Does Magnesium Help to Reduce Anxiety?

Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Talk to a healthcare professional about whether a supplement is the right fit for your individual health, and about any potential drug interactions or safety concerns.

“There is no cure for anxiety, but many find magnesium to be a helpful addition to anxiety treatment, especially when symptoms are mild and associated with factors like deficiency, trouble sleeping, restless legs, or migraines,” says Iman Hypolite, MD, principal psychiatrist at Aspira Health and Wellness Consulting in Atlanta.

Magnesium plays a role in mood and stress regulation by calming excitatory brain activity, enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) — a neurotransmitter that helps the body relax — and assisting in the balance of serotonin and dopamine, which are key to emotional well-being, says Dr. Hypolite. “Some evidence suggests that magnesium supplementation may support these pathways and help reduce anxiety symptoms, even in individuals without a clinical deficiency,” she adds.

Here’s what’s most important to know about the connection between magnesium and anxiety.

What Are the Potential Benefits of Magnesium for Anxiety?

“In addition to worry and sleep issues, common symptoms [of anxiety] include muscle tension, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritability, and a sense of being on edge,” says Hypolite. “While occasional anxiety is part of the human experience, persistent or excessive symptoms may indicate an anxiety disorder.”

It May Help Regulate the Body’s Stress Response

“This is important because the HPA axis controls the release of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone,” says Hypolite. “When the HPA axis becomes dysregulated, cortisol levels can remain elevated, which may contribute to anxiety, disrupted sleep, and mood changes.” Magnesium is thought to help modulate this system, potentially reducing excessive cortisol release and supporting a more balanced stress response, she adds.

It May Help Your Muscles Relax

“When you’re feeling anxious, your muscles tense up — you can even see it in people’s faces,” explains Noah Kass, LCSW, a psychotherapist in Brooklyn, New York. When you’re physically relaxed, your nervous system signals your brain to quit worrying, he says. “Magnesium works with the parasympathetic nervous system to relax those muscles,” he adds.

It May Help Your Sleep

And there’s the sleep part of the equation. “Anxiety, sleep, and mental well-being are all intertwined,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician in Menlo Park, California.

As a supplement that may help with anxiety, magnesium may also promote sleep. “Better sleep, in turn, results in less anxiety the following day,” Dr. Dimitriu says.

It May Have Other Mood Benefits

What’s more, there is some evidence that magnesium levels in the body are connected to the development of mood and anxiety disorders — and that taking magnesium supplements may help with symptom management when it comes to anxiety.

“While the overall findings suggest a potential link between low magnesium and depression, the research findings are still mixed, particularly when it comes to anxiety,” says Hypolite. “More research is needed to better understand these relationships, determine causality, and identify which individuals may benefit most from magnesium supplementation.”

Which Type of Magnesium Is Best For Anxiety?

Types of Magnesium Supplements That May Help Anxiety

Here’s what to know about picking a magnesium supplement for anxiety:

Meanwhile, magnesium glycinate, L-threonate, and taurate are increasingly being used to treat anxiety, though formal large-scale trials remain limited, says Hypolite.

“Magnesium glycinate is commonly used in integrative psychiatry because it’s well absorbed and includes glycine, an amino acid known for its calming effects and support of sleep,” she says.

“While more human research is needed, these forms are often considered in integrative psychiatry when anxiety is a concern, particularly because they are generally well tolerated and aligned with known mechanisms that support emotional regulation,” says Hypolite.

How to Choose the Right Magnesium Supplement for You

As far as which one you should choose, Dimitriu generally recommends magnesium L-threonate because it’s well-absorbed by the body and crosses the blood-brain barrier (a protective layer that controls how chemicals enter and exit your brain).

However, there’s not a single dose that works for everyone. “I don’t provide blanket recommendations for dosing,” says Hypolite.

If you and your healthcare team decide to add a magnesium supplement to your anxiety treatment, you’ll want to read the label carefully to make sure you select the right type and dosage. Also, because the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, in order to pick a high-quality product, look for USP, NSF, or ConsumerLab approvals on the label. This means the product has undergone third-party testing for quality and purity.

How to Take Magnesium for Anxiety: 3 Expert Tips

“Magnesium works by supporting the regulation of neurotransmitters and helping to calm the nervous system — but it is not a first-line treatment for anxiety,” says Hypolite. The primary treatments remain psychotherapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants, depending on severity, she adds.

If your doctor gives the go-ahead to use magnesium supplements, consider the following:

1. Keep a Log of How You’re Responding

Don’t expect your mood to take a 180-degree turn. Still, you should notice improvements pretty quickly, says Sophia Deahl, RD, a functional medicine specialist in private practice in Costa Mesa, California. “I’ll have clients report after several days if they feel a difference with the supplement,” she says.

Accountability to a healthcare practitioner or registered dietitian while taking supplements is key, as they can set expectations and help determine the impact.

Logging or journaling your symptoms is also important for identifying any potential side effects early on. “Magnesium is not without risk,” says Hypolite. “It can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, interfere with medications, or cause cardiac issues such as low blood pressure or arrhythmias, particularly in individuals with impaired kidney function or when taken in high doses.”

2. Don’t Forget About Your Diet

Taking a magnesium supplement doesn’t mean you can ignore how much you’re getting through your diet. “Include a variety of sources of magnesium from food, like whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and you’re more likely to meet the recommended magnesium intake [than by taking supplements alone],” Deahl says. Plus, you’ll score other essential vitamins and minerals through food.

3. Use With Other Anxiety Treatments

In fact, it can be harmful to your mental health to self-treat with supplements alone. “If every day is hard, if joy is gone, if sleep is constantly poor, and you cannot recharge in your time off, it might be time to speak to a professional,” Dimitriu says.

If you and your doctor think adding magnesium may be beneficial for you, read our list of the best magnesium supplements out there, recommended by experts.

The Takeaway

• Magnesium is an essential mineral involved in hundreds of processes in the body, including blood pressure regulation, energy production, and muscle and nerve function.
• Studies suggest that magnesium supplements may be helpful for symptoms of mild anxiety, but the research is still mixed and limited, and there’s no clear guidance on who is a good candidate for magnesium, what type to take, and what the dose should be.
• Magnesium supplements should not be used as a stand-alone treatment for anxiety — before adding this supplement, talk to your healthcare provider to make sure it’s right for you.
• If you get the green light from your provider to take magnesium, consider looking for foods that contain magnesium, and keep a record to track changes to your anxiety and any unpleasant side effects.

Additional reporting by Kelsey Kloss.