Best Time to Take Magnesium for Sleep?

[VVV]

Google has several contradictory answers.

I started taking a 250 mg magnesium supplement daily for another reason. Nicely, it seems to also help with sleep. I've been taking it at random times and haven't figured out which time is best.

TIA!

[Miss Emerita]

I take it right before bed, but I'll be curious whether other people find a different timing to be optimal.

[chunkyfrog]

My oncologist put me on them for a couple of months.
I'd rather not have to take them.
Those pills are HUGE!
I had to channel a python to choke them down.

[rest.is.key]

Can't offer any advice on the best time to take magnesium - but my doctor has me on a sleeping pill and he says to take it 1 hour before going to bed.

[Julie]

Chunky! You should be able to get a pill cutter at the Rx... half the things I take are in halves, quarters, etc because I cut them up, often just because I don't want the 'whole' effect at a given time and not because they're too big to swallow.

[rest.is.key]

when you cut pills you get those horrible jagged edges though.

[ChicagoGranny]

when you cut pills you get those horrible jagged edges though.

Yes, magnesium will crumble when cutting is attempted.

[onward60]

I take capsules. I find them much easier to swallow than tablets.

[palerider]

when you cut pills you get those horrible jagged edges though.

Yes, magnesium will crumble when cutting is attempted.

You can't make a blanket statement like that, since there are so many different formulations of magnesium.

I just cut a magnesium glycinate from 'natures branch' cleanly into two pieces.

[Zomby Woof]

@chunkyfrog
I take 250mg Magnesium Citrate doses, and yes, they ARE huge.
My solution was finding the supplement packed as coated lozenges.
They are smooth and don't stick to your throat as uncoated pill forms often do.

Mine are provided by NatureMade but likely to be available from several makers.
They are the largest pill I take, and yet they are the easiest to swallow.

[lazarus]

I can't find a definitive recommendation on timing and sleep, either. I would think (guess) that just having balanced electrolytes in general, regardless of what time of the day and in what form they are ingested, would be the key.

The following link doesn't answer the timing question, but it seems to my eyes/ears to be reasonably worded as far as the general question of the apparent effect of magnesium on sleep. Ignore the ads; the careful wording is the article text:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/magnesium

[VVV]

For a few nights, the magnesium seemed to be helping. Then, it didn't. I did some more experiments taking it and not taking it. Conclusion: It doesn't help me and has been discontinued.

I would think if you don't get enough in your diet, supplementation might help.

How much magnesium is in your food? - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/a ... -rich-food

[LSAT]

I take 200mg Magnesium Citrate Gummies......they are like candy

[RobertS975]

I am somewhat ignorant about the use of Mg supplements for sleep. Is this for control of muscle cramps or restless leg syndrome?

[zonker]

I am somewhat ignorant about the use of Mg supplements for sleep. Is this for control of muscle cramps or restless leg syndrome?

here's some info for you to read-
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/magnesium

https://myhealth.ucsd.edu/RelatedItems/6,1659474634

hope this helps!