Examining the Effects of Supplemental Magnesium on Self-Reported Anxiety and Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of interventional clinical trials
PubMed 38817505 · doi:10.7759/cureus.59317
What was done
A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines searched PubMed for interventional trials evaluating supplemental magnesium (dose >=50 mg or >=12.5% of recommended daily allowance) for anxiety disorders and sleep disorders. Studies with more than three other active compounds or in non-English languages were excluded. From 860 initial records, 15 interventional studies met inclusion criteria: 8 evaluated sleep outcomes (most frequently via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), 7 evaluated anxiety outcomes (including the Hamilton Anxiety Scale), and 1 evaluated both.
What was found
Five of 8 sleep studies reported improvements in at least one sleep parameter, 2 reported no improvement, and 1 reported mixed results. Five of 7 anxiety studies reported improvements in self-reported anxiety, while the 2 negative trials involved populations with potential endocrine confounders (postpartum women and patients with premenstrual symptoms). The abstract reports no pooled quantitative effect sizes or numerical statistics.
Why it matters
Supplemental magnesium is widely used for sleep and anxiety despite limited synthesis of the clinical trial literature. This review maps the existing trial base, indicating potential benefits for mild symptoms while demonstrating a need for standardized dosing and better-powered trials.
Limits
The literature search was restricted to a single database (PubMed) and English-language articles. Included studies were limited by small participant counts, heterogeneous formulations, variable dosages and intervention durations, and confounding co-ingredients in some formulations.
Cited by
- supports Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials show magnesium supplementation improves subjective sleep metrics, including PSQI scores, sleep efficiency, and duration.