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Systematic review

Review of 9 studies: magnesium linked to sleep in surveys, but supplement trials disagreed

Arab and colleagues · Biological trace element research · 2023

Original title: The Role of Magnesium in Sleep Health: a Systematic Review of Available Literature.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Mixed

Survey and follow-up studies linked magnesium status to sleep quality (daytime falling asleep, sleepiness, snoring, sleep duration). The trials gave contradictory findings on supplements; the link was called uncertain.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Systematic review
Who or what was studied
9 studies, 7,582 people · adults in 9 studies (surveys, long-term follow-ups and trials)
What was tested
Higher magnesium intake or supplements vs lower intake or placebo, looking at sleep
What it measured
The question itself: sleep quality and insomnia
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
Biological trace element research, 2023
Source
PubMed record 35184264. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • •Sums up 9 studies found with a set search method, without pooling the numbers.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: sleep quality and insomnia.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a systematic review, and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: sleep quality and insomnia

    1

    1 benefit

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    6

    4 benefit, 2 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    3

    2 mixed, 1 no difference

  5. Blood levels and genes

    3

    2 benefit, 1 no difference

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does magnesium help you sleep?”

Not clearly; trials disagree.

Confidence: very low. Based on 16 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Summed up in “What reviews found”: Reviewed 9 studies with 7,582 people. Surveys and follow-up studies linked magnesium status to sleep quality, but trials gave contradictory results, so the link with supplements stayed uncertain.

Other reviews on this question

See all 16 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads differed. The reviewer checked the abstract and kept the first read. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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