Magnesium Glycinate: 47 Nights of Data

Magnesium glycinate has the most consistent effect on sleep onset of any supplement I've evaluated. I know this because I ran a 47-night randomized alternating trial: magnesium on odd nights, no magnesium on even nights. This is not a controlled clinical trial. It is the most rigorous self-experiment I could run without a laboratory.

The Protocol

400mg magnesium glycinate (NOW Foods brand), taken 60 minutes before bed. This timing matches the recommendations in the published literature — magnesium's effect on GABA receptors takes approximately an hour to be measurable. I did not change any other protocol variable during the 47-night trial.

The Data

Magnesium nights: average sleep onset latency 19.2 minutes, average wake events 1.6, average readiness score 76. No-magnesium nights: average onset 24.8 minutes, average wake events 1.9, readiness score 72.

The differences: 5.6 minutes faster sleep onset, 0.3 fewer wake events, 4 points higher readiness. These are not large effects. They are consistent effects across 47 nights, which makes them reliable in a way that single-night observations are not.

Dr. Chen's Assessment

I brought this data to Dr. Chen in April. He reviewed the alternating night methodology and said it was "unusually controlled self-experimentation." He noted that the effect sizes were consistent with published research on magnesium glycinate's effects on sleep onset in people with mild-to-moderate insomnia. He added that at $24 per bottle for a 30-day supply, the cost-per-improvement-unit was the best of any intervention in my protocol.

He did not say this about the Eight Sleep Pod. The Eight Sleep Pod cost $2,000 and also improved my data. But the magnesium is the best value.