What Does Magnesium Do For The Body?

Mineral of the Moment. Nutrient of the Now…

Magnesium mania has taken our socials by storm. Everyone is buzzing about it.

But what does magnesium do for the body?

Does it send us to sleep? Does it ease muscle cramps? Does it energize our mitochondria?

The answer: it supports all of the above.

But different forms, serve different purposes.

One type of magnesium supplement will help you relax. Another will fuel energy production.

So it’s good to know your taurate from your malate.

Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions.⁽¹⁾ And depending on how these supplements are formulated, your body might absorb them brilliantly…or barely at all.

At Performance Lab®, we use four highly bioavailable forms of magnesium. Each has been carefully chosen to match the unique goals of our supplements. Below, we’ll walk you through what each one does, where to find it in our range, and why we chose it.

Key Takeaways

No time to read the full article? Here are the highlights:

• Magnesium is involved in over 300 essential reactions in the body, supporting everything from sleep and stress to muscle recovery and energy production.
• Not all forms are equal. We use bioavailable forms like bisglycinate, taurate, malate, and NutriGenesis® for better absorption and specific functional benefits.
• You don’t need to be deficient to benefit. Many people have suboptimal levels without knowing it—especially during times of stress, poor sleep, or intense training.
• It’s not just about fixing a gap—it’s about thriving. Whether you want better sleep, steadier energy, or less tension, magnesium can help support your goals.
• More isn’t always better. Stick to well-formulated supplements and avoid overdoing it—too much magnesium (especially from cheaper forms) can upset your digestion.
• Whole foods matter. Magnesium-rich foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and legumes are always a good foundation—but supplements can help you fill in the gaps.

Types of Magnesium in Performance Lab® Supplements

NutriGenesis® Magnesium

Found in: Performance Lab® Men’s Multi, Women’s Multi, Magnesium, Energy and Sleep

The first question you probably have is:

What is NutriGenesis®?

If we break down the word NutriGenesis®, you get "nutrient" and "genesis."

"Nutrient" is the nourishment needed for life and growth. While "genesis" stands for the origin or formation of something.

NutriGenesis® uses the very latest nutritional technology to cultivate nutrients. In a way that replicates how vitamins and minerals are created in nature.

All NutriGenesis® vitamins and minerals, are in food-identical, bioavailable forms and are derived from yeast fermentation, rather than made synthetically.

So whenever we refer to NutriGenesis®—that’s what we mean.

It means better absorption, better compatibility with the body, and no digestive discomfort.

We include NutriGenesis® magnesium in our:

• Multivitamins to support metabolism, bones, nerve and muscle function, and electrolyte balance.
• Sleep formula to calm excitable nerve impulses, soothe muscles, and help lower blood pressure by relaxing vascular muscle cells.
• Energy formula to help convert glucose from food into energy and optimize the function of mitochondria.

Our NutriGenesis® magnesium is a foundational form that covers a wide spectrum of benefits—calm, strength, focus, and daily performance.

Shop Performance Lab® NutriGenesis®

Now let’s get into specifics

Magnesium Bisglycinate

Found in: Performance Lab® Sleep

Gentle, highly absorbable, and known for its calming properties, magnesium bisglycinate is our go-to for nighttime relaxation.

Magnesium bisglycinate is a single magnesium molecule, linked to two glycinate ions. Hence the ‘bis’—meaning ‘two’.

Glycinate is the ion form of glycine, an amino acid that has well-documented sleep-supportive effects. We chose this form for our Sleep supplement because in scientific studies, glycine has been shown to:⁽²⁾

• Shorten the time it takes to fall asleep
• Improve sleep quality
• Lower core body temperature 

There’s a reason sleep experts recommend a cool dark room—lower temperatures signal to the brain that it’s time to rest.

A drop in core and brain temperature is not just associated with sleep, but it actually promotes it.⁽³⁾

Glycine helps with this.

Your body’s internal clock lives in a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). When activated, the SCN helps reduce core body temperature by increasing heat loss through the skin.⁽⁴⁾

Glycine activates this area by acting on NMDA receptors in the SCN, triggering that cooling response—helping to ease your brain into sleep mode.

Combined with magnesium’s own ability to relax muscles and support a calmer nervous system ⁽⁵⁾, magnesium bisglycinate offers a powerful, gentle way to wind down. That’s why we pair it with other sleep-supportive nutrients in Performance Lab® Sleep .

Formulated with Montmorency Tart Cherry for natural melatonin, L-tryptophan, Magnesium Taurate, NutriGenesis® magnesium and Lemon Balm Extract. These precisely dosed ingredients help you fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer.

Click here for a deeper dive on magnesium for sleep.

Magnesium Taurate

Found in: Performance Lab® Sleep

Magnesium taurate is a powerhouse for both calm and cardiovascular support.

If you’re someone who gets into bed, ready to relax, only to find your head swimming with uninvited, inconsequential thoughts from the day—magnesium taurate may help you with that.

It combines magnesium with taurine—an amino acid known for its GABA-regulating effects⁽⁶⁾.

GABA is your brain’s primary calming neurotransmitter. And supporting it can help quiet those racing thoughts and ease you into a deeper, more stable sleep cycle.

Taurine can bind to, and activate GABA receptors. So it mimics GABA’s calming effects. Which is especially helpful in those moments when your brain is chattering. GABA can potentially reduce this overstimulation.

When you pair that with magnesium’s own ability to ease muscle tension and support neurotransmitter balance, you get a form that works double-duty: relaxing body and mind to help you ease smoothly into deep, restorative sleep.

That’s why we include magnesium taurate in Performance Lab® Sleep —to support both your nervous system and your natural sleep cycle, right where they connect.

Shop Performance Lab® Sleep

Magnesium Malate

Found in: Performance Lab® Energy

Magnesium malate is all about natural energy—without the jitters, crashes, or caffeine dependency.

How? It’s a combination of magnesium and malic acid. A compound found naturally in fruits like apples. Malic acid plays a key role in the Krebs cycle ⁽⁷⁾—the metabolic pathway that powers your cells by turning carbs, fats, and proteins into ATP—your body’s main energy molecule.

In other words, magnesium malate doesn’t just give you a quick buzz—it helps support the actual process your body uses to generate real, sustained energy at cellular level.

That’s a big difference from caffeine, which works by blocking adenosine (your brain’s “time to rest” signal). Caffeine can make you feel alert, but it doesn’t create energy—it just delays fatigue.

Magnesium malate, on the other hand, helps your cells make more energy in the first place.

That’s why we include it in Performance Lab® Energy . It’s a clean, bioavailable way to fuel your energy systems without stimulants. No spikes, no crashes—just steady, focused energy your body can actually use.

Shop Performance Lab® Energy

Health Benefits of Magnesium

From your brain to your bones, your sleep to your stress response—magnesium is everywhere. It’s one of the most versatile minerals in the body. Below, we’ll break down some of its key roles.

Supports Brain and Nervous System Health

Magnesium plays a big role in helping your brain stay balanced. It’s involved in regulating neurotransmitters—the little messengers that influence everything from your mood to memory and focus.

Think of it like a traffic controller for your nervous system: making sure calming signals (like GABA) and excitatory ones (like glutamate) are regulated. When magnesium levels dip, that balance can get thrown off—which is why low magnesium has been linked to things like anxiety, brain fog, and even migraines.

It also helps protect your brain by supporting the blood-brain barrier—the security gate that keeps your brain environment stable and functioning at its best.

Improves Sleep Quality

If you're struggling to fall asleep—or stay asleep—magnesium might be what you need. It helps switch on your parasympathetic nervous system (aka your “rest and digest” mode), so your body and mind can start winding down.

Magnesium also supports melatonin production and boosts GABA—the brain chemical that tells your nervous system to relax. Together, that creates the right conditions for falling asleep more easily and staying asleep through the night.

Forms like magnesium bisglycinate and taurate are especially helpful here—they’re gentle, well-absorbed, and known for their calming effects.

Supports Heart and Cardiovascular Health

Your heart is a muscle. And like all muscles, it needs magnesium to function properly.

Magnesium helps regulate heartbeat, maintain normal blood pressure, and keeps your blood vessels nice and flexible, so blood can flow freely.(3)

Magnesium teams up with other key minerals like calcium and potassium to keep your heartbeat in rhythm.

Supports Bone Health

We tend to think of calcium when it comes to strong bones—but magnesium deserves just as much credit. In fact, around 60% of the magnesium in your body lives in your bones(1), where it helps keep them dense, strong, and resilient.

It also plays a role behind the scenes, influencing the cells that build up bone and break it down. So even if you’re getting enough calcium, low magnesium can throw things off and make bones more fragile over time. Magnesium and calcium are a great stack for bone support.

Reduces Muscle Cramps and Supports Recovery

Middle-of-the-night leg cramps? Sore muscles after a workout?  Magnesium helps muscles work properly by managing calcium levels inside your muscle cells⁽⁸⁾. That balance is key. Too much calcium can cause muscles to contract and cramp, while magnesium helps them relax and reset.

Magnesium can help ease the tension and support quicker recovery. Less stiffness, more comfort.

Read more on magnesium for muscle pain here.

Improves Blood Sugar Control and Insulin Sensitivity

Maybe you’ve not had much reason to consider the relationship between magnesium and blood sugar levels. But it plays a quiet and crucial role in how your body handles it.

It helps move glucose out of your bloodstream and into your cells⁽⁹⁾, where it can actually be used for energy. It also supports how well your body responds to insulin—the hormone that keeps blood sugar levels in check. When magnesium is low, insulin doesn’t work as effectively, which can lead to higher blood sugar and increased resistance over time.

Getting enough magnesium can help support steady energy, better metabolic balance, and healthier long-term blood sugar control.

So the benefits are racking up. But do you need to take a supplement?

Do I Need a Magnesium Supplement?

The big question with magnesium—like with most supplements—is this: do we really need it in supplement form, or can we get enough from our diet?

There are plenty of magnesium-rich foods out there. Leafy greens, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes… Getting enough from a well-balanced, whole-food diet should, in theory, keep you clear of deficiency.

But that’s the catch— should.

In reality, a deficiency, or too little magnesium, (low levels that aren’t quite a full-blown deficiency) is surprisingly common. And tricky to detect.

Standard magnesium blood tests only measure what’s floating around in your serum. But over 99% of your body’s magnesium is actually stored inside your cells, where it does the real work. So your test might come back “normal,” even if your cells are running low.

Add to that the fact that modern farming practices have depleted the magnesium content in many crops. Plus, heavily processed and refined foods—common in a typical Western diet—contain very little—if any.

Stress, caffeine, alcohol, and certain medications can also deplete your stores. So even if you’re eating well, your magnesium levels might not be as solid as you’d think.

In these cases, supplementation can be a really helpful tool. Especially when it comes in highly bioavailable forms that your body can absorb and actually use.

Do I Have to be Deficient to Benefit from Magnesium Supplements?

No—you don’t have to be clinically deficient to feel the difference magnesium can make.

There’s a big space between deficiency and optimal—and a lot of people are floating somewhere in the middle without even realizing it. Maybe you're not getting cramps or insomnia, but you're feeling a little more wired, tired, or foggy than usual. That could be your body quietly asking for more magnesium.

Even if your diet is decent, magnesium needs can go up during times of stress, poor sleep, intense training, or hormonal shifts. And since your body doesn’t store large reserves of magnesium, it’s something you need to top up regularly.

Supplementing can help close that gap—boosting levels just enough to support better energy, calmer nerves, deeper sleep, and smoother recovery. It’s not just about avoiding deficiency—it’s about helping your body thrive.

Can I Take Magnesium Purely For its Functional Benefits

Yes—absolutely.

Magnesium isn’t just for fixing a deficiency—it’s also a powerful tool for enhancing the way your body and mind perform.

You might already be getting “enough” to scrape by on paper. But if you’re aiming for better focus, better sleep, better recovery—or just a smoother experience of daily stress—incorporating a magnesium supplement into your diet can help you get there.

Think of it like this: you don’t need to be dehydrated to drink water. And you don’t need to be magnesium deficient to benefit from topping up your levels with a high-quality, well-absorbed form.

Used intentionally, magnesium can support very specific goals:

• Calming the nervous system before bed
• Easing tension after a workout
• Supporting heart health
• Boosting energy at a cellular level

It’s not just about filling a gap—it’s about unlocking the extra edge. That said, more isn’t always better. While magnesium from food sources is generally safe, too much from supplements may cause digestive upset—most commonly loose stools.

It’s all about the right dose, in the right form, for the right reason.

A well-formulated supplement gives you just enough to support your body’s needs—without overloading your system.

Other Types of Magnesium Supplements

There are a lot of magnesium supplements out there—and not all forms are created equal. Some are better suited for specific uses, while others don’t absorb well or may come with side effects you weren’t expecting. Here’s a quick overview:

Magnesium Citrate

Often used to help with constipation. It’s more bioavailable than some forms, but it also has a strong laxative effect—which means it’s not ideal for everyday use unless that’s your specific goal.

Magnesium Oxide

This one contains a high amount of elemental magnesium per dose—but your body absorbs very little of it. It’s cheap and widely available, but not very efficient when it comes to raising magnesium levels where they count.

Magnesium Sulfate (or Sulphate)

Typically used in hospitals through IV or injection to treat severe magnesium deficiency, preeclampsia, or acute migraine attacks. Not a go-to for daily supplementation, but important in clinical settings.

Magnesium Bisglycinate, Taurate, and Malate 

These are chelated forms—meaning they’re bound to amino acids or organic compounds to improve absorption and reduce digestive upset.

– Bisglycinate is calming and gentle, ideal for sleep and relaxation. – Taurate supports cardiovascular health and a calm nervous system. – Malate helps power up your cells and support energy production.

We use these highly bioavailable forms in our supplements so your body can absorb magnesium effectively. Meaning they’re easy on the stomach and effective at delivering targeted benefits.

How Much Magnesium Do We Need?

For most adults, the recommended daily intake is between 300–400 mg, depending on age, sex, and lifestyle.

But some people need more—especially if they’re dealing with muscle cramps, restless legs syndrome, migraine headaches, or low levels of magnesium from chronic stress or poor diet.

As always, it’s best to talk to your doctor—especially if you have kidney disease, take calcium channel blockers, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

FAQs

Q: Does magnesium help with high blood pressure?

Yes—research suggests magnesium can play a helpful role in maintaining healthy blood pressure. It works by relaxing the blood vessels, which can improve circulation and ease pressure on the cardiovascular system.

Several studies have linked magnesium supplementation to modest reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure—especially in people with magnesium deficiency or existing hypertension.

Q:  Can magnesium help regulate blood sugar levels?

It can. Magnesium is deeply involved in how your body processes insulin and glucose. It helps move sugar out of your blood and into your cells, where it can be used for energy. Low magnesium levels have been associated with insulin resistance and poor blood sugar control, while increasing magnesium intake has been shown to improve both in certain populations. It's an often-overlooked mineral in metabolic health conversations—but definitely worth paying attention to.

Q: Can magnesium help manage premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Yes, magnesium may help ease several symptoms associated with PMS, including mood swings, bloating, breast tenderness, and cramps. It helps regulate neurotransmitters like serotonin and supports muscle relaxation, which may explain its impact on both emotional and physical symptoms.

Some studies suggest it may also help reduce the severity of menstrual migraines. Magnesium bisglycinate, in particular, is a popular choice thanks to its calming and gentle-on-the-stomach properties.

Q: What are the best forms of magnesium to take?

The best forms of magnesium are the ones your body can actually absorb and use—without causing digestive upset. These are usually chelated forms, where magnesium is bound to amino acids or organic compounds to boost bioavailability. Some of the top choices include:

• Magnesium Bisglycinate – Known for its calming effects, it’s gentle on the stomach and great for sleep and relaxation.
• Magnesium Taurate – Supports both the nervous system and cardiovascular health. A solid option for those dealing with stress or nighttime restlessness.
• Magnesium Malate – Ideal for energy support. It helps fuel ATP production and is well tolerated.
• NutriGenesis® Magnesium – A food-identical form used in Performance Lab® formulas, designed for everyday foundational support with excellent bioavailability.

Avoid forms like magnesium oxide (poorly absorbed) or magnesium citrate (effective, but often causes loose stools if taken regularly).

The best form really depends on your goal—relaxation, energy, or overall health—and how well your body tolerates different types.