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What Can You Take With Ashwagandha? Magnesium and Other Pairings
In this article
- Can you take ashwagandha with magnesium?
- Magnesium or ashwagandha: which is better for sleep or anxiety?
- What else is ashwagandha commonly taken with?
- Can you take ashwagandha with melatonin?
- Can you take ashwagandha with creatine?
- What should you not mix with ashwagandha?
- What we don't know
- Frequently asked questions
No trial has tested ashwagandha and magnesium as a pair, and no harmful interaction between them has been reported. In one supplier-funded two-week trial, people who added a magnesium blend at night to a morning ashwagandha product did no better than those on the morning product alone.1 Any authorised wording on a combined product belongs to the magnesium.2 Part of the Wellgard ashwagandha guide.
Evidence at a glance
- Trials: four gave ashwagandha alongside a pairing on this page, three funded or run by a product maker: a magnesium blend (103 adults, 2 weeks), melatonin (200 adults, 8 weeks), an L-theanine blend (two of three groups in 75 women, 8 weeks) and a capsule with creatine (40 adults, 12 weeks).
- Largest single trial: 200 adults aged 18 to 50 with disturbed sleep, given ashwagandha, melatonin, both or placebo for 8 weeks.
- Strongest measured outcome: time to fall asleep, measured by actigraphy, fell in every active group and most with the pair (p < 0.0001).
- Not tested: ashwagandha with magnesium, L-theanine, creatine, valerian, lion's mane, shilajit or any vitamin as a two-ingredient pair.
Sources checked on 13 October 2026.
Can you take ashwagandha with magnesium?
No trial has given ashwagandha and magnesium as a pair, in glycinate or any other form; a PubMed search on 12 October 2026 found one trial with both in its protocol. It gave 103 healthy, physically active adults one of four routines for two weeks: a morning product (600 mg ashwagandha with 300 mg rhodiola), an evening product (magnesium L-threonate giving 145 mg of magnesium, with 200 mg L-theanine and 50 mg apigenin), both, or placebo.1 The morning-only group reported lower weekly stress, better mood and fewer sleep-related impairments. The group taking both did no better, and scored lower than morning-only on one sleep-quality question; the authors raised diminishing returns from overlapping ingredients and a possible interaction within the evening blend. Two people on the morning product alone withdrew (diarrhoea, dizziness). The company that made the products funded the study.1
Magnesium carries its own authorised wording: it contributes to normal psychological function and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.2 Ashwagandha has no authorised claim in Great Britain, and that wording never transfers to it. No trial has followed the two beyond two weeks, and if either makes you drowsy, together they may add to it. Magnesium's own cautions are on what not to take with magnesium.
Magnesium or ashwagandha: which is better for sleep or anxiety?
No trial has compared them; each has its own trials. For ashwagandha, five placebo-controlled trials of 400 adults were pooled in 2021: overall sleep improved by a small but significant amount, more in people with insomnia, at 600 mg a day or more and over 8 weeks or longer, with lower anxiety scores; four of the five came from one research group.3 For magnesium, three trials of 151 older adults with insomnia were pooled: time to fall asleep was about 17 minutes shorter than on placebo, total sleep time did not differ significantly, and the review rated the evidence low to very low quality.4 The detail is on does magnesium help you sleep. Neither has an authorised sleep or anxiety claim, and a diagnosed anxiety disorder goes to a GP or NHS talking therapies.
What else is ashwagandha commonly taken with?
"Not tested" means a PubMed search on 12 October 2026 found no human trial of the two together.
| Pairing | Tested together? (trial, participants) | What was measured | Interaction reported | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnesium | In one trial, as an evening blend: 103 adults, 2 weeks1 | Stress, mood, sleep scores, night waking | No adverse event with both; authors raised a possible interaction within the evening blend | Not tested as a pair; wording belongs to the magnesium |
| L-theanine | In two blends: 103 adults, 2 weeks; two of three groups in 75 women, 8 weeks, no placebo; both maker-funded1, 5 | Stress, mood, sleep scores; skin redness | None reported | Not compared in a human trial; what L-theanine is |
| Melatonin | Yes: 200 adults, 8 weeks6 | Time to fall asleep, total sleep, night waking | Mild adverse events in all groups, no clinically significant difference | Prescription-only in the UK7 |
| Valerian | Not tested | Valerian alone: 60 studies, 6,894 people8 | None studied | A registered traditional herbal medicine: ask a pharmacist first9 |
| Rhodiola | Yes, in one morning product: 103 adults, 2 weeks1 | Stress, mood, sleep scores | Two withdrew on the morning product (diarrhoea, dizziness) | Not compared with ashwagandha alone |
| Creatine | In one three-ingredient capsule: 25 of 40 adults, 12 weeks; maker-run10 | A blood methylation marker | No serious adverse events | Not tested as a pair; not compared |
| Vitamin D, B12, multivitamins | Not tested | Not compared in a human trial | None reported | See the questions below |
| Lion's mane | Not tested | Not compared in a human trial | None reported | Ashwagandha vs lion's mane |
| Shilajit | Not tested | Not compared in a human trial | None reported | What shilajit does for men |
| Alcohol | No human study (56 records screened) | Not studied | Not studied | Not taken with liver disease or heavy drinking |
Valerian root products hold UK traditional herbal registrations "for the temporary relief of sleep disturbances", based on traditional use; no ashwagandha product holds one.9 A 2024 review of eight systematic reviews found a good safety profile and better self-rated sleep quality, but no benefit on objective measures in insomnia.11
Can you take ashwagandha with melatonin?
In the UK, the NHS says of melatonin "it's a prescription-only medicine" (why melatonin is prescription-only in the UK).7 The one trial of the two gave 200 adults aged 18 to 50 with disturbed sleep 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice a day, melatonin, both, or placebo for eight weeks. Time to fall asleep fell in every active group, most with the pair, which also improved total sleep and night waking; each alone gave moderate, comparable changes. Mild adverse events occurred in all groups without a clinically significant difference; no external funding was declared.6 It is a trial of a medicine, not advice to combine them; the NHS melatonin page says "Do not take any herbal remedies that make you feel sleepy while taking melatonin."12 Anyone prescribed melatonin asks the prescriber or pharmacist first.
Can you take ashwagandha with creatine?
No trial has tested the two as a pair or compared them (17 PubMed records, 12 October 2026). The nearest is a 12-week trial, run by the product's maker, in which 25 adults took a capsule combining ashwagandha, creatine and a choline compound; it measured a blood methylation marker, not strength or performance.10 They were tested for different things: across 20 pooled ashwagandha trials of 1,249 adults, muscle strength rose more than on placebo in physically active people, not in untrained groups.13 Creatine's own trials are in the Wellgard creatine guide.
What should you not mix with ashwagandha?
The NHS has no page on ashwagandha; its general herbal-medicines page lists statins, antidepressants, diabetes, blood pressure and blood-thinning medicines and hormonal contraception among those that do not mix well, and says "Always check first with a pharmacist before taking a herbal medicine".14 Sedatives, sleeping tablets and anything else that makes you drowsy: ask a pharmacist first. Anyone with a thyroid condition or on levothyroxine or liothyronine asks their GP first (can I take ashwagandha with levothyroxine). Anyone with liver disease or heavy alcohol use should not take it; no human study has tested ashwagandha with alcohol. Check labels for a second product containing ashwagandha, such as a sleep blend. The full list is on who should not take ashwagandha.
What we don't know
- No trial has tested ashwagandha with magnesium, L-theanine, creatine or any vitamin as a two-ingredient pair.
- None of these trials measured whether the paired product changes ashwagandha's blood levels, or the reverse.
- No pairing on this page has been followed for longer than 12 weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take vitamin D and ashwagandha together?
No interaction has been reported, and no human trial has given the two together (PubMed, 12 October 2026). Vitamin D's own guidance is in the Wellgard vitamin D guide.
Can I take ashwagandha and B12 together?
No interaction has been reported and no trial has tested the pair. Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, wording that belongs to the B12, not to ashwagandha.2 More on what B12 is good for.
Is it safe to take magnesium and ashwagandha every day?
Each has its own daily record: is it OK to take magnesium every day and is ashwagandha safe to take daily. Together, the only trial ran two weeks, with no adverse event reported in the group taking both.1
What is the best combination with ashwagandha?
Only one trial has tested a food-supplement blend against ashwagandha alone: over two weeks, adding the evening magnesium blend gave no further improvement.1 The pair that moved sleep measures most included melatonin, a prescription medicine in the UK.6 On any combined label, the authorised wording belongs to its nutrients.
Sources
- Mastrofini GF et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2026. Randomised trial, 103 adults, 2 weeks; funded by the products' maker; withdrawals from the full text. PubMed 42829807
- Department of Health and Social Care. Great Britain nutrition and health claims register, 19 May 2026. Register. gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-claims-nhc-register
- Cheah KL et al. PLoS One 2021. Pooled analysis of 5 randomised trials, 400 adults. PubMed 34559859
- Mah J, Pitre T. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021, corrected 2024. Pooled analysis of 3 randomised trials, 151 older adults. PubMed 33865376
- Maloh J et al. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2022. Randomised trial without a placebo group, 75 women, 8 weeks; funded by the product's maker. PubMed 36431167
- Movva N et al. Clocks and Sleep 2026. Randomised trial, 200 adults, 8 weeks; no external funding declared, extract supplied by its maker. PubMed 42029558
- NHS. Common questions about melatonin. Page last reviewed 13 February 2023 (review overdue). nhs.uk/medicines/melatonin/common-questions-about-melatonin
- Shinjyo N et al. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine 2020. Systematic review and pooled analysis, 60 studies, 6,894 people. PubMed 33086877
- MHRA. Herbal medicines granted a traditional herbal registration. Register, list dated 27 October 2025, read 12 October 2026. gov.uk/government/publications/herbal-medicines-granted-a-traditional-herbal-registration-thr
- Pohl F et al. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases 2025. Randomised single-blind trial, 40 adults (25 on the product), 12 weeks; run by the product's maker. PubMed 40883125
- Valente V et al. European Neuropsychopharmacology 2024. Umbrella review of 8 systematic reviews. PubMed 38359657
- NHS. Taking melatonin with other medicines and herbal supplements. Page last reviewed 13 February 2023 (review overdue). nhs.uk/medicines/melatonin/taking-melatonin-with-other-medicines-and-herbal-supplements
- Zhu X et al. Frontiers in Pharmacology 2026. Pooled analysis of 20 randomised trials, 1,249 adults. PubMed 42199854
- NHS. Herbal medicines and complementary therapies. Page last reviewed 1 May 2026. nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/herbal-medicines-and-complementary-therapies
Spotted something out of date? Email support@wellgard.co.uk with the page address and the sentence.
