Magnesium Glycinate: Mental Heath Benefits

Key Takeaways

• Magnesium glycinate might help with sleep, stress, and mood.
• It’s hard to get enough magnesium from food, so many people use supplements.
• Always talk to a health professional before taking magnesium supplements.

Minerals are essential to proper nutrition. Magnesium in particular is sometimes thought to be helpful in the management of a variety of conditions, including migraine, alcoholism, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, arrhythmias, renal calcium stones, premenstrual disorders.

Magnesium may also be helpful in reducing physical symptoms like headaches, muscle pain, back pain, and stomach pain in certain conditions. In addition, there is some evidence magnesium can potentially benefit mental health by acting as a mood booster, muscle relaxer, stress reducer, and sleep aid.

Magnesium plays a vital role in health maintenance, but receiving the recommended dietary allowance from food is often challenging. The magnesium dietary reference intake for adults is 310–420 mg/d, but most consume below these recommendations. Since most cannot reach the recommended amounts through diet, it is convenient to use magnesium supplements. 

Magnesium Deficiency

There are many risk factors for an individual to develop a magnesium deficiency, such as alcohol use disorders, older age, malabsorption, and conditions like type 2 diabetes.

There are several mental disorders and and symptoms that have been associated with magnesium deficiency, such as the following; 

Related Disorders

Symptoms

Mental Health Benefits of Magnesium Glycinate

There are several types of magnesium that can be obtained through supplements. They vary in terms of their ease of absorption. Magnesium glycinate is one of these preparations. It is a compound of magnesium and the amino acid glycine thought to be well tolerated and easily absorbed.

One study reported magnesium glycinate an effective treatment for major depression. Participants recovered from major depression in less than seven days of taking 125-300 mg of magnesium glycinate.

Magnesium absorbs in the small intestines, then is sent into the bloodstream to be stored in the bones and eventually excreted by the kidneys. Quick absorption and tolerability make it potentially beneficial for falling asleep and aiding with stress and mood.

Magnesium Glycinate Supplements

Certain foods are rich in magnesium and can increase levels, such as leafy greens, whole grains, nuts and legumes, white vegetables like potatoes, and fruits like bananas and avocados. However, there may be reasons that even a magnesium rich diet may not provide adequate levels. In these cases, a a magnesium glycinate supplement may be a good source to receive adequate amounts.

Many magnesium supplements exist, so consider the steps below before choosing a magnesium glycinate supplement.

1. Speak with a health professional before trying magnesium supplements if you feel a need to gain more insight about magnesium glycinate or need to discuss the best type of supplement and dosing.
2. Check for magnesium deficiency. You may benefit from checking magnesium levels in blood work. If you are magnesium deficient your doctor may order additional laboratory tests and treatments.
3. Is glycinate the best magnesium compound for you? A helpful step is to decide what you want to gain from using a magnesium supplement that would help with the most and if glycinate offers those benefits. It is also essential to figure out the appropriate number of milligrams to take to receive the results that you are expecting. Speaking with your doctor may help clarify these questions.
4. Do some research. It is important to research different magnesium supplements and the specific brand you are considering to ensure they are a reliable source. Reading some reviews about the product you are purchasing may be helpful.
5. Try it out. It may be helpful to gain insight into whether a particular magnesium preparation works for you by trying out other brands if one doesn’t work.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Ates M, Kizildag S, Yuksel O, et al. Dose-dependent absorption profile of different magnesium compounds. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2019;192, 244–251. doi:10.1007/s12011-019-01663-0

2. Yin L, Liu X, Yi L, Wang J, Zhang Y, Feng Y. Structural characterization of calcium glycinate, magnesium glycinate and zinc glycinate. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences. 2016;10(3). doi:10.1142/S1793545816500528

3. Eby GA, Eby KL. Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment. Medical Hypotheses. 2006;362-370. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.01.047

By Tiara Blain, MA

Tiara Blain, MA, is a freelance writer for Verywell Mind. She is a health writer and researcher passionate about the mind-body connection, and holds a Master’s degree in psychology.

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