Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a systematic review & meta-analysis
PRISMA systematic review and meta-analysis of three placebo RCTs (151 older adults) finding pooled sleep-onset latency 17.36 minutes shorter with magnesium (95% CI −27.27 to −7.44; p=0.0006) while total sleep time improved 16.06 minutes without statistical significance; GRADE certainty low to very low with moderate-to-high risk of bias.
Pooling window
Three RCTs, n = 151 adults ≥ ~55 y with insomnia endpoints versus placebo.
Quantitative anchors
- Sleep-onset latency: pooled MD −17.36 min (95% CI −27.27 to −7.44; p = 0.0006)
- Total sleep time: +16.06 min magnesium vs placebo — not statistically significant in pooled analysis
Quality / bias
Authors report moderate-to-high risk of bias across trials and GRADE ratings commonly low to very low for sleep outcomes—use as directional evidence, not guideline-grade proof.
Erratum note
PubMed links a 2024 correction (PMID 39702257) that updates author metadata; verify forest plots in the PMC full text of PMID 33865376 when citing exact pooled estimates.
Outcomes
- Sleep Onset Latency-17.36min (Minutes)
- Total Sleep TimePooled mean increase +16.06 min total sleep time with magnesium vs placebo — not statistically significant (see meta-analysis text)
- Effect Size (Cohen's d / SMD)Evidence certainty: low to very low GRADE; moderate-to-high risk of bias across included RCTs per review authors