Best ZMA Supplement

People are tired. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 13% of adults report feeling exhausted most days of the week, around 33% of American adults don’t get enough sleep, and up to 20% experience chronic sleep disorders.1 2

It’s a problem that has serious health consequences since fatigue can exacerbate chronic diseases, decrease cognitive function, and compromise your decision-making.3 These aren’t things that an extra cup of coffee can fix. The solution would be to sleep more, but getting to sleep can itself be an obstacle.

The answer to these problems might be ZMA, a supplement that combines zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6. Offering the potential to improve sleep outcomes and boost energy levels more directly, ZMA is growing in popularity among people dreaming of better slumber and those striving to improve their physical performance. In this review, we examine how ZMA may lead to these disparate health goals and tell you which brands show the most promise for helping you achieve them.

If you’re short on time, check out our summary of recommendations below. Then read through the rest of the guide for a detailed breakdown of how we chose our recommendations.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

Our initial research on ZMA focused on several facets. First, we looked at the active ingredients separately — zinc, magnesium, and B6 — to form a baseline understanding of what each one could do to improve sleep and energy. Then we broadly surveyed the ZMA landscape to see which types of formulations had the best scientific support for their intended health outcomes. Finally, we explored the landscape more closely to identify the most promising ZMA supplements, purchase them, and try them ourselves. In the end, with regard to ZMA and related areas of research, our cumulative efforts have spanned more than 340 hours.

Our first exploration of the landscape made clear the shortcomings of even the top ZMA supplements at the time. In many, we noticed underdosed ingredients; in others, we saw missed opportunities to include other well-studied ingredients. Seeing these gaps in the market, Innerbody Labs created its own product with the goal of delivering clinically relevant doses of third-party tested ingredients known to improve parameters associated with ZMA supplementation in addition to a core ZMA formula. It may not be suited to everyone — in which case, we’re quick to recommend other options — but we’re confident that it’s the best supplement for people seeking a long-term sleep or stress solution.

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy and will continue to be monitored for updates by our editorial team.

We evaluated the market’s best ZMA supplements based on four criteria that are the most likely to influence consumer decisions:

• Effectiveness: Will the product deliver on its intended health outcomes?
• Safety: What health risks, if any, does the product pose?
• Cost: Is the product affordable in terms of up-front and per-capsule costs?
• Customer satisfaction: What risks come with purchasing the product? If you don’t like it, can you return it?

Here’s what our research and testing bore out:

Effectiveness

Winner: Innerbody Labs Sleep Support

ZMA’s most common uses (improved sleep and physical performance) are pretty dissimilar. So in this case, most effective means “capable of delivering in one application without impeding the other.” Innerbody Labs Sleep Support satisfies that complex criterion. In addition to clinically relevant doses of zinc, magnesium glycinate, and vitamin B6, its well-thought-out formulation comprises a dozen other ingredients for improving sleep, but none that will knock you out. We’re talking about well-studied botanicals like ashwagandha and saffron,51 62 amino acids like L-theanine,54 and compounds such as Lactium and lycopene58 64 65 — all of which can put you in a state of optimal restfulness without any sedative effect, so you more easily and naturally drift into sleep when the time comes.

What’s more, improved sleep health does more than not impede physical performance goals; it can outright facilitate outcomes such as muscle growth and muscle recovery.70

But for people who already sleep well enough, we recommend Puori M3 as our top alternative. It’s a simpler ZMA complex that can help you see a more direct impact on physical performance owing to these qualities:

• Its 300mg dosage of total elemental magnesium matches the amount used in a 2014 clinical trial in which magnesium supplementation improved strength and physical performance in elderly women.48
• It uses magnesium taurate, which may have beneficial effects on hypertension and cardiovascular disease.4 5
• Its 15mg of zinc, which is important for energy metabolism, is roughly in line with the daily amounts recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)6
• It provides 300mg of added malic acid. Malic acid takes part in a biomechanical process that allows stored energy to become available for use in movements such as muscle contraction.12 13 Hence, it can be beneficial for physical activities, including strength training.

Safety

Winner: Puori M3

Puori is also our winner for safety for its combination of low-risk dosages and high-quality operational practices.

With Puori, you get 300mg of elemental magnesium, which is under the 350mg Upper Intake Level (UL) from supplemental sources as prescribed by the Food and Nutrition Board.7 Also, importantly, you get 11mg of vitamin B6, which is 1mg short of the upper limit set by the EFSA in 2023.8 While it’s true that the Food and Nutrition Board sets its B6 UL at 100mg, the EFSA reports that consuming more than 12mg per day may increase the user’s risk for nerve damage.9 Better safe than sorry, and Puori’s B6 dosage plays it safe.

On the operational side, Puori M3 isn’t just third-party tested but also certified by the Clean Label Project against more than 200 contaminants. Testing results are available through the product page, too, so you can see for yourself that Puori prioritizes purity in its ingredients. It’s also vegan and free of common allergens.

Innerbody Labs is the second-place finisher here. It’s not only third-party tested but also cGMP-certified, non-GMO, gluten-free, melatonin-free, and vegetarian-friendly. Moreover, its ingredient doses all fall within safe limits. Its lengthier ingredient bill makes it slightly more likely to cause side effects for some people.

Cost

Winner: NOW Sports ZMA Veg Capsules

NOW Sports has both the lowest base price and the lowest per-capsule cost among all of our recommendations. Purchased directly through NOW, a 90-capsule bottle costs just $29.99 and gives you 30-45 servings, which amounts to around $0.33 per capsule. There’s also a larger, 180-capsule option for $49.99, which equates to $0.28 per capsule.

The prices are even lower through third-party retailer iHerb. There, for one-time purchases, the 90-capsule bottle costs $18.36 ($0.20 per cap) and the 180-capsule bottle costs $30.61 ($0.17 per cap). On a subscription basis, the prices drop to $14.69 ($0.16 per cap) and $24.49 ($0.14 per cap), respectively.

Below is a cost-comparison chart showing how NOW Sports measures up against Puori, Innerbody Labs, and Swolverine. These are for direct purchases only. We’ve included both per-serving and per-capsule prices since each recommendation allows flexibility for titration, and you may need less than the label-recommended serving (bulk purchasing options excluded).

Direct your attention to the third row because it deserves some closer analysis. The NOW Sports label recommends different serving sizes for men (three capsules) and women (two capsules). A more granular per-serving cost breakdown looks like this:

• 90-capsule bottle (men): $1.00
• 90-capsule bottle (women): $0.67
• 180-capsule bottle (men): $0.83
• 180-capsule bottle (women): $0.55

So you can see that, on a per-serving basis, the only level at which NOW Sports doesn’t have the price advantage is when you compare the 90-capsule cost for men to Puori. Meanwhile, the per-capsule advantage goes fully to NOW’s 180-capsule bottle, and the 90-capsule bottle is competitive with Puori. These prices are for direct purchases; with iHerb, NOW beats out Puori on all price measures.

Customer satisfaction

Winner: Innerbody Labs Sleep Support

Innerbody Labs is our winner for customer satisfaction because of its return policy. Its 30-day return window is the same as Puori’s, ZMT’s, and NOW’s, but those brands don’t allow returns of used/opened items. Innerbody is the only one in this guide offering a satisfaction guarantee, and without any restocking or processing fee.

A satisfaction guarantee is important because it removes risk from the equation. It also demonstrates that the company believes in its supplement enough to put its profits on the line. So, compared to our other recommendations, Innerbody Labs should give you more confidence that your money will be well spent.

ZMA stands for “zinc magnesium aspartate.” In the strictest sense, it refers to a trademarked supplement that contains both eponymous ingredients along with vitamin B6 (although B6 isn’t part of the initialism). Yet not all ZMA supplements are made by the trademark owner, nor do they all have those ingredients exactly. The best combinations of these three ingredients replace magnesium aspartate with another form of magnesium, such as magnesium malate or magnesium glycinate, and often include additional ingredients to promote the intended effects.

You might already know that magnesium must be paired with a stabilizing substance before it’s suitable for human consumption, and each substance can alter magnesium’s absorption in the body while imparting specific health benefits. For example:

The two other parts of the fundamental ZMA equation — zinc and B6 — appear in different forms as well.

For zinc, some of the most common ones are zinc picolinate, zinc mono-L-methionine, zinc aspartate, zinc oxide, and zinc citrate. Similar to magnesium, the stabilizing substance affects the absorptivity of the zinc as well as the amount of elemental zinc you get from it.14 (Of note, each of our ZMA recommendations lists its elemental magnesium and zinc content, so you won’t have to perform any math to determine how much you’re getting.)

As for B6, you might see the label read something like “pyridoxine HCL” or “pyridoxal-5-phosphate,” which have no significant differences in bioavailability or safety according to the EFSA.15 Together, though, they can support magnesium’s effects on sleep and energy, as deficiencies in either nutrient are linked to fatigue, anemic weakness, poor sleep quality, and sleep disturbances.16 17 18 19

Individually, zinc, magnesium, and B6 provide their own benefits through different biological mechanisms. Here’s the summary version for each:

The idea behind taking the three together, as ZMA, is that they work synergistically to increase the impact each ingredient could have individually. Scientific support for this synergy theory largely comes from a study funded by SNAC, the company that originally registered ZMA as a trademark.20

Later research has been less optimistic. For example, a 2004 study on its use among athletes concluded that ZMA “does not appear to enhance training adaptations in resistance-trained populations.”21

The thing is, the more skeptical research looked rather narrowly at ZMA with magnesium aspartate, which isn’t the best form for achieving ZMA’s main desired outcomes — better sleep and/or physical performance. If we consider the diverse effects that magnesium can have in its various forms, and we hold them up alongside the research on zinc and B6, we start to see that zinc, magnesium, and B6 within a general framework may have a cumulative effect on sleep or energy.

It’s like having three all-stars on the same team. Do they work well together? Maybe. Can you trust each one to put points on the board? Absolutely.

Plus, when they play on the same team, you only have to buy one ticket to see them perform together. That tends to cost less to the consumer in the long term.

ZMA supplements are generally safe for most people — including women who are pregnant or breastfeeding22 23 24 — since their individual active ingredients are essential for health and basic bodily functions.

However, the safety of a specific ZMA supplement depends on its formulation, individual ingredient doses, and the company’s manufacturing practices. A ZMA supplement that contains more than just zinc, magnesium, and B6 may pose a higher risk of adverse effects. Ditto for a supplement that hasn’t undergone third-party testing. Researching brands, carefully reading labels, and speaking with your doctor can help you minimize risk.

Even the most barebones ZMA supplements can cause problems if the dosages are too high. As an adult, you want to keep your intake within the following limits:

• Elemental magnesium: 350mg per day from supplemental sources, in addition to the recommended daily allowance7
• Elemental zinc: 40mg per day25
• B6: 100mg per day per the Food and Nutrition Board,9 though the EFSA recommends no more than 12mg per day from supplemental sources8

Moreover, magnesium is known to interact with certain medications, including but not limited to antibiotics, diuretics, and drugs for diabetes or high blood pressure. Combining ZMA with any of these can affect your body’s ability to absorb the medication, lower your magnesium levels, or cause side effects like dizziness, nausea, and fluid retention.26 So it’s important that you speak with your doctor before bringing ZMA into your supplement rotation.

Because ZMA supplements offer the potential for improved sleep quality and/or physical energy, they should provide the greatest benefit to people who:

• Want to increase their athletic performance (e.g., endurance trainers and weight lifters)
• Have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting high-quality sleep
• Frequently wake in the middle of the night
• Experience insomnia
• Want an all-in-one solution for a zinc, magnesium, and B6 deficiency

On the other hand, you’ll want to avoid ZMA if you fall into any of the following categories:

Best for physical endurance and energy

We’ve chosen Puori M3 as the best ZMA supplement for endurance and energy because of its 300mg of added malic acid. That’s important because malic acid plays a part in the Krebs cycle, the function of which is to convert stored energy (i.e., food) into a usable form of energy called ATP.12 You experience ATP in action when you contract a muscle or engage in endurance exercise, like running,13 27 so supplementing with malic acid is kind of like adding a drop of lighter fuel to a fire: theoretically, it can help intensify your energy production.

Malic acid’s role in ATP conversion also means it has potential as a treatment for fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by general musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. In a 1995 study, 24 patients with primary fibromyalgia received either a placebo or malic acid (along with 150-300mg of magnesium) and were evaluated in three pain/tenderness measures. By the study’s end, the researchers found that a 1,200mg daily dose of malic acid led to “significant reductions in the severity of all … measures.”28 The clinical dose there is a lot more than you get from Puori, but the study should give you a sense of how malic acid, in combination with magnesium, can affect your energy levels.

As for its magnesium, Puori M3 uses two forms. One is magnesium gluconate, a sort of general-use magnesium for treating low mag levels. The other is magnesium taurate ("taurinate" on the label), which has been shown in recent studies to attenuate the progression of hypertension in rats and may serve as a therapy for cardiovascular disease in humans.4 5

For zinc, Puori provides a sensible 15mg per serving. It’s a lower dose than you get from Innerbody Labs, NOW Sports, or Swolverine, but it’s also roughly in line with the EFSA’s recommendations — 7.5-12.7mg/day for women, 9.4-6.3mg/day for men — and it poses the least risk of pushing you over the 40mg UL.6 25

Pricing, subscriptions, and shipping

Puori M3 is $36 as a one-time purchase ($0.30 per capsule) and $30.60 as a subscription ($0.26 per capsule). Subscribers can adjust their delivery frequency after checkout.

Each purchase option has its own free-shipping threshold. For one-time purchases, it’s $70; for subscriptions, $30. To put it another way: all subscribers get their product shipped for free, but one-time purchasers will need to double their order for the same privilege.

Fortunately, Puori’s standard shipping cost is a reasonable $6.99. That’s almost a third of what it used to be.

Refunds

Puori’s 30-day refund policy applies only to unused/unopened products. NOW Sports and Swolverine have similar policies. The outlier is Innerbody Labs, which has a 30-day policy that applies to used products.

Best long-term solution for sleep

Innerbody Labs Sleep Support is the culmination of thousands of research hours into the contributing factors of sleep health and the supplemental ingredients that are best suited for improving it. In addition to 17mg zinc, 127mg elemental magnesium, and 1mg vitamin B6, every three-capsule serving delivers these sleep-promoting components:

What you may notice is the absence of melatonin, a popular over-the-counter sleep supplement that features in another of our recommendations, Swolverine ZMT. It’s excluded from the formula because of the risk of next-day drowsiness and grogginess that melatonin poses.42 So Innerbody Labs gives you a host of ingredients that promote sleep without anything that would offset the benefits of a deep snooze. That’s why it’s our choice as the best long-term sleep solution.

Pricing, subscriptions, and shipping

Innerbody Labs Sleep Support is available as either a one-time purchase or one of three subscription options. This table illustrates:

Every bottle of Innerbody Labs Sleep Support amounts to a one-month supply, so the multi-month subscription options are bulk purchases (that save you a great deal of money if you can cover the up-front cost).

The downside: whether you subscribe or make a one-time purchase, Innerbody Labs’ base price is the second-highest in this guide — only Swolverine costs more — but the per-capsule cost is greater than any other recommendation. But here’s an upside: unlike Puori, Swolverine, and NOW Sports, Innerbody Labs offers a true satisfaction guarantee. You can try the product and, if you don’t like it, return it for a refund within 30 days. No restocking or processing fees, either. You’re responsible only for the return shipping cost.

International shipping isn’t available at this time, but all U.S. orders ship for free. The shipping time is usually brisk, too, taking an average of 3.5 days from the time it leaves the Innerbody distribution center to reach your address.

Best short-term solution for sleep

While Innerbody Labs is our best overall sleep solution, Swolverine ZMT is our recommendation for people seeking more immediate outcomes. That’s because it contains a host of strong, well-supported ingredients for relieving stress and inducing sleep — melatonin, valerian root, L-theanine, ashwagandha38 39 40 41 — but some of those ingredients may not be suitable for long-term use.

We’re mainly talking about melatonin and valerian root. Current research strongly supports their abilities to promote sleep and improve sleep quality38 39 but often at the expense of next-day wakefulness. Either one can cause you to experience vivid, possibly disruptive dreams as you sleep, and you may feel drowsy or groggy the following morning.42 43

With that in mind, be judicious in your use of Swolverine ZMT and try not to become dependent on its ingredients for sound sleep. Instead, keep it at hand for when you really need a knockout for the night. If you want an alternative fit for long-term use, Innerbody Labs Sleep Support is likely a better option.

Pricing, subscriptions, and shipping

Swolverine ZMT costs $66.99 as a one-time purchase and $56.94 as a subscription. With 180 capsules per container, you’re looking at around $0.32-$0.37 per capsule. But the label-recommended serving size is six capsules. Also, domestic shipping costs around $8 for orders under $99, and you won’t cross the free shipping threshold with ZMT alone.

Subscribers can choose to receive deliveries every 30 or 60 days.

Refunds

Swolverine has a similar refund policy to Puori and NOW Sports — that is, no returns of opened/used products — except there are fees involved:

• $5 restocking fee
• 2.5% processing fee
• Taxes, if eligible

To illustrate, if you qualify for a refund on a one-time purchase, you’ll get back a maximum of around $60; and on a subscription order, around $50.

Best budget pick

NOW Sports ZMA is sold as a sports recovery supplement, so in the confines of this guide, it aligns more with Puori than with Innerbody Labs or Swolverine. NOW is also the one “true” ZMA among our recommendations since it’s the only one that uses magnesium aspartate.

Concerning magnesium aspartate’s utility for sports recovery, the research is mixed. For example, in 2000, a study published in the Journal of Exercise Physiology concluded that a combination of mag aspartate, zinc, and B6 could yield desirable outcomes on “muscle attributes and selected hormones in strength-trained, competitive athletes.”20 On the other hand, a study published later in 2004 countered that this same combination “does not appear to enhance training adaptations in resistance-trained populations.”21 Here, it bears mentioning that the 2000 study was written in part by a researcher with an equity interest in SNAC, the company that originally trademarked ZMA.

However, we know that magnesium has positive implications for enhancing physical performance, and we can see from NOW’s label that it provides 300-450mg of elemental magnesium for every 2-3 capsules. The same serving sizes deliver 20-30mg of zinc, which is within the clinical range found to be effective for overcoming fatigue in a 2021 study among the elderly.16

The dosages are solid, even if the mag form isn’t the most scientifically supported for sleep or energy.

Pricing, subscriptions, and shipping

Then there’s the price:

• $23.99 for a 90-capsule bottle ($0.27 per capsule)
• $39.99 for a 180-capsule bottle ($0.22 per capsule)

The up-front and per-capsule costs are both the lowest on our list.

Unfortunately, there are no direct subscription savings, as there are no subscriptions through the NOW website. On the bright side, you can subscribe via Amazon or iHerb. We recommend the latter since iHerb allows you to try a lesser amount at a lower price and may allow for returns of used supplements within 30 days.

But if you do purchase directly from NOW, there’s at least a $50 free-shipping threshold; neither bottle size gets you there alone, but a double order will. Otherwise, standard shipping is low-cost. At a $6.95 flat rate, it’s less than Swolverine and way less than Puori’s rate for subscribers. Only Innerbody Labs has a better shipping cost (free for U.S. orders).

Refunds

When you buy directly from NOW, you have 30 days to return an unopened/unused product for a full refund minus return shipping. It’s the same return window as Puori and Swolverine. But unlike Swolverine, NOW at least doesn’t have you cover the restocking or processing costs.

Wholesome Story was once one of our top recommendations, but it has since been edged out. Still, it remains strong enough that we want to include it here as an honorable mention.

Each two-capsule serving of Wholesome Story provides:

• Magnesium glycinate (120mg elemental)
• Vitamin B6 (50mg)
• Zinc picolinate (30mg elemental)

You’ll notice it uses the same well-absorbed and sleep-supportive form of magnesium as Innerbody Labs.36 11 Its 120mg dosage is lower than Innerbody’s, but it still hits a comfortable sweet spot.37

The main worry with Wholesome Story is its high vitamin B6 dosage. One serving gets you halfway to the UL and around four times over the EFSA-recommended limit. So, if you’re concerned about your risk for nerve damage, you should first speak with your doctor about an appropriate B6 dose range for you and then consider a different supplement based on their advice.

Pricing, subscriptions, and shipping

Wholesome Story is $25.95 ($0.43 per capsule) as a one-time purchase. On a subscription, it’s $23.36 ($0.39 per capsule). The free shipping threshold is $40, so a single order of the ZMA won’t get you there. Lucky for you, the $5.50 flat-rate shipping fee isn’t just low but the lowest on our list.

Subscribers can choose to have their orders shipped every 1-4 months, and they can pause their shipments at any time.

Refunds

Like Innerbody Labs, Wholesome Story offers a true money-back guarantee, except its 90-day return window is three times longer. The guarantee is valid on up to three bottles of product, full or empty.

An obvious alternative to ZMA is to purchase zinc, magnesium, or B6 on its own or in some combination that will satisfy your health needs. Depending on which nutrient you need, you could save a pretty penny. Zinc and B-6 are usually pretty affordable as standalone supplements, and NOW Foods sells 100-capsule bottles for about $8 each.

Magnesium tends to run at higher price points, especially when it’s a proven form for sleep or energy (e.g., magnesium glycinate). Still, you can find high-quality magnesium at around the same cost as ZMA, such as Micro Ingredients Magnesium Glycinate (our overall pick for best magnesium sleep supplements).

However, if you’d prefer a more self-contained solution for sleep, energy, or related areas of health, you have a few good options to choose from: