Kelowna researchers find magic mushroom microdoses boost mood temporarily

Anecdotal experiences analyzed by researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan found that microdosing psychedelics only has short-term benefits. 

Dr. Michelle St. Pierre looked at the largest collection of international data entries from microdosers that most people only experience benefits on days they take a dose, according to a press release from UBCO. 

“Microdosing appears to lift mood and mental functioning on the days it’s practiced, but not necessarily beyond that,” she said in the release. “These findings help clarify when and how microdosing effects are felt.”

The data came from the Microdose.me project which tracked the experiences of 1,435 people in 49 countries.

Microdosing often helps people feel more connected, creative, focused and productive on days when they microdose, with some lingering effects the days after but not like a hangover from alcohol, according to St. Pierre’s findings. 

“Most doses vary from one-tenth to one-twentieth of a recreational dose,” she said. “Typical practices alternate varying proportions of non-dosing days to limit the rapid tolerance that can develop with so-called classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD. Anecdotal reports suggest that this may also be intended to leverage residual effects that could carry over to non-dosing days.”

Experiences were generally consistent between different demographics like gender and mental health history.

The main difference was for people who take psychedelics recreationally at higher doses, they experienced more creativity when microdosing. 

She said it could be possible that microdoses “reactivate” or build on prior doses, but that is still speculation. 

“We need future research designed specifically to test whether microdosing can amplify or extend the impacts of larger-dose psychedelic experiences,” she said. 

People have become increasingly interested in microdosing, but St. Pierre said that research into the practice has only come out in the past 15 years. 

There is still a long way to go in order to understand microdosing and what the actual effects are on the brain.