AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Sleep - many of us don't get enough of it, and I say that as the host of a morning show, so I know what I'm talking about. But when you see people online pushing magnesium supplements to help with sleeplessness, do they know what they're talking about? NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy has been looking at the science, and she joins us now. Good morning, Maria.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So let's start with magnesium and why people think it would help with sleep.
GODOY: So magnesium is an essential mineral that the body uses in a bunch of different processes. It helps with your nervous system, your blood sugar levels. It's used for making proteins in bone. And there are several theories about how it might help sleep. For one, it's involved in making melatonin, which is a hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycles. It also helps relax your muscles from cramping, and there's an idea that it could help reduce anxiety. Here's Tyish Hall Brown. She's director of behavioral sleep medicine at Children's National Hospital.
TYISH HALL BROWN: When kids or adults are trying to sleep, they may not be as anxious about perhaps what happened in the day before, what's about to happen, and it may promote sleep a little bit better.
GODOY: But here's the big caveat that Hall Brown and every other sleep medicine specialist I spoke to stresses, and that's that there's just not a lot of evidence at all about how magnesium helps sleep. Some studies suggest it helps. Some show no effect at all.
RASCOE: So it's like a lot of things on social media. There's a lot of hype, but not much evidence.
GODOY: Yeah, well, so the evidence is definitely not there. But here's what's interesting. All the specialists I spoke to say, unless you have certain medical conditions like kidney disease, there's probably no harm in trying it. There's this thing called the sleepy girl mocktail that went viral on TikTok earlier this year. It's this drink made of magnesium powder, tart cherry juice and prebiotic soda, and you take it like a half hour before bed. I asked doctor Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg about it. She's on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. And her answer was not what I expected at all.
FARIHA ABBASI-FEINBERG: If you asked me, can I try the sleepy girl mocktail? - I would say, sure. It probably won't hurt you, but start with a low dose of the magnesium mixed with the tart cherry juice and then increase it as tolerated.
GODOY: And, you know, you heard her say, start with a low dose, like, maybe half a dose at first, and that's because magnesium can cause gastrointestinal upset, which is the last thing you want before going to bed.
RASCOE: Yeah, absolutely not. But if there's not much evidence, why try it?
GODOY: Well, so - because in general, the risks are low, and doctors told me some of their patients seem to benefit. I talked to Dr. Chester Wu. He's a psychiatrist and sleep specialist in Houston.
CHESTER WU: I anecdotally have worked with many people who have reported that, whether it's placebo or actually, like, just simply benefiting from the magnesium. I try not to worry too much about that because at the end of the day, they're feeling better.
GODOY: Wu notes, many Americans don't get enough magnesium in their diet, so a little extra isn't bad. Although he'd prefer that people get it through food. So things like leafy greens, nuts and seeds, beans, salmon, yogurt - they're all rich in magnesium.
RASCOE: So what about for kids? You know, as parents, we both know it can be hard to get them to settle down for sleep.
GODOY: Yeah, definitely.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
GODOY: But if there's little evidence in adults, there's basically no evidence in kids under 18 when it comes to magnesium and sleep. There's a little experimental research suggesting it may help with kids with ADHD and autism - not with sleep specifically, but just in general. If that is something you're considering, definitely talk to your pediatrician first. And it's even more important to use super low doses with kids, when pediatricians suggested using far, far less than the dose recommended on the bottle.
And again, everyone I spoke to stresses - and this is true for both kids and adults - you need to focus on sleep hygiene first. So that means quiet, dark rooms, keeping to a consistent sleep schedule, staying away from screens before bedtime - you know, basically all the things we know we should be doing.
RASCOE: NPR's Maria Godoy. Thank you so much, Maria.
GODOY: Oh, it's my pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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