more information below on the different types of magnesium, how much you should take, and the formats which might suit you best…

Find out more about the health benefits of magnesium.

Jump to section:

• How much magnesium should I take?
• How should I take a magnesium supplement?
• What form of magnesium should I take?
• What format of magnesium is best?
• How we tested magnesium supplements

Best magnesium supplements at a glance

• Nutrition Geeks Magnesium Glycinate, £9.94
• Vitabright magnesium glycinate, £17.99
• Heights Magnesium+, £20
• New Leaf Magnesium Glycinate, £9.94
• Viridian Magnesium Biglycinate, £14.75

Best magnesium supplements for sleep

Nutrition Geeks Magnesium Glycinate 3-in-1

Available from Amazon (£9.94), Nutrition Geeks (£9.99)

Price per day (recommended dose): 16p
Star rating: 5/5
Containing three types of magnesium (primarily glycinate, which is recommended for sleep improvements), this is a good all-rounder with 884mg of elemental magnesium – 102% of your daily recommended amount (NRV). With 22% magnesium citrate (to reduce anxiety) and 22% magnesium malate (for muscle tension), these could also be beneficial if you’re struggling to sleep. Free from fillers and packaged in a sachet that contains 95% less plastic than a bottle. It’s also a very good price.

Available from:

• Amazon (£9.94)
• Nutrition Geeks (£9.99)

Vitabright magnesium glycinate

Available from Amazon (£17.99), Vitabright (£18.99), Superdrug (£18.99)

Price per day (recommended dose): 21p
Star rating: 5/5
This sizeable jar should last you three months, taking two capsules a day for 80% of your recommended amount of magnesium. Free from fillers and vegan friendly, we’ve found this a very reliable brand in our tests.

Available from:

• Amazon (£17.99)
• Vitabright (£18.99)
• Superdrug (£18.99)

Heights Magnesium+

Available from Heights (£20)

Price per day (recommended dose): 67p
Star rating: 4.5/5
This online-only subscription service uses an unusually shaped bottle to fit through your letterbox – although encasing that in a cardboard box feels a bit packaging heavy. Two capsules a day provides 80% of your NRV of pure magnesium glycinate, with the company recommending you take them at night to benefit your sleep most. These contain no fillers, and there’s a money-back offer if you aren’t happy.

Available from:

• Heights (£20)

New Leaf Magnesium Glycinate

Available from Amazon (£9.94), New Leaf (£10.95), Superdrug (£12.95)

Price per day (recommended dose): 18p
Star rating: 3.5/5
The recommended dose of two capsules contains a moderate 55% of your daily intake. Be sure to take them with plenty of water and preferably some food. Although they’re not the strongest dose, they tick all the boxes of being third-party tested, produced to Good Manufacturing Practice standards, suitable for vegans and free from GMOs and allergens.

Available from:

• Amazon (£9.94)
• New Leaf (£10.95)
• Superdrug (£12.95)

Viridian Magnesium Biglycinate

Available from Viridian (£14.75), Victoria Health (£14.95)

Price per day (recommended dose): 49p
Star rating: 3.5/5
Two capsules a day provides 37% of magnesium’s NRV, although the company suggests you can take up to four tablets daily (taking you up to 74%, at a cost per day of 98p). Viridian sells itself on its quality and ethical considerations – ingredients are fully traceable and supplements are nutritionist-formulated and evidence-backed.

Available from:

• Viridian (£14.75)
• Victoria Health (£14.95)

How much magnesium should I take?

How much magnesium you should be looking to include will depend on your age, gender, life stage and any health or dietary issues you might have. As a guide, the Nutrient Reference Value (average recommended daily amount) of magnesium is 375mg.
Make sure you’re checking the ‘elemental magnesium’ amount on the label, as a compound (for instance, magnesium oxide) won’t contain as much magnesium as the pure form.

How should I take a magnesium supplement?

It’s usually best to take magnesium with a meal, and not at the same time as other mineral supplements (if you’re taking any). Aim to take it around two hours before bed if it’s being used to help you sleep.

What form of magnesium should I take?

Magnesium is usually provided in compound form in supplements, and sometimes the partner element can bring health benefits of its own.

Our expert nutritionist Kerry Torrens advises the following forms, depending on your health needs:

• For energy: magnesium malate / orortate
• For anxiety or mood: magnesium citrate / lactate / l-threonate / glycinate / chloride
• For digestion, including constipation: magnesium citrate / lactate / oxide / sulfate
• For heartburn: magnesium oxide / chloride / carbonate
• For sleep: magnesium glycinate / chloride
• For heart health: magnesium taurate / orotate
• For bone health: magnesium citrate
• For muscle tension: magnesium malate / sulfate

What format of magnesium is best?

If you don’t want to take a capsule, magnesium can be used in a spray or bath. There’s limited quality research into how effective magnesium applied to the skin might be (although areas with more hair follicles – such as arms and legs – are believed to be best), as well as in how well magnesium bath salts might be absorbed.

How we tested magnesium supplements

Nutritionist Kerry Torrens provided advice on the benefits and disadvantages of different forms of magnesium, as well as the most efficient delivery formats for supplements and recommended doses.

Our key criteria were price (which we judged by the cost of a recommended daily dose), the percentage of Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) provided in the recommended dose of each product, and how the product format (capsule, tablet, drink, gummy etc) and form of magnesium might affect the amount of magnesium absorbed in the body.

Our panel of Good Food testers also trialled each product to see how easy it was to take or use, and judge flavour and smell where appropriate.

Read more about how we test different products at Good Food.

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