PreSleep: Introduction to Magnesium Glycinate

Is magnesium deficiency preventing you from a healthy life? In today's article we'll be going deep on magnesium glycinate.

On average, it takes people 20 minutes to fall asleep. If it takes you longer to fall asleep, you're not alone. Perhaps it be nice to take a non-habit forming pill responsible for inducing sleep.

Many folks turn toward melatonin in these situations but we'd like to throw magnesium glycinate in the ring. There are a lot of misconceptions on magnesium glycinate and the effects of glycine supplementation.

We'll explain why we feel it's important to add to your sleep routine, the health benefits of of a taking glycine and magnesium together, and why it's in PreSleep's recipe.

What Is Magnesium Glycinate?

Magnesium glycinate is a mineral magnesium bonded with the amino acid glycine.

Magnesium is an abundant mineral responsible for over 3,000 bodily processes and 40% of all enzymes. While glycine is used nearly everywhere in the body. Glycine is used for collagen, skin, muscles, bones, the nervous system, the brain, immune function, and many other functions.

Together, magnesium glycinate helps relax muscles and prepares your body for sleep. However, sleep just scratches the surface of what magnesium glycinate does.

What is Glycine?

Glycine is both an amino acid, considered a nonessential amino acid since the body can produce glycine on its own but make no mistake glycine is critical for our metabolic health.

Although glycine is primarily known for its sleep enhancing properties, glycine acts as a building block for specific proteins, including collagen, a structural protein found in connective tissues. Collagen is an important protein for muscle growth, overall skin health, and is used to repair wounds and blood clots. In addition to protein synthesis, dietary glycine also helps regulate the central nervous system.

Glycine is also involved in digestion, it helps the body break down fatty acids in foods while maintaining healthy levels of acidity in the gut.

Research suggests glycine increases blood flow to the body's extremities, which supports deep sleep cycles, lowers your core body temperature, and calms the central nervous system.

In summary glycine improves the following:

• Gut health

• Muscle growth

• Sleep quality and relaxation

• Collagen production

• Inflammation

To get more glycine the body we must absorb glycine through diet or glycine supplementation.

Glycine's role in blood

Glycine isn't just important for sleep, the amino acid is critical for protein synthesis of many functions including blood flow and regulation.

The the amino acid glycine may lower blood pressure and heart disease risk because of its anti-inflammatory properties and roles in nitric oxide regulation & lipid metabolism. Glycine relaxes and dilates blood vessels reducing blood pressure and improving cardiovascular function. While regulating the production and act of breaking down lipids, including cholesterol. Huge for mitigating heart disease risk.

In summary glycine helps with blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood vessel structure. Glycine is involved with hemoglobin production, the protein responsible for carrying oxygen in blood cells. Glycine also plays a key role in collagen synthesis which is terrific for skin and bone health.

How to supplement Glycine

As mentioned, the effects of glycine can also come from diet but getting enough glycine solely from diet can be difficult. Glycine can be supplemented in either a pill or a powder. The powder has a sweet taste to it when mixed with water. The name glycine actually is a Greek word for "sweet".

How much Glycine should I be taking?

We typically recommend taking 3 grams of glycine to start.

You can slowly add more but we find 3 grams of glycine to be the sweet spot this way you wake up refreshed and ready to attack the day. Taking more than 3 gs of glycine can do more harm than good for your sleep quality.

Glycine for sleep

Glycine treatment is great for bedtime and promotes relaxation due to the calming effects on the nervous system. By lowering cortisol levels it can quiet the racing thoughts that plague restless folks trying to get some sleep. Glycine can lower body temperature and increase the duration of sleep.

Not only does glycine prepare your body for sleep but it also gives the body quality sleep. Research shows it can improve sleep architecture by promoting longer slow wave sleep cycles also known as deep sleep or NREM (non-rapid eye movement) and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep too. REM is when the brain is dreaming and getting the most rejuvenating part of the sleep cycle. The longer your body stays in these deeper sleep cycles the more refreshed you will feel for the day ahead.

By helping your body fall asleep, improve the quality of sleep, and duration of sleep glycine can seriously supercharge your rest each night.

Can Magnesium Improve Sleep Quality?

Magnesium can improve sleep quality alone but adding glycine into the mix will be more than enough for you to get a deep restful sleep.

Glycine when added to magnesium can improve deep sleep and give wildly vivid dreams while still waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

Is it OK to take magnesium glycinate every day?

The advantages of dietary magnesium are not yet clear, but Dr. Nassar says daily magnesium supplementation should not cause health risks. Take some magnesium supplements and give it a whirl. Most adults' dietary requirements have around 400mg per day and glycine supplements can be take up to 5 grams per day.

Getting Glycine through Diet

Glycine supplementation should be your last resort if you're not reaching your health goals and having quality sleep. There are heaps of ways to get glycine through diet instead of relying on dietary glycine supplements.

The body produces glycine on its own but if you want to maximize getting this amino acid eat these:

• Fish

  • Shrimp

  • Scallops

  • Cod and other white fish

• Meats

  • Bacon

  • Turkey

  • Chicken

• Plant based

  • Lentils

  • Kidney beans

• Dairy Products

  • Yogurt

  • Milk

  • Ricotta cheese

To get quality sleep focus on getting plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean protein dense foods, with healthy fats.

What to Consider Before Taking Magnesium

Magnesium toxicity can happen if you take too much magnesium for too long and every day. Very high doses of magnesium can have negative effects like diarrhea, nausea, and facial flushing. It takes 10-24 hours for magnesium to pass through the body.

Are you getting enough magnesium glycinate?

Low magnesium and glycine levels are not uncommon in unhealthy adults. Considering how much they contribute so much to our overall health it should be no surprise being deficient in glycine and magnesium can lead to some negative effects.

Signs of low glycine levels may include:

• Poor sleep quality

• Muscle weakness and fatigue

• Poor skin health

• Raised anxiety

If you feel that you're suffering from these, you should contact your doctor and see if magnesium or glycine supplements are right for you. Glycine and magnesium deficiency can lead to serious health concerns if you don't take them seriously.

How to Choose a Magnesium Supplement

Most magnesium supplements come in capsule form. It's important to check the dosage to ensure you're taking enough magnesium or not taking too much magnesium. Taking magnesium supplements is a great way to raise your magnesium levels in the body if you're struggling with diet.

Unfortunately, the body does not produce magnesium on its own so you must absorb magnesium from diet or supplementation. There's a lot of misinformation about magnesium supplements and it can be difficult to find a source of magnesium you can trust.

These are four magnesium supplements to avoid:

• Magnesium oxide - low absorption rate

• Magnesium citrate - negative impact on enzyme

• Magnesium carbonate - lowest bioavailability

• Magnesium aspartate - aspartate is an excitatory amino acid that negates the calming effects of magnesium

If you're looking into magnesium supplementation it's best to avoid these types of magnesium. Unless you're experiencing constipation, magnesium citrate can be used for that ailment as well as acid indigestion.

We prefer the following types of magnesium:

• Magnesium glycinate (duh)

• Magnesium chloride

• Magnesium acetate

These types of magnesium provide better sleep quality and are absorbed by the body better than other magnesium.

Why Does PreSleep Have Magnesium glycinate?

We thought magnesium glycinate just made sense based on the research and how complementary it is to our other amino acids used as ingredients. Glycine plays a huge role in sleep but has many other health benefits on top of it. So we figured, why not?

Other supplements you can take with glycine for sleep

A magnesium supplement can help but adding other amino acids into the mix can help if you do your own research and consult your primary care physician.

Some other minerals, roots, and amino acids that go well for improving sleep quality are:

• L-theanine*

• Zinc*

• Ashwagandha

• Valerian extract

• GABA

• Melatonin

These various herbs and other amino acids pair well with glycine supplementation better than others. In our opinion, melatonin isn't the best quality sleep aid because dosages are not always accurate and also inhibits the natural production of melatonin. 

*Bolded ingredients are in PreSleep

PreSleep: Magnesium Glycinate is our Premier Ingredient

We're huge on using amino acids like glycine in our flagship recipe. Amino acid medicine is slowly gaining traction and being used as dietary supplements since it's natural ingredients.

PreSleep uses magnesium glycinate because we feel that it works in tandem with the other amino acids and minerals we have.

PreSleep's main ingredients are magnesium glycinate (magnesium + glycine), zinc, and l-theanine. Zinc is a mineral used to help you fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. While l-theanine is an amino acid that promotes relaxation and lowers cortisol levels.

Magnesium glycinate paired with zinc and l-theanine is the perfect harmony of ingredients that will send you off to dreamland with a smile.

Give it a try and reap the health benefits of magnesium and glycine!

FAQ on Glycine & Magnesium glycinate

What's the best time of day to take magnesium?

There isn't really a bad time to magnesium. Most healthy adults prefer to taking magnesium glycinate at night but you can take it in the morning as well.

We recommend taking 400 mg of magnesium in the morning and 400 mg of magnesium glycinate in the evening before bed is what we consider a proper dose.

Oral supplementation with magnesium glycinate reduces oxidative stress in patients afflicted with metabolic syndrome

What vitamins and supplements shouldn't be taken with magnesium?

This is ultimately up to you and your physician.

Does Glycine make you sleepy?

Yes.

After taking oral glycine again, within 30 minutes you should feel sleepy.

Who Shouldn't Take Magnesium?

There's a very low list of people who shouldn't take magnesium.

Having kidney disease can interfere with the body's ability to regulate magnesium levels, so it could be potentially dangerous to supplement magnesium glycinate.

It's estimated over 60% of Americans have magnesium deficiencies. A daily magnesium supplement can provide positive health benefits if used with proper guidance from a healthcare professional.

Who Shouldn't Take Glycine?

Glycine should not be taken by breastfeeding women, children, and those with liver or kidney disease.

IS GLYCINE SAFE TO TAKE DAILY?

We think glycine ingestion daily is safe.

According to a study, individuals took 90 grams of glycine per day without serious side effects. Compared to the daily recommended amount of 3-5 grams.