Lion's mane and magnesium glycinate show up in a lot of the same routines. Lion's mane is the mushroom people take for focus during the day. Magnesium glycinate is the evening staple for winding down and sleep. If you want both, the natural question is: can you take magnesium glycinate with lion's mane?
Short answer: yes. For most healthy adults there's no known reason to keep them apart. Many people take lion's mane in the morning and magnesium in the evening, which gives you a simple day-and-night routine. Here's what each one does, what the research says, where the evidence on the combination is limited, and how to take them.
The short version
| Question | What we know |
|---|---|
| Can you take them together? | Yes. We didn't find any reported interaction between magnesium glycinate and lion's mane |
| Has the combination been studied? | Not that we could find. Evidence on the pairing is limited, but each has been studied on its own |
| Do they do the same job? | No. Lion's mane is studied for focus and thinking. Magnesium is studied for sleep and feeling calm |
| Best timing | Lion's mane in the morning, magnesium glycinate in the evening |
| Lion's mane amount | Two capsules a day, with or without food |
| Magnesium amount | Our three-capsule serving gives 275 mg of magnesium, under the 350 mg daily upper limit for supplements |
Why people take magnesium and lion's mane together
They cover two halves of the same goal: a sharp, productive day and a restful night.
- Lion's mane is about the day: people take it to support focus and mental clarity.
- Magnesium glycinate is about the evening: it's the gentle form many people choose to support relaxation and sleep quality.
Good sleep and good focus feed each other, so it makes sense that people want both in their routine.
What lion's mane does
Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) is an edible mushroom with two families of compounds researchers find interesting: hericenones, found mainly in the fruiting body, and erinacines, found mainly in the mycelium (Friedman, 2015).
- Young adults: In a placebo-controlled pilot study of 41 healthy adults aged 18 to 45, a single 1.8 g dose of lion's mane was linked to faster performance on a focus task an hour later. After 28 days there was a trend toward lower feelings of stress (Docherty et al., 2023).
- Adults over 50: In a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial, healthy adults over 50 who took lion's mane supplements scored better on a standard cognitive screening test than the placebo group (Saitsu et al., 2019).
Since hericenones and erinacines are concentrated in different parts of the mushroom, our Lion's Mane Mushroom uses organic fruiting body and mycelium together, standardized to 40% polysaccharides.
What magnesium glycinate does
Magnesium is a mineral your body uses in hundreds of processes, including muscle and nerve function. Glycinate is magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine.
- Sleep: In a 2025 randomized trial, 155 adults who reported poor sleep took magnesium bisglycinate (250 mg of magnesium a day) or a placebo. After four weeks, the magnesium group had a bigger improvement in sleep scores. The effect was modest, and people with lower magnesium intake from food seemed to benefit most (Schuster et al., 2025).
- Falling asleep in older adults: A review of trials in older adults linked oral magnesium to falling asleep about 17 minutes sooner (Mah and Pitre, 2021).
- Feeling calmer: A systematic review of 18 studies suggested magnesium may support feelings of calm in people prone to feeling anxious, although the reviewers rated the overall quality of evidence as low (Boyle et al., 2017).
What about taking both?
Here's the honest part. We didn't find any published trials that tested lion's mane and magnesium glycinate together, so we can't say whether the combination adds up to more than each one alone. Evidence on the pairing itself is limited.
What we can say:
- Each has its own research: lion's mane for focus and thinking, magnesium for sleep and calm.
- They work in different ways and are usually taken at different times of day.
- We didn't find any reports of problems when the two are taken together.
So take each one for its own research and its own job, and think of them as a day-and-night routine rather than a single formula.
How to take magnesium glycinate and lion's mane
Morning: lion's mane
Take two capsules of Lion's Mane Mushroom with breakfast or on an empty stomach. Morning fits the focus research, since the young-adult study tested people an hour after their dose (Docherty et al., 2023). For more, see the best time to take lion's mane.
Evening: magnesium glycinate
Take three capsules of Magnesium Glycinate about an hour before bed. That serving gives 275 mg of magnesium, under the 350 mg daily upper limit for supplemental magnesium (Institute of Medicine, 1997). See the best time to take magnesium.
Prefer one time of day?
You can take both together if that's easier to remember. Just keep the magnesium serving at the label amount and pick a time you'll stick to.
Give it a few weeks
The sleep trial measured results at four weeks, and the lion's mane studies ran from 28 days to 12 weeks. Plan on at least a month of daily use before you judge either one. More in how long lion's mane takes to work and how long magnesium glycinate takes to work.
A simple daily routine
- Breakfast: two capsules of lion's mane, plus water.
- Afternoon: keep caffeine to earlier in the day so it doesn't get in the way of sleep.
- One hour before bed: three capsules of magnesium glycinate, then screens down.
- Same times every day: consistency matters more than perfection.
Is it safe?
Both were generally well tolerated in the trials above. The 350 mg upper limit for supplemental magnesium was set mainly to avoid loose stools and stomach upset (Institute of Medicine, 1997), so stick to the label. Because lion's mane is a mushroom, skip it if you have a mushroom allergy. If you're under 18, pregnant or nursing, have a kidney condition, or take any regular medicine, check with your doctor before starting either one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take lion's mane and magnesium at the same time?
Yes. Most people split them, lion's mane in the morning and magnesium at night, but taking them together is fine if it suits your routine.
Will magnesium make lion's mane less effective?
We didn't find any evidence of that. They're absorbed and used in different ways.
Can I add creatine or ashwagandha too?
Many people do. See creatine with lion's mane, lion's mane with ashwagandha and magnesium glycinate with ashwagandha.
Is this a good routine for students?
It's a popular one. Read lion's mane for students and magnesium glycinate for students.
The bottom line
Yes, you can take magnesium glycinate with lion's mane. There's no direct research on the pair, but each has its own studies, they do different jobs, and no interaction has been reported. Lion's mane in the morning, magnesium in the evening, and a month of consistency is a simple way to support both your focus and your sleep.
Ready to build your routine? Shop Lion's Mane Mushroom and Magnesium Glycinate.
References
- Friedman et al. Chemistry, Nutrition, and Health-Promoting Properties of Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) Mushroom Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia and Their Bioactive Compounds. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2015. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02914 (PubMed 26244378)
- Docherty et al. The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion’s Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults: A Double-Blind, Parallel Groups, Pilot Study. Nutrients. 2023. doi:10.3390/nu15224842 (PubMed 38004235)
- SAITSU et al. Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of Hericium erinaceus. Biomedical Research. 2019. doi:10.2220/biomedres.40.125 (PubMed 31413233)
- Schuster et al. Magnesium Bisglycinate Supplementation in Healthy Adults Reporting Poor Sleep: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2025. doi:10.2147/NSS.S524348 (PubMed 40918053)
- Mah et al. Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2021. doi:10.1186/s12906-021-03297-z (PubMed 33865376)
- Boyle et al. The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress—A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017. doi:10.3390/nu9050429 (PubMed 28445426)
- Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. 1997. doi:10.17226/5776 (PubMed 23115811)
Researchers named in this article are cited for their published work only. Not affiliated with Health & Cognition.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
