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What is microdosing psilocybin?
Microdosing means taking a very small amount of psilocybin, well below a full psychedelic dose, on some days and not others. Research on it is young, and the careful studies so far are more modest than the stories.
Our products haven’t been studied or evaluated for any condition, and nothing here is medical advice.
The idea, in plain words
Psilocybin is the compound in psilocybin (“magic”) mushrooms that the body turns into psilocin, which acts mainly on serotonin 2A receptors in the brain. At full doses it causes a psychedelic experience that lasts several hours.
Microdosing uses a small fraction of that, often described as “sub-perceptual”: the aim is to feel little or nothing obvious on the day. People typically take it on some days and not others, and many keep a simple journal.
There’s no single agreed amount or schedule, and we don’t give dose advice on this page. What we can do is tell you, honestly, what has been studied.
What people report
Self-reports are real experiences. They aren’t proof, because people who expect a change often notice one.
Why people microdose, and what goes wrong
In a survey of 1,116 microdosers, the most common reason given was better performance, such as more energy, focus or creativity, followed by better mood. About one in five reported a negative effect, mostly short-lived, either psychological or physical.
Hutten et al., Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2019. PubMed 31152167
The challenges people describe
An analysis of reports from 278 microdosers grouped the downsides they described. Apart from problems tied to the substances being illegal, such as not knowing the dose, the most common group was physical discomfort: trouble sleeping, an upset stomach, headaches or migraines, tingling, and feeling too warm or cold. Others included more anxiety and dips in focus, energy or mood.
Anderson et al., Harm Reduct J 2019. PubMed 31288862
A month of app check-ins
Researchers followed 953 people who microdosed psilocybin and 180 who didn’t for about 30 days through a phone app. The microdosers reported somewhat greater improvements in mood and mental health, small to medium in size.
What it couldn’t show: people chose for themselves whether to microdose, nobody was blinded, and nobody checked what they took. Several authors have financial interests in the app or in related products.
Rootman et al., Sci Rep 2022. PubMed 35773270
What blinded studies found
In a blinded study, people don’t know whether they’re taking the real thing or a placebo. It’s the fairest test we have, and so far it has been humbling.
A citizen-science placebo study
191 people completed four weeks of microdosing or placebo, blinding themselves at home with their own supplies. Most used LSD; about a quarter used psilocybin mushrooms. Both groups improved, with no significant difference between microdose and placebo. People guessed which they’d taken 72% of the time, which may explain the small differences seen on dose days.
Szigeti et al., eLife 2021. doi:10.7554/eLife.62878
Psilocybin mushrooms versus placebo, week by week
34 people already planning to microdose took their own mushrooms in one week and a placebo in another, without knowing which was which. Stronger effects on dose weeks showed up only in people who guessed correctly. There was no evidence of better well-being, creativity or thinking, and a few small changes pointed toward slightly worse thinking.
Cavanna et al., Transl Psychiatry 2022. PubMed 35918311
Thinking and mood over several weeks
Two placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults found no significant effects of psilocybin microdosing on thinking tasks or on how people felt, once the statistics were corrected for many comparisons. Unpleasant body sensations were more common on the active doses.
Prochazkova et al., Neuropharmacology 2026. PubMed 41110634
LSD microdosing in healthy men
In a six-week trial with 80 healthy men, mood ratings rose on dose days, but there were no lasting changes in mood or thinking by the end. Four people on LSD dropped out because of anxiety.
Murphy et al., Biol Psychiatry 2023. PubMed 36997080
The bottom line so far: blinded trials haven’t shown microdosing beating a placebo on their main outcomes. That could change with bigger, longer studies, and we’ll update this page when it does. One more trial, of LSD microdosing in people with depression, was announced by the company behind it in November 2025 as showing no difference from placebo (company release); it hasn’t been published in a journal yet.
Microdosing isn’t psilocybin therapy
Most headlines about psilocybin come from trials where people received one or two large doses, in a calm room, with two trained guides, preparation beforehand and support afterward. Some of those trials found large changes in depression and anxiety, and you can read them, study by study, on our research page.
Those results don’t carry over to microdosing. The amounts are far smaller, the setting is everyday life, and the blinded evidence for microdosing is, so far, the evidence above.
How long does it last?
At full doses, psilocybin’s effects usually last about three to six hours (Passie et al., 2002). In the controlled microdosing studies above, the small changes people noticed were measured on the days they took a dose and didn’t build into lasting differences over the following weeks.
Everyone responds differently, and that’s one reason to read our safety notes before anything else.
Short answers to what people ask most.
Microdosing questions
What is microdosing psilocybin?
Microdosing means taking a very small amount of psilocybin, the active compound in “magic” mushrooms, well below the amount that causes a full psychedelic experience, on some days and not others. People usually describe the aim as feeling little or nothing obvious on the day.
Is microdosing the same as psilocybin therapy?
No. The trials you may have read about gave one or two large doses in a supervised session with trained support. Microdosing uses far smaller amounts, usually at home, and it has been studied much less.
Does microdosing work better than a placebo?
Not so far. In the blinded studies published to date, people who microdosed and people who took a placebo improved by similar amounts on the studies’ main measures. Larger and longer trials are still needed.
What do people say it feels like?
In surveys, people most often describe hoping for more energy, focus or creativity, or a better mood. Some describe trouble sleeping, an upset stomach, headaches or feeling more anxious. These are self-reports, not proof.
How long does psilocybin last?
At full doses, psilocybin’s effects usually last about three to six hours. In controlled microdosing studies, the changes people noticed were measured on the days they took a dose, and didn’t carry over.
Is it safe if I take antidepressants?
Please talk with your prescriber first, and never stop a prescribed medicine on your own. Antidepressants, lithium, MAOIs and tramadol all need care; our safety page explains why.
Our products haven’t been studied or evaluated for any condition, and nothing here is medical advice.
When you’re ready, our capsules are in the shop.