#135 - Magnesium vs Melatonin? Which One Is Better For Sleep?
Image created by Filip Obbel - Art Director at Sleep Cycle
You don’t have to go far on social media to see someone complaining about their sleep.
And then the domino-effect begins.
Every woman, man and troll says what they should try.
Inevitably, someone mentions melatonin.
And then there’s the other M-word.
Magnesium.
But which one is better for sleep?
Well, I spent part of a month investigating this question, and you can dine on all the juicy details at this blog right here.
I’m not sure about you, but when I hear about all these sleep suggestions on social media, my walls go up. By that, I mean my filter switch goes on. By that, I mean my bullshit meter starts ticking.
In fact - lately - I feel like something is wrong with me. Like I’m turning into the ‘Sleep Grinch’.
Here’s an example …
In doing my research about whether magnesium was beneficial for sleep, I knew that Professor Andrew Huberman released his massively popular Youtube podcast ‘Sleep Toolkit’ about a month ago. And in that podcast, he mentions something very specific about magnesium -
“For many people, however, taking 145 milligrams of magnesium threonate can be very beneficial. That’s the dosage that most people will benefit from … many people find allows them to get really drowsy and fall asleep, sleep really deeply, and they feel much more refreshed the next day, and they don’t have a grogginess to them.”
I first looked at the references he listed for his 1 hour 41 minute podcast …
Nope. Nada. Nil. Zero.
So then I delved into the scientific research via Google Scholar …
For those of you ready to tune out of the Sleep Grinch so you can view the latest Huberman Lab podcast, please let me give you the short story before you change the channel.
I could find no evidence for Huberman’s claim that 145 milligrams of Magnesium Threonate delivered all of these sleep outcomes.
For those of you who wish to see this tale told by the Sleep Grinch reach its final conclusion …
Read On ..
For context, Prof Andrew Huberman is like me. He is an active researcher. Here is his Google Scholar profile which shows he has published 4 scientific studies this year. …
BTW - do you notice that none of his recent scientific studies are about sleep?
You can see from his areas of specialisation that Prof Huberman is an expert in neuroscience and ophthalmology.
So you have a comparison, here’s the Sleep Grinch’s Google Scholar profile …
I tried to fit as many 2022 scientific studies into the screenshot, and couldn’t fit them all in. This is not to brag, but to show you facts - that help to convey that:
the Sleep Grinch doesn’t spend enough time Youtubing
every single study published by the Sleep Grinch in 2022 was about sleep
Prof Andrew Huberman dabbles in sleep (on Youtube).
Google Scholar
I cannot say enough about how helpful Google Scholar is. It can really be beneficial to support the decisions we make in our lives.
I spent more than 1 hour on Google Scholar trying to find evidence to support Prof Huberman’s claim that 145 mg of Magnesium Threonate helps sleep.
That’s a very long time for me to spend in Google Scholar trying to find 1 fact !
Indeed, when one searches for - what should be a well known fact - the first page in Google Scholar should show you a lot of highly relevant articles.
In the case of 145 mg of Mg for sleep, a plethora of research articles should come up front and centre.
That’s because 145 mg is very specific. Such specificity assumes at least 3 studies have been done to show a non-linear effect - that there is a sweetspot.
Well, let me show you my first page from such a search …
First, there’s a bunch of websites in that list. That’s really not a good sign.
As you can see, there is one article that is listed in 7th place that is purple. This means I clicked on it - even though it specifically says “Mg-L-Theanine’ - not Magnesium Threonate.
I can tell you that this was the closest study I found to support Prof Huberman’s statement.
But …
it does not specify Magnesium Threonate.
it suggests to take a combination of Magnesium and L-Theanine (note: in Prof Huberman’s podcast, he does mention taking L-theanine, yet suggests you can take it by itself or in combination).
this study does not specify 145 milligrams.
most importantly, this study was done on rats.
Conclusion?
In Prof Huberman’s defense, he gets a bunch of sleep stuff right. And so he should - because he’s a researcher, who should be able to read other people’s research.
So Professor Huberman, if you’re reading this - please point me in the direction to the multiple studies that support your claim that 145 mg of Magnesium Threonate is beneficial for sleep.
To everyone else who read this far - perhaps consider fact checking.
And for all I care - forward this blog to as many people who should be educated about magnesium for sleep.
For detailed info about magnesium for sleep - here’s my latest blog at Sleep Cycle.
Prof MG