Athletes often prefer gluten-free magnesium glycinate to enjoy their journey of performance, recovery and sleep quality. Imagine muscle soreness and pain after an episode of intense workout that stops you from sleeping well at night and resuming activity the next morning without pain. To address this problem, athletes take magnesium supplements. In this article, we will delve into two case studies from peer-reviewed sources reporting magnesium supplements for endurance athletes. Not only this, our expert delved deeper to find out what challenges athletes face while choosing supplements and why it doesn't work for many.
In sports season, magnesium supplements are recommended. Magnesium deficiency in athletes is common. The reason is clear. They do not follow a diet containing adequate minerals like magnesium. This causes marginal nutrient deficiency and compromises training and performance. There is even more. Athletes need magnesium for sports injuries recovery.
Athletes case study on Magnesium Glycinate Recover Faster and Sleep Better
“ Sports season test limits.”
Elite athletes need a lot of practice during the competitive season. Our expert at Nutriessential did a case study and conducted a thorough review from peer reviewed sources to add depth and understanding on magnesium and athletic performance for our customers.
In our case study which we collected from peer-reviewed resources, we found 12 professional athletes of average age 25 years who were going through a highly intensifying preparing phase. They were doing 2 hours of morning gym workout and a 3 hours of afternoon basketball practice in their daily routine.Match days demanded peak muscle power, speed & endurance.
With continued physical demand,athletes started noticing persistent soreness, slower recovery times, and fatigue creeping into their performance. To solve this issue, they started taking 400 mg of magnesium supplement daily throughout the competitive season.
Athletes experienced great results after using magnesium supplements. It helped them recover from intense physical load.
Athletes didn’t take magnesium continuously every day for the entire season. They took magnesium supplements in four strategic periods throughout the season—October, December, March, and April. In this time-frame, their results were clear. Magnesium levels rose to maximum by April. There was reduction in muscle damage markers (creatinine, urea, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, aldolase, and total proteins) and there was improvement in recovery as the season intensified.
Magnesium had a protective role in reducing muscle damage markers after weeks of intense training.
In another case study, 9 males and 13 females were experiencing muscle soreness after completing bench press sessions. One capsule per day of 350mg of Magnesium’s glycinate helped them overcome soreness. They even experienced positive feelings of recovery.
These two case studies had a final message, “If you regularly practice intense exercise, you should work on increasing magnesium intake by 10–20%.”
Case study on sleep and magnesium
Poor or inconsistent sleep compromises athletic performance and recovery. A study published in Sports Health highlighted a very special finding. It mentioned, Poor sleep impacts thermoregulation. It also increases the rate of perceived exertion and decreases your ability to tolerate pain and discomfort. Not only this, injury rate almost doubles in athletes sleeping <8 hours per night, while adversely impacting strength and speed.
Our team did a case study on how magnesium supplements can support sleep quality of athletes. They found that,
Sleep extension can improve athletic performance and mental performance. When athletes are preparing for training season, coaches and athletes have a training plan, nutrition plan, recovery plan, but they do not have a sleep plan.There is a strategy that can be used by high performers to optimize recovery and reaction time.
If you are an athlete who need to wake up at 7:30 AM, then calculation is simple:5 sleep cycles × 90 minutes = 7.5 hours, means you need to be asleep by 12:00 AM. Avoid technology, television, devices, social media, gaming for a period of 30 to 60 minutes before the desired sleep time to improve the ability to fall asleep. Alcohol consumption decreases the number of deep sleep cycles, making the amount of sleep much less effective. The consumption of 2 or more drinks within 2 hours of bedtime erases 3 hours of sleep.
While planning and sleep hygiene are essential, several nutritional aids or supplements can be beneficial to help improve sleep.Regular magnesium supplementation in dosage of 250-500 mg daily leads to improved sleep efficiency, sleep quality, and sleep latency in adults. Our expert at Nutriessential found this information from Chad A Asplund.
How female athletes choose Magnesium for muscle recovery and relaxation?
In females, magnesium bioavailability is influenced by sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone. It further affects the process of muscle recovery after training. During follicular phase (Day 1 to ovulation), magnesium concentrations are low so high magnesium intake is important during this time.
During this time, women also experience low energy, muscle tension, headaches, PMS-like mood changes, poor sleep, and higher stress sensitivity.
Women’s approach from experiencing pain, then describing it and using treatment is completely different from men.
Challenges an athlete face when starting magnesium as Sleep and muscle recovery supplement
Many athletes may experience that the magnesium supplement they choose is not working for them. It is because of the wrong type , timing, and dosage of magnesium.
Dr Wang says that the failure to achieve an optimal magnesium blood level in athletes is mainly due to wrong dosage or to inappropriate supplementation formulas.
Bioavailability of magnesium supplements is also an important consideration.
Magnesium citrate is the best type for muscle efficiency and sleep.
A study highlighted the best time to take magnesium supplements:
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once a day
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two hours before training
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Can be taken 2 hour before physical activity
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during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in women
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maintaining a diet-only magnesium intake during the off-season.
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Athletes may take it for 8 weeks during the competition season.
The absorption of magnesium starts 1 hour after oral intake, reaching a plateau after 2–2.5 hours up to 4–5 hours and then decline.
Are you an athlete who wants to try magnesium?
Whether you want a post-workout magnesium supplement or sleep aid magnesium glycinate, you should know that your body needs a week or two to feel the difference. Consult your healthcare provider to help you choose the best magnesium supplement for athletes.
Choosing the right form is very important. Magnesium glycinate is the most reliable for sleep and recovery. Clinical results of magnesium glycinate on performance are already demonstrated in many studies.
Good hydration, healthy diet, electrolytes, and stretching still matter even after starting magnesium supplements. Magnesium won’t replace recovery routines, but it enhances everything.
Dr Aditi, our expert at Nutriessential says, "Athletes are not only magnesium deficient but emerging data shows that they are also prone to vitamin D deficiency. They should monitor both these vital nutrients for physical activity and performance. It is advisable to follow an adequate diet and sun exposure throughout the year, and if necessary, use supplements to maintain adequate levels of the two essential compounds.”
She also adds, “ If you are maintaining magnesium levels via dietary intake, it's the best but you may need a magnesium supplement before intense exercise.”
Final words
Magnesium glycinate is a natural recovery supplement for athletes. They use it mostly during the season to deal with post-practice soreness, shorten recovery time, and stay fresh, reduce fatigue markers and improve magnesium levels.
In these cases studies, we found that athletes took magnesium for muscle cramps and recovery because their schedule was demanding, they were training hard, wanted to recover faster and maintain performance.
For athletes pushing their limits week after week, choosing highly absorbable forms like glycinate can be a valuable tool in keeping muscles resilient, reducing damage, and supporting long-term performance.
Consulting your healthcare provider is important to find out about the brand, dosage and duration for which you need the supplement.
Disclaimer: We collected case studies from research-based peer-reviewed resources to bring the most authentic and credible information for our audience.
References:
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Tarsitano MG, Quinzi F, Folino K, Greco F, Oranges FP, Cerulli C, Emerenziani GP. Effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness in different type of physical activities: a systematic review. J Transl Med. 2024 Jul 5;22(1):629. doi: 10.1186/s12967-024-05434-x. PMID: 38970118; PMCID: PMC11227245.
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Asplund CA. The Importance of Sleep for Health and Athletic Performance. Sports Health. 2024 Jul-Aug;16(4):499-500. doi: 10.1177/19417381241257952. PMID: 38900136; PMCID: PMC11195859.
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Tarsitano, M.G., Quinzi, F., Folino, K. et al. Effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness in different type of physical activities: a systematic review. J Transl Med 22, 629 (2024). Source
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Dominguez, L.J.; Veronese, N.; Ragusa, F.S.; Baio, S.M.; Sgrò, F.; Russo, A.; Battaglia, G.; Bianco, A.; Barbagallo, M. The Importance of Vitamin D and Magnesium in Athletes. Nutrients 2025, 17, 1655. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17101655
