Both magnesium and melatonin are popular sleep aids, but they work differently. Discover what each does, where the evidence stands, and why neither is a guaranteed fix for restless nights.
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Hailed recently as a secret weapon for a restful night’s sleep, you might have heard about the rising popularity of magnesium glycinate. But if you want to see results quickly, choosing the right supplement to help you get some much-needed rest can feel even more crucial. So can magnesium actually help you sleep better than melatonin?
‘I think the first question should actually be: What kind of sleep problem are you experiencing?’ says Melissa Snover, registered nutritionist and founder at personalized nutrition company, Nourished.
‘Are you lying awake for an hour trying to drift off? Falling asleep easily but waking repeatedly throughout the night? Or sleeping for eight hours and still waking up feeling exhausted? These are three quite different experiences, and they don’t necessarily have the same underlying causes or solutions.’
Magnesium for sleep
Magnesium is an essential mineral involved in hundreds of processes in our body, and can be taken as a supplement to help with a whole range of things, depending on what it’s paired with.
‘Magnesium plays a role in the processes that help regulate nerve activity, so it’s understandable why researchers have been investigating whether it might help us relax and sleep better,’ says Snover.
But research into magnesium for sleep is ongoing, and it might not be the silver bullet some make it out to be.
‘Some small studies have reported improvements in sleep, particularly among older adults, but the overall clinical evidence remains mixed,’ says Snover. ‘I think it’s important to distinguish between correcting a nutritional deficiency and taking additional magnesium in the hope of achieving better sleep. They’re not necessarily the same thing.’
‘My advice would be not to think of magnesium as a magic sleeping pill, but as one important piece of the much bigger picture of healthy sleep.’
Melatonin for sleep
Where magnesium is a mineral, melatonin is a hormone that our bodies naturally produce themselves.
‘Its primary role is to help regulate our circadian rhythm, essentially our internal body clock, by signalling when it’s time to prepare for sleep,’ Snover says. ‘That’s why melatonin can be particularly helpful when our body clock is disrupted, for example by jet lag.’
However, she points out, a common misconception about melatonin is that it’s a universal solution for poor sleep. ‘There’s an important difference between struggling to fall asleep and struggling to stay asleep, and melatonin won’t necessarily address every reason someone might be experiencing disturbed nights.’
Which should I take to help me sleep?
Whether magnesium or melatonin is right for you entirely depends on which sleep problems you’re experiencing – and can vary from person to person.
‘Are you lying awake for an hour trying to drift off? Falling asleep easily but waking repeatedly throughout the night? Or sleeping for eight hours and still waking up feeling exhausted?’ Snover asks. ‘These are three quite different experiences, and they don’t necessarily have the same underlying causes or solutions.’
Generally speaking, though, Snover does have some recommendations. ‘Melatonin has a clear established role in regulating sleep timing, whereas magnesium is an essential nutrient that supports normal nervous system function, with more limited evidence for directly improving sleep.’
Sleep quality vs duration
In the field of sleep, discussions are growing around whether sleep duration or sleep quality is more important for good rest.
‘One area of research I’m particularly excited about is bioactive peptides: naturally derived protein fragments that researchers are investigating for their potential effects on sleep,’ Snover notes. One such peptide ingredient, PEPTISleep, is showing some encouraging preliminary findings, she tells us.
‘For me, the future of sleep nutrition isn’t about finding one ingredient that makes everybody sleepy. It’s about understanding the biology of restorative sleep and developing more targeted, scientifically informed ways to support it.’
How to sleep better
If you really want to improve your sleep, supplements and nutrients are just one tool available to you – especially when the market is growing exponentially as more and more products become available.
‘One of the most important things I would say, particularly to women in midlife, is that you shouldn’t simply accept persistent exhaustion as an inevitable part of getting older,’ Snover urges.
‘Understanding why your sleep has changed is the first step towards doing something about it. I’m a huge believer in establishing a consistent evening routine.
‘Try to wake at roughly the same time each morning, get exposure to natural daylight early in the day and make your bedroom a comfortable, cool and dark environment.’
Don’t underestimate the relationship between sleep and stress, either — if you’re particularly stressed, your natural cortisol level rhythms can become disrupted, making it a struggle to switch off and settle into restful sleep.
‘Creating a genuine transition between our busy days and bedtime, whether that’s reading, taking a warm bath, doing gentle stretches or simply putting our phones away, can make a real difference.
‘I would also encourage anyone whose sleep has changed significantly, especially around menopause, to speak with their [healthcare professional] because there could be larger underlying factors at play.’
Nourished Sleep Pro formulation offers a melatonin-free nutritional approach to sleep support. (RRP £29.99)
