About this trial
Participants are being invited to take part in a research study. Before deciding whether to take part, it is important for participants to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve.
Purpose: This study will investigate whether a multi-ingredient nutritional supplement containing magnesium and melatonin can improve sleep quality in adults who experience disrupted sleep due to nighttime leg cramps.
What participation involves: Participation lasts 8 weeks. Participants will be randomly assigned to take either the nutritional supplement or a placebo (inactive look-alike) every night before bed for 6 weeks. Participants will wear an Oura Ring wearable device on one finger continuously for 8 weeks throughout the study and complete short questionnaires using a smartphone app. The Oura Ring and study supplement will be sent to the participant's home address. Participants will never need to travel to a research centre; all contact with the research team will be by video call, phone, messaging, or email.
How long: Total involvement will be 8 weeks, made up of a 2-week baseline period and a 6-week supplementation period. Each day, participants will complete a short app-based questionnaire (approximately 1 minute). At the end of weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, participants will complete additional app-based questionnaires (approximately 10 minutes).
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Adults aged 40-75 years
Self-reported poor sleep quality (PSQI >5) at screening
Self-reported nocturnal leg cramp averaging ≥4 episodes per fortnight at screening
Capacity to understand and provide electronic informed consent
Disqualifiers
Current or recent (within 4 weeks of randomisation) use of melatonin, magnesium, or other supplements specifically taken for sleep or leg cramps or listed as an ingredient of the intervention supplement.
Current use of any prescription medication
Diagnosed sleep disorder (e.g. obstructive sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome, insomnia disorder)
Known or suspected secondary cause of nocturnal leg cramps (e.g. peripheral vascular disease, neurological condition, renal impairment, thyroid disorder)
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Magnesium and melatonin based multi-ingredient dietary supplementation
- Placebo