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Leg cramps can be painful at any time of day or night, but nocturnal leg cramps come with the added pain of losing out on sleep. If you have them, you’re not alone, of us have had nocturnal leg cramps.�� 

Magnesium supplements may help, but the science is mixed.

Below, we dive into what we know about magnesium for leg cramps at night. Plus, we cover how the RISE app can help you fall and stay asleep while you’re treating your leg cramps — and beyond.

Advice From a Sleep Doctor

“The research on magnesium for leg cramps isn’t conclusive,” says Dr. Chester Wu. “Magnesium may reduce leg cramps for some, like pregnant women, but it might not help everyone. Try stretching, exercising, and cutting down on alcohol to reduce leg cramps, and speaking to your healthcare provider about whether magnesium could help.”

Dr. Chester Wu is double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and provides sleep medicine services, medication management, and psychotherapy to adults at his private sleep medicine and psychiatry practice.

Does Magnesium Help Leg Cramps at Night? 

It’s unclear if magnesium can help leg cramps at night. Some studies show that it can, but other studies show that it can’t. Studies on magnesium and leg cramps are often done on certain populations — like pregnant women or older adults — so it’s unclear if magnesium can help the general population with leg cramps.��

Plus, studies have conflicting results, are small, and use different doses and types of magnesium — including oral magnesium and intravenous infusions — making it hard to draw any solid conclusions.

Many studies also don’t check participants’ baseline levels of magnesium, so we don’t know if having a magnesium deficiency makes a difference.

Whether magnesium can help you may depend on: 

• Whether you have a magnesium deficiency
• What type and how much magnesium you take
• What’s causing your leg cramps 
• Whether you have any health conditions 

Here’s a round-up of some of the research.��

Magnesium May Help Leg Cramps for Some

A had 175 participants take 226 milligrams (mg) of magnesium oxide monohydrate or a placebo daily for 60 days.��

Both groups saw a reduction in the number of nocturnal leg cramp episodes they had, but the magnesium group saw a larger reduction.��

The magnesium group also saw a greater reduction in leg cramp duration and an improvement in sleep quality.��

Magnesium May Help Pregnancy Leg Cramps 

A looked at 80 pregnant women with leg cramps. About half took 300 mg of magnesium bisglycinate chelate daily for four weeks and the other half took a placebo.

More people in the magnesium group had a 50% reduction in leg cramp frequency and a 50% reduction in cramp intensity compared to the placebo group.

A looked at seven studies including 361 people in total. It concluded that magnesium doesn’t appear to help nocturnal leg cramps in the general population, but it may have “a small effect in pregnant women.”

Magnesium May Not Help Everyone 

A looked at 11 randomized controlled trials on magnesium and skeletal muscle cramps including more than 700 participants in total. It concluded that magnesium was unlikely to reduce cramps in older adults, people with liver cirrhosis (liver scarring), and in some pregnant women.��

Improvements May Be Down to the Placebo Effect 

An older looked at 42 participants with nocturnal leg cramps. Participants took 900 mg of magnesium citrate twice a day for a month and then a placebo for a month, or vice versa.�� 

Participants’ leg cramps improved over time regardless of the treatment they received. The researchers said this was due to a combination of the placebo effect and cramps naturally getting better over time.

Newer research has similar findings.

In a , 88 older adults took either 865 mg of magnesium oxide or a placebo daily for four weeks. At the end of the experiment, there was no difference between the magnesium group and the placebo group.��

Leg cramps slightly improved in both groups, but the researchers said the beneficial effect of magnesium could be due to the placebo effect again.��

Magnesium May Improve Your Sleep Outside of Leg Cramps 

As with everything magnesium, more research is needed. But magnesium supplements may help you get better sleep in general or improve medical conditions or sleep disorders that disrupt your sleep.��

Magnesium may help people with: 

• Insomnia
• Restless leg syndrome for some
• Night sweats for some
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• Low energy 

We’ve covered how magnesium can make you tired and sleepy here.

Heads-up: Nocturnal leg cramps and restless leg syndrome are similar conditions, but they’re not quite the same.

• Nocturnal leg cramps: These are sudden painful cramps that can happen in the calf muscle and sometimes the thighs or feet at night. They can last a few seconds to 10 minutes, and you might feel lingering pain afterward that lasts for hours.
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS): RLS is a nerve condition that causes an uncontrollable urge to move your legs, especially in the evening or at night. You might feel a crawling or tingling sensation and moving your legs temporarily makes it go away.

Magnesium may help RLS. We’ve covered more on magnesium for restless leg syndrome here.

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How Much Magnesium Should I Take for Leg Cramps at Night?

There isn’t a recommended amount of magnesium to take for leg cramps at night as it’s unclear if magnesium can help reduce leg cramps.��

For sleep in general, Dr. Wu recommends:

• 400 to 500 mg of magnesium oxide
• 250 to 500 mg of magnesium citrate
• 200 to 400 mg of magnesium glycinate

Start with a low dose and slowly increase if needed and if you’re not experiencing any side effects.

In research on leg cramps, the amount of magnesium taken can be high, but this can’t be taken as a guideline for the general public. Studies are done in contr