Which magnesium form actually fits your goal?
Bisglycinate, citrate, L-threonate: the form matters more than the dose on the front of the bottle. Here is how to choose.
Most people who buy magnesium buy the wrong one for what they want. Not because the product is bad, but because the word magnesium on a label covers half a dozen different compounds, and they behave differently enough that the form is the real choice.
If your goal is sleep and winding down, the form with the strongest everyday case is bisglycinate: magnesium bound to glycine, well absorbed and notably gentle on the stomach. Glycine itself is involved in calming pathways, which is why this form keeps showing up in evening routines.
If your goal is regularity, citrate is the traditional pick. It draws water into the gut, which is exactly the effect some people want and others very much do not. Good to know before the first dose rather than after.
If your goal is focus and cognitive support, L-threonate is the interesting one. It is the form studied specifically for its ability to raise magnesium levels in the brain, which is why it costs more and why it keeps appearing in the research on sleep quality and next-day clarity.
And the cheap one, oxide, is the reason magnesium has a mixed reputation. It is poorly absorbed, so a label can promise a big number that your body barely touches. This is the rare supplement category where the budget option is genuinely the false economy.
How much do you need? Most adults do well somewhere between 200 and 400mg of elemental magnesium a day from supplements and food combined. More is not better here; it is just faster transit.
The simplest way to choose: pick the outcome first, then the form, then the brand. Sleep and calm, bisglycinate. Digestion, citrate. Brain, L-threonate. Then buy the cleanest version of that form you can find, from a brand that tests what it sells.
That is how we stock. Every magnesium on our shelves is there because it won its category on form, evidence and quality control, and the links below take you straight to the ones we chose.
