UCLA Magnesium Formulation Athlete Study (Mg-Form)

June 5, 2026 updated by: Jeremy Swisher, MD, University of California, Los Angeles

Effects of Magnesium Glycinate and Magnesium L-Threonate on Sleep, Recovery, and Performance in Collegiate Athletes

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will compare magnesium glycinate, magnesium L-threonate, and placebo in UCLA varsity athletes. Participants will complete a baseline monitoring period followed by 4 weeks of blinded nightly supplementation. WHOOP or study-approved wearable data will be used to evaluate sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep consistency, heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and recovery metrics. Baseline and final testing will assess selected reaction and physical performance outcomes. The primary outcome is change in WHOOP-derived sleep efficiency from baseline week to final treatment week.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Magnesium is involved in neuromuscular signaling, cellular energy metabolism, autonomic regulation, and sleep-related physiology. Competitive athletes often experience sleep restriction, training stress, travel, soreness, and recovery demands. Magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate are commonly used athlete-facing magnesium formulations, but they are not interchangeable. Glycinate is commonly positioned as a well-tolerated sleep-oriented formulation, whereas L-threonate is of interest because of prior signals related to sleep, cognition, reaction performance, and central nervous system magnesium biology. This single-site UCLA study will enroll adult varsity athletes aged 18 to 35 years. Participants will complete screening, informed consent, baseline assessments, wearable monitoring, a baseline monitoring period, randomization in a 1:1:1 ratio, 4 weeks of blinded nightly capsules, brief daily REDCap morning surveys, weekly adherence and safety check-ins, and final performance-adjacent testing. The primary outcome is change in average WHOOP-derived sleep efficiency from baseline week to final treatment week. Prespecified primary contrasts will compare magnesium glycinate versus placebo and magnesium L-threonate versus placebo. Total sleep time, sleep consistency, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, WHOOP Recovery Score, reaction-time performance, grip strength, countermovement jump height, adherence, tolerability, and adverse events will be analyzed as secondary or exploratory outcomes according to the final statistical analysis plan. The magnesium glycinate versus magnesium L-threonate contrast will be treated as exploratory unless the final statistical analysis plan preserves alpha for that comparison.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
150

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 35 years.
  • Current UCLA varsity athlete.
  • Actively training or competing during the study period.
  • Willing to wear WHOOP or a study-approved wearable device continuously during baseline and treatment periods if wearable data are used.
  • Willing to take assigned study capsules nightly for 28 days.
  • Willing to complete brief daily REDCap surveys and weekly adherence/safety check-ins.
  • Able to provide informed consent and comply with study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current magnesium supplementation without completion of an appropriate washout before baseline.
  • Current investigational drug or investigational supplement use.
  • Current use of prescription or over-the-counter sleep medications unless reviewed and permitted by the study clinician.
  • Diagnosed sleep disorder that, in the investigator's judgment, would confound outcomes or increase risk.
  • Significant kidney disease or another medical condition that may increase risk with magnesium supplementation.
  • Known intolerance or allergy to magnesium glycinate, magnesium L-threonate, placebo, or inactive study ingredients.
  • Use of medications with clinically relevant magnesium interactions unless reviewed and permitted by the study clinician.
  • Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, would make participation unsafe, compromise voluntary consent, or prevent valid outcome assessment.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Magnesium Glycinate
Participants randomized to this arm will take blinded magnesium glycinate capsules nightly for 4 weeks. The current planning dose is approximately 240 mg elemental magnesium nightly, with final capsule count and label language based on the selected blinded formulation.
Dietary supplement: Magnesium glycinate
Blinded oral magnesium glycinate capsules taken nightly for 28 days.
Experimental: Magnesium L-Threonate
Participants randomized to this arm will take blinded magnesium L-threonate capsules nightly for 4 weeks. The current planning target is approximately 2 g/day total magnesium L-threonate, with elemental magnesium content, capsule count, and label language confirmed before activation.
Dietary supplement: Magnesium L-threonate
Blinded oral magnesium L-threonate capsules taken nightly for 28 days.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Participants randomized to this arm will take matching placebo capsules nightly for 4 weeks on the same blinded schedule.
Other: Placebo
Matching placebo capsules taken nightly for 28 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in WHOOP-derived sleep efficiency percentage from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Average nightly WHOOP-derived sleep efficiency, expressed as a percentage, will be calculated for the baseline week and final treatment week. A valid week requires at least 5 usable nights in the 7-day window. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average; higher values indicate improved sleep efficiency.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in BlazePod RIW Challenge reaction time in milliseconds from baseline to final visit
Time Frame: Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Reaction performance will be measured using the prespecified BlazePod RIW Challenge protocol. The outcome is change in reaction time in milliseconds from baseline to final visit. Lower reaction time indicates better performance.
Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Change in BlazePod Speed Tap reaction time in milliseconds from baseline to final visit
Time Frame: Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Reaction performance will be measured using the prespecified BlazePod Speed Tap protocol. The outcome is change in reaction time in milliseconds from baseline to final visit. Lower reaction time indicates better performance.
Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Change in WHOOP-derived sleep consistency score from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
WHOOP-derived sleep consistency score, or an equivalent prespecified wearable-derived sleep timing regularity metric, will be summarized for the baseline week and final treatment week. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Change in WHOOP-derived total sleep time in minutes from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Average nightly total sleep time captured by WHOOP, expressed in minutes, will be calculated for the baseline week and final treatment week. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Change in WHOOP-derived resting heart rate in beats per minute from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Nightly resting heart rate captured by WHOOP, expressed in beats per minute, will be summarized as weekly averages for the baseline week and final treatment week. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Change in WHOOP-derived heart rate variability in milliseconds from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Nightly heart rate variability captured by WHOOP, expressed in milliseconds, will be summarized as weekly averages for the baseline week and final treatment week. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Change in WHOOP Recovery Score from baseline week to final treatment week
Time Frame: Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
WHOOP Recovery Score, reported on a 0 to 100 scale where higher scores indicate better recovery, will be summarized as weekly averages for the baseline week and final treatment week. The outcome is final-treatment-week average minus baseline-week average.
Baseline week to final treatment week, approximately 5 weeks total including baseline monitoring
Change in VALD dynamometer bilateral average handgrip strength from baseline to final visit
Time Frame: Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Bilateral average handgrip strength will be measured with the prespecified VALD handgrip dynamometer protocol. The outcome is final-visit bilateral average handgrip strength minus baseline bilateral average handgrip strength.
Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Change in VALD force plate countermovement jump height from baseline to final visit
Time Frame: Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Countermovement jump height will be measured with the prespecified VALD force plate protocol. The outcome is final-visit jump height minus baseline jump height.
Baseline to final visit, approximately 5 weeks
Number of participants with adverse events and supplement tolerability concerns
Time Frame: From first dose through final visit, approximately 4 weeks
The number of participants with adverse events, tolerability concerns, dose interruptions, and study-product discontinuations will be summarized by study arm. Events of interest include gastrointestinal symptoms, sedation, dizziness, headache, allergic reaction, skin irritation from wearable use, and study-product discontinuation.
From first dose through final visit, approximately 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Los Angeles

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jeremy Swisher, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Study Director: Joshua Goldman, MD, University of California, Los Angeles

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-26-1185

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No individual participant data sharing is planned because the study involves a relatively small cohort of collegiate athletes and individual-level sleep, recovery, performance, and sport-related data may create re-identification risk. Aggregate results may be disseminated through presentations, manuscripts, and ClinicalTrials.gov summaries as applicable.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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