I tried this lesser-known form of magnesium for a month – the results amazed me

I’ve always been what my mum would describe as ‘a worrier’. My brain likes to sprint 10 steps ahead with every situation I’m in or any decision I make, tracking how it’ll inevitably lead to something bad happening. If my friends don’t look like they’re having fun on a night out, I take it personally. When I’m in a queue, and someone ahead is taking too long, my chest tightens. I run endlessly through scenarios of what might happen, never quite living in the present. The nights are the worst. The loudest self-critical thoughts refuse to let me rest, even when my body is begging for it.

I’ve tried to outsmart my incessantly negative internal monologue over the years. Yoga helps, for the 60 minutes I’m on the mat. Meditation is great, when I stick to it. Journaling has been amazing for helping me follow just one train of thought. But nothing truly quieted the noise until I finally listened to the hype about magnesium.

My FYP and practically every woman I know has been evangelising magnesium for sleep. I was once on a work trip and saw one journalist pop two before a night flight and doze off for the whole 8 hours. And amongst the dust-peppered bottles on my flatmate’s supplement shelf is a spotless Magnesium Citrate tub, which she reaches for every night. I’ve never been one to take tablets; I’m slow to grab the paracetamol with even the most brutal period cramps or toothache, let alone preventative supplements.

Both my dad and sister have M.S., an autoimmune disease which some researchers have linked to a lack of Vitamin D, and even those tablets, I’ll admit, I can be a bit hit and miss with taking regularly. So if my now-empty tub of magnesium bisglycinate hadn’t been going free at work, I don’t think I’d ever have tried it.

Purolabs Magnesium Bisglycinate

Different to the more popular forms of magnesium, like citrate and malate, magnesium bisglycinate is one of the gentler versions that’s better absorbed and more targeted to anxiety. “Magnesium bisglycinate is highly bioavailable and gentle on the stomach, making it an excellent choice for maintaining a healthy mood, reducing mild anxiety, and promoting good quality sleep,” Dr. Blen Tesfu, physician and medical advisor with Welzo, tells me.

I’ve never tried the other kinds of magnesium, but I know people who swear by them for both rest and mindset. As Dr Blen explains, Magnesium bisglycinate carries the calming amino acid glycine, which can support sleep quality and help reduce “busy mind” symptoms. It “provides a natural calming effect that enhances the relaxing effects that magnesium has on your nervous system,” she adds.

The first night I took the capsules, I didn’t expect much. I had my normal issues drifting off, but once I fell asleep, I stayed there. Normally, I wake two or three times, with nightmares, intrusive thoughts, stress jolts, all before my alarm mocks me awake. But that night? Nothing. I slept through until my alarm rang. I woke up not feeling foggy or sluggish as I’d feared I might after taking the pills, but with a dreamy state of calm. I knocked on my flatmate’s door and described what I was feeling. “It must be a placebo, there’s no way I can feel this good from just two capsules,” I said. But as I continued to take the tablets night after night, this feeling of calm stuck around, and I haven’t slept this deeply in a very long time.