Can Magnesium and Vitamin D3 Fight Anxiety? Mental health experts weigh in on viral TikTok claim

A viral TikTok trend claims that using multiple supplements can help relieve anxiety.

People with anxiety have tested the effects of magnesium and vitamin D3 to ease their symptoms – and many people say it works.

TikTok user Tyler Wesley (@tylerjohnwesley), considered a “major anxiety sufferer,” reported in a video posted July 7 that he takes 500 mg of magnesium and a dose of vitamin D daily.

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He claimed that this combination of supplements eradicated his anxiety.

“I don’t feel anxiety anymore,” he said in the video. “Thirty years, anxiety all my life, I don’t have it anymore.”

Wesley’s TikTok has received over two million likes, and other users also claim this method worked for them.

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A TikToker, @lolbrenden, “stitched” or responded to Wesley with another video that explained how taking magnesium and D3 also made a difference in his anxiety symptoms.

Brenden, who was prescribed Klonopin, said he only took 200 mg of magnesium glycinate with the D3 supplement for four days and noticed results.

Magnesium supplements are shown in stock at a CVS pharmacy in New York on September 14, 2023. (Angelica Stabile/Fox News Digital)

“I feel like I took a Klonopin,” he said in the video, which has nearly five million views.

“I feel good, I feel normal. I don’t have any anxiety.”

The TikToker mentioned that he hasn’t had any anxiety or panic attacks since taking the supplements. In another video, he says his sleep has also improved.

“Why didn’t the doctor ask me to try this first?” He asked.

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Dr. Chris Palmer, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said this could be due to the lack of high-quality data to support clinicians’ recommendations.

But the “most likely” reason is that prescription medications are “much more effective at reducing anxiety than magnesium and vitamin D3,” the doctor wrote in an email exchange with Fox News Digital.

A TikTok hack claims that taking magnesium and D3 supplements helps reduce anxiety symptoms. Doctors have spoken out about these claims. (iStock)

“So they are very likely to work out of first use in most people, which is satisfying for both patients and clinicians,” said the doctor, who is also the author of “Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health.

“Unfortunately, prescription anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) are also more likely to lead to tolerance and dependence, which can become a problem for some people.”

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But the doctor suggested that magnesium was probably effective for some people, because it has long been studied for “a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders.”

Although Palmer said the research consisted mostly of “small, poor-quality pilot trials,” some reviews — like a University of Leeds study published in 2017 — suggest magnesium might help with anxiety.

Research shows that magnesium may help relieve anxiety symptoms, according to Dr. Chris Palmer, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. (iStock)

“Magnesium plays a role in many metabolic reactions within the body and brain,” he said.

“One hypothesis about anxiety disorders is that anxiety pathways/circuits in the brain are hyperexcitable, meaning they fire inappropriately and cause anxiety.”

“You don’t want to ingest things unless you know the alternatives, because even some things that are ‘natural’ can be toxic to your body in larger quantities or when taken incorrectly.”

“Magnesium is known to reduce hyperexcitability of neurons and muscles, which is one reason it is commonly included in over-the-counter muscle relaxers,” the doctor continued.

“This mechanism could explain its ability to reduce anxiety in some people.”

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Regarding vitamin D, Palmer suggested that people with low levels might be more susceptible to anxiety or depression.

“Vitamin D plays many roles in the brain and body, but one of them is to reduce oxidative stress, which has been linked to depression and anxiety,” he said.

Palmer suggested that people with low levels of vitamin D might be more susceptible to anxiety or depression. (iStock)

“Therefore, addressing a vitamin D deficiency may play a role in treating anxiety in some people.”

A randomized controlled trial comparing the combination of vitamin D3 and magnesium versus a placebo in children with ADHD, published by the International Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2020, found that the magnesium/D3 duo led to improvement in symptoms anxiety and social problems, Palmer noted.

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Psychologist Mary Karapetian Alvord, PhD, of Maryland, takes a more skeptical view of the viral “hack.”

“I think we need to be careful when just a few people post testimonials,” Alvord said.

“You don’t want to ingest things unless you know the alternatives, because even some things that are ‘natural’ can be toxic to your body in larger quantities or when taken inappropriately,” the doctor said.

Mary Karapetian Alvord, PhD, is a psychologist and principal of Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC. (Mary Karapetian Alvord, PhD)

Just because “someone says it doesn’t mean it’s the truth,” she also said.

As an alternative, Alvord recommended behavioral therapies such as interoceptive exposure and cognitive behavioral therapy.

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“The opposite of avoiding is doing something,” she said.

“Facing fear helps you overcome it. If you don’t face it, the fear tends to get worse because you’re blowing it up in your head.”

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