From Silicon Valley tech execs looking to enhance performance, to common folk hoping to improve mental health, adding a microdose of psychedelics to your routine is growing in popularity.
The anecdotal evidence has always been there. People swear the practice has improved their lives. But up to now there has been a lack of scientific data to support people’s subjective claims (there was even a small yet respectable study that showed microdosing benefits could be partially from placebo-effect).
However this week we received some encouraging scientific news that supports people’s claims. Published on Nature.com (Scientific Reports) we have a report whose title speak for itself:
The report — although performed without placebo control — had a huge sample size, the largest of its kind. And it was run by a group of respected scientists and academics, including the Mushroom Man himself, Paul Stamets.
Some highlights from the study (information taken directly from the report):
- The present study describes microdosing practices, motivations and mental health among a sample of self-selected microdosers (n = 4050) and non-microdosers (n = 4653) via a mobile application.
- Psilocybin was the most commonly used microdose substances in our sample (85%) and we identified diverse microdose practices with regard to dosage, frequency, and the practice of stacking which involves combining psilocybin with non-psychedelic substances such as Lion’s Mane mushrooms, chocolate, and niacin.
- Microdosers were generally similar to non-microdosing controls with regard to demographics, but were more likely to report a history of mental health concerns. Among individuals reporting mental health concerns, microdosers exhibited lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress across gender.
- This examination of a large international sample of adults highlights the prominence of therapeutic and wellness motivations for microdosing psychedelic drugs and identified lower levels of anxiety and depression among microdosers relative to controls.
Encouraging news that will surely give researchers more institutional support to continue with more rigorous studies on the benefits of microdosing.
Stay tuned.
