Magnesium or ashwagandha? Which one should you take?
Deciding between magnesium or ashwagandha supplements can be challenging when trying to address a specific health concern.
Both have been found to reduce stress and improve sleep. However, they do so in different ways.
Magnesium acts as a relaxant on the nervous system by blocking the activity of calcium at specific receptors involved in excitation called NMDA [13].
Through this mechanism, magnesium can help you relax both your mind and your muscles. Therefore, supplementation can help reduce tension and help you fall asleep faster. Magnesium is a perfect choice if you have trouble falling asleep.
On the other hand, ashwagandha can help with your sleep quality and lower your chance of waking up in the middle of the night.
That's because it helps balance the function of your endocrine system and especially its response to stress. It can help regulate cortisol levels which correlate with your sleep quality [14].
Furthermore, ashwagandha also interacts with the neurotransmitters in your brain, which help induce relaxation, such as GABA [15]. This also helps improve sleep quality and quantity.
Ultimately, it is best to recommend either of these supplements based on individual needs and preferences.
Their benefits may sound similar at first, but there are particular nuances to those benefits that only one or the other may provide. On the other hand, you may also take them together for maximum effect.
Ashwagandha and magnesium interactions: can you take magnesium and ashwagandha together?
Taking magnesium supplements with ashwagandha is generally safe as they do not interact with each other. Moreover, combining them may provide great health benefits as they complement each other.
For example, when taken in combination, these two supplements may add to each other's potent stress-reducing and anti-anxiety effects.
Ashwagandha is well known for its stress-relieving and anti-anxiety effects. Research reveals that persons with chronic mental stress who took 300 mg ashwagandha a day experienced a 44% reduction in stress and anxiety as assessed by a questionnaire, compared to just 5% for placebo [16].
In another study, patients with diagnosed anxiety (mostly generalized anxiety disorder) who took 250 mg twice daily for six weeks had much lower experiences and significantly fewer anxiety-related symptoms on the HAMA rating scale compared to placebo [17].
Magnesium also has potent anti-stress and anxiolytic effects. A systematic review of 18 studies shows that magnesium supplementation can also help improve indices of subjective anxiety in both men and women [18].
The combination of magnesium, which induces relaxation through the NMDA receptors, and ashwagandha, which activates the GABA receptors, will be able to ease up and unwind much better.
The time it takes for magnesium to work for anxiety can vary a lot from one individual to another, but its effect on stress can be felt within a few hours. Yet, for optimal results, magnesium should be taken regularly for several weeks or longer.
It's important to note that not every type of magnesium can exert these effects on the brain, and some magnesium salts are too big to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
One of the few magnesium supplements that have better absorption, and the molecule is small enough to pass the barrier, is magnesium bisglycinate chelate.
Magnesium bisglycinate chelate also has a much lower chance to cause any side effects such as diarrhea.
It's important to note that you should consult a medical doctor before supplementing with magnesium or ashwagandha if you are taking any medication or if you suffer from a disease.
But in general, ashwagandha can be taken in combination with antidepressants or other medications without adverse effects due to its low level of toxicity.
For maximum benefits, also make sure to select an UDAF-certified organic, full-spectrum ashwagandha root extract that has all its natural properties well-preserved.
Note: This article is for informational purposes only and not intended for use as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any dietary supplement.
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