Actually, magnesium calms the nervous system of the body and activates neurotransmitters related to sleep. It increases a calming neurotransmitter called GABA, which slows down brain activity and helps induce sleep. According to the doctor, it takes about two months for the full effect of magnesium to be seen.

Magnesium controls and improves your sleep, but according to doctors, magnesium can also have many disadvantages. These include diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps and irregular heartbeat. However, the good thing about it is that it is cheap and easily available in the market and helps in relaxing the muscles, which leads to better sleep.

Whereas melatonin is a natural hormone, which is produced by the pineal gland of the brain. It signals the body that it is time to sleep, thereby controlling the body’s sleep-wake cycle i.e. circadian rhythm. The effect starts appearing within about 30 minutes to 3 hours after taking the melatonin supplement.

Like magnesium, melatonin also has some side effects. For example, melatonin can react with some medicines. Apart from this, there is no safety data regarding its long term use. Its effect depends on the dose and timing and it can delay puberty in children.

If you take magnesium with melatonin, it can further improve the quality of sleep. Because both work in different ways.

But while taking melatonin and magnesium together, it should be kept in mind that magnesium can increase the level of melatonin in the body. Therefore the dosage should be kept low. Both of these have antioxidant properties, which reduce inflammation and also improve health.

According to some research, taking 1.9 mg melatonin and 200 mg magnesium together works well.