Magnesium & Sleep: Huberman's Insights
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Magnesium Threonate and Sleep Quality
Magnesium has been demonstrated to not only increase sleep depth but also reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. Among the various forms available, magnesium threonate (Mg3) stands out as one of the most bioavailable and effective options for sleep enhancement.
If you’re considering magnesium supplementation, Huberman recommends taking it 30-60 minutes before bedtime. This timing aligns with the body’s natural wind-down period and maximizes its sleep-promoting effects.
It’s worth noting that supplementation isn’t one-size-fits-all. While many people experience tremendous benefits from magnesium threonate, others may face challenges. Some individuals might experience stomach issues even at low doses. This variability in response emphasizes the importance of listening to your body and consulting healthcare professionals before starting any supplementation regime.
Magnesium L-Threonate
The only form of magnesium that effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier, delivering this critical nutrient directly to your brain.
✓ Enhances sleep quality
✓ Supports cognitive function
✓ Promotes brain health
Interestingly, the magnesium content in our daily water consumption also plays a crucial role in our health. Research has shown that higher magnesium levels in drinking water (8.3 to 19.4 mg per liter) correlate with a 25% decrease in cardiovascular mortality compared to lower levels (2.5 to 8.2 mg per liter).
Dr. Mathew Walker’s Take on Magnesium
Walker said he doesn’t take magnesium himself but finds threonate interesting because it can cross into the brain. However, there aren’t many good studies specifically on threonate for sleep.
For magnesium in general, the data for helping sleep is “uncompelling.” Walker thinks the idea that magnesium helps sleep came from old studies showing that people who were deficient in magnesium had sleep problems, and when they took magnesium to fix the deficiency, their sleep improved. Somehow, this got twisted into the idea that healthy people with normal magnesium levels would sleep even better if they took more, but the evidence doesn’t support that.
The only study where magnesium seemed to help was in older adults with insomnia, who were probably deficient anyway. So, it’s more about fixing a deficiency than boosting normal sleep.
Huberman Sleep Cocktail
TLDR
Magnesium Threonate: 200-400mg
L-Theanine: 200-400mg
Apigenin: 50mg
(2-3 hours before sleep)
Huberman’s Notes
If you’re someone who wakes up in the middle of the night, say around 2 or 3 a.m., and can’t get back to sleep, there are a couple of types of supplements you might want to look into. One is Myo Inositol.
Taking about 900 milligrams of Myo Inositol could help you fall back asleep faster if you wake up.
Another supplement is Theanine. Often taken in doses from 100mg to 400mg, Theanine can be helpful for falling asleep. However, for those who have really strong dreams, Theanine can make them even more vivid. This might cause you to wake up suddenly, sometimes feeling a bit anxious. So, if intense dreams are waking you up, Huberman advises that you might want to skip Theanine.
Now, what if your problem isn’t waking up in the middle of the night, but actually falling asleep in the first place?
Apigenin comes from chamomile and is known to help lower anxiety. Feeling less anxious is super important before sleep because it helps you turn off all those thoughts about problems or what you need to do tomorrow. Quieting your mind is key to falling asleep.
So, what’s a smart way to use these supplements to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep? Should you just take Magnesium Threonate and Apigenin together right away? Well, it depends.
If you have the money and just want to fall asleep quicker without figuring out exactly which supplement is doing the trick, you could try one, like Magnesium Threonate, for about a week. See how it changes how fast you fall asleep. Or, you could try Apigenin for a week. You could even try them both together. Another way is to test Magnesium Threonate for a week, then switch to only Apigenin for a week, and see which one works better for you. If neither seems to do much on its own, Huberman suggests trying them together.
That being said, a lot of people really want great sleep, so they might just decide to take Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin, and Theanine all at once. If their dreams get too wild or they wake up from them, they’ll just stop taking the Theanine. Huberman notes that many people actually get good results this way.
Huberman recommends trying one new supplement at a time for about a week, as long as it doesn’t cause any bad side effects. If something makes you feel bad, stop taking it right away. But if it doesn’t cause problems, try it for a week while keeping everything else in your routine – like your food and other supplements – as consistent as possible. It’s hard to keep everything exactly the same, but try not to make any big changes. Just add that one supplement for a week and see how your sleep improves. Then, you could try a different supplement for a week, or see if taking them together works even better.
Other Sleep Supplements
Based on Huberman’s discussions with Dr. Matthew Walker, here’s a comprehensive look at various sleep supplements and tactics beyond magnesium.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone our bodies naturally produce to signal when it’s time to sleep. Dr. Walker explained that melatonin rises as darkness falls – light inhibits its production like a brake pedal. It typically peaks 1-2 hours around bedtime but has been increasing for hours beforehand.
The pineal gland in the brain appears to be the only source of melatonin. Our brain’s master 24-hour clock actually runs slightly longer than 24 hours, with factors like daylight, temperature, food, and activity resetting it daily. Melatonin helps communicate timing to the rest of the body – low levels signal “daytime, be awake” while high levels indicate “nighttime, think about sleep.”
Importantly, melatonin helps with sleep timing but doesn’t actually create sleep itself. Walker used an analogy: melatonin is like the official starting a race, but it doesn’t run in the race.
For healthy adults who aren’t elderly, research shows melatonin supplements aren’t very effective as sleep aids. A comprehensive review found they only increased total sleep by about 3.9 minutes on average and sleep efficiency by just 2.2% – what Huberman called “weak sauce.”
Melatonin supplements appear most beneficial for older adults (60-65+) whose pineal glands may produce less natural melatonin with age.
Regarding dosage, our bodies naturally release amounts “many magnitudes lower” than typical supplements. The most effective doses in studies range between 0.1-0.3 milligrams, while commercial supplements often contain 5-20 milligrams – far exceeding physiological levels. This concerns Huberman, who recalled that high melatonin doses caused reproductive organ shrinkage in animal studies.
Another issue is inconsistent dosing – one study found actual melatonin content ranged from 83% less to 478% more than what labels claimed.
CBD
Huberman expressed concerns about CBD supplements, noting that like melatonin, label amounts often don’t match actual content. Dr. Walker acknowledged limited conclusive research but suggested CBD likely doesn’t cause the same harm as THC.
Dosage appears crucial: low doses (5-10mg) may actually increase wakefulness and disrupt sleep, while higher doses (above 25mg) might promote sleepiness according to some studies. Animal research shows similar patterns.
If CBD benefits sleep, Walker proposed three potential mechanisms:
Body temperature reduction – animal studies show CBD can lower core body temperature, which facilitates sleep
Anxiety reduction – strong evidence, including brain scans showing calming effects on the amygdala
Adenosine response enhancement – emerging research suggests CBD might increase brain sensitivity to adenosine, strengthening sleepiness signals
Huberman noted that most “research” on CBD comes from public self-experimentation, sharing that when he tried it on his dog with dementia-related sleep issues, it actually increased wakefulness.
Valerian Root
According to Dr. Walker, despite popular belief in valerian root’s sleep benefits, scientific evidence is “quite against” it. Five out of seven quality studies found no benefit at all, and a recent study examining over 25 different sleep measurements couldn’t identify any positive effects.
Tart Cherry
Walker was initially skeptical about tart cherry but found three credible studies showing surprising results:
One study found it reduced nighttime wakefulness by over an hour
Another showed increased total sleep by 34 minutes
A third demonstrated an 84-minute sleep increase
These were independent studies from researchers Walker trusts. He described the data as “preliminary” but “chin scratching” – interesting enough to warrant attention.
Apigenin
Huberman personally takes 50mg of apigenin (found in chamomile) about 30 minutes before bedtime and feels it improves his sleep, though he doesn’t formally track results. Walker noted that existing data on apigenin is primarily based on subjective reports rather than objective measurements.
For self-experimentation, Walker suggested measuring sleep for one month without apigenin, one month with it, and another month without it to detect clear patterns.
Kiwi Fruit
Surprisingly, Walker cited one human study where participants consumed whole kiwis, including the skin, resulting in faster sleep onset, longer sleep duration, and less nighttime wakefulness. Huberman, who already eats kiwi skin, was pleased with this finding.
An animal study showed similar results, with mice falling asleep faster and sleeping longer after kiwi consumption. Particularly interesting was that scientists could block these benefits using a drug that inhibits GABA (a calming neurotransmitter), suggesting kiwi might work through the brain’s GABA system. Walker found this evidence quite convincing, though he acknowledged more research is needed.
Tryptophan and Serotonin
Huberman shared his negative experiences with these supplements – easy initial sleep followed by “ridiculously vivid dreams” and several days of insomnia. Walker explained that serotonin levels must fluctuate in specific ways during different sleep stages: high during wakefulness, slightly lower in some sleep stages, and completely suppressed during REM sleep.
Supplements that maintain consistently elevated serotonin levels could disrupt natural REM/non-REM sleep balance. Huberman confirmed he’ll avoid these supplements unless specifically medically indicated.
FAQs About Magnesium and Sleep
What are the different types of magnesium?
The main types are citrate, malate, biglycinate, and threonate. Each serves different purposes – for example, citrate is often used as a laxative, while malate helps with muscle soreness.
Can magnesium improve sleep quality for everyone?
Not necessarily. There’s limited scientific evidence showing that magnesium improves sleep in people who already have adequate magnesium levels.
Where did the belief about magnesium helping sleep come from?
The belief originated from observing that people deficient in magnesium experienced improved sleep when supplementing. This led to an unproven assumption that it would help everyone.
What makes magnesium threonate and biglycinate special
These forms can cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively than other types, potentially offering better brain-related benefits.
Why isn’t there more conclusive research about magnesium and sleep?
According to Huberman, magnesium’s effects on sleep might be subtle and require more precise research methods to detect. Current studies may be too broad to capture these nuances.
What’s the current scientific understanding of magnesium’s role in sleep?
The exact mechanism of how magnesium affects sleep and brain function remains largely unknown. More research is needed, particularly regarding how threonate crosses the blood-brain barrier.