Posted by Whether you’re shopping for psychedelic mushrooms or considering nootropics, you might be wondering whether you can combine the two. These two substances are powerful additions to a wellness lifestyle with some fun uses thrown into the mix. The shrooms get you into the activity quickly, and nootropics allow you to keep up with whatever’s going on even without them.
To be fair, though, nootropics were popular first before legal, non-psilocybin mushrooms came about. Sure, nootropics include certain mushrooms, but they don’t have any hallucinogens at all. They’re instead referred to as “smart drugs.” And while it’s easy to think psychedelic mushrooms are only for partying, they don’t have to be. What if you wanted to get the benefits of both?
If you’ve been wondering whether you can take psychedelic mushrooms and nootropics and what would happen if you do, read on. The short answer is Yes, but that doesn’t explain why. Get the facts on how the party and biohacking substance interacts with the brain-boosting bioactive compounds and affects your life.
Legal Shroom Types and Effects
Amanita “Magic” Mushrooms
Perhaps the first legal psychedelic mushrooms to hit the market were magic mushrooms, so called to set them apart from other psychedelic mushrooms. They have an extract from amanita muscaria, which has the non-psilocybin hallucinogenic compounds of muscimol and ibotenic acid. They’re toxic, but in certain amounts alter perception and visuals.
The appeal of magic mushrooms is recreational usage. It could range from tripping to a light buzz that’s great for celebration, socializing, creative activities, or winding down after a long day.
Synthetic Psychedelic Mushrooms
Amanita-containing magic mushrooms from some vendors made people sick for two reasons: Muscimol and ibotenic acid are toxins, and the extracts were not processed properly to avoid a buildup of toxicity in users. Also, people wanted a non-psilocybin alternative that actually mimicked psilocybin to the best of its ability.
Enter the synthetic version, known as psychedelic mushrooms. The secret of their ingredients is a chemical that activates the serotonin 5HT2A receptors in the brain by binding to them. While you think of serotonin as the happy chemical, serotonin 5HT2A is a particular receptor that’s important to the Central Nervous System (CNS). It’s the opposite of a depressant, which slows down the CNS.
What psychedelic mushrooms do is improve thinking, memory, learning, stabilizing and dealing with emotions, and it also affects sensory perception. Most importantly, they encourage neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to recover from and adapt to illness, injury, trauma, and changes. In other words, users get a new perspective every time they use them.
Not everyone goes for the “tripping” dosage, either. Microdosing is popular for people who want to make the most out of their minds without running out of mental and emotional energy. That could go for work and studying, but it could just as easily apply to hobbies, mindfulness, and socializing, too.
Best Way to Take Shrooms
Both types of shrooms can have a variety of edibles depending on the vendor. However, the two most popular ways to take shrooms are chewable tablets and shots. Chewable tablets are for anyone and make dosing easy and precise, with a steady onset and long-lasting effects. For experienced users, shots give a powerful dose that wears off faster but takes effect in mere minutes with fast absorption.
Nootropics and Why They’re So Popular
You’ve probably heard of nootropics, perhaps supplements like Ashwagandha and Kava. There are also substances that include nootropics, like Kratom and Kava shots with Ashwagandha, GABA, and L-theanine.
Nootropics are part of a group of natural, bioactive compounds from different parts of plants that offer powerful benefits beyond those nutrients from simply eating them alone. When put into extracts, they immediately give the user a boost in mental power with focus, clarity, and calm.
Nootropics further aid in protecting the brain against degeneration and preserving neuronal connections, as well as helping the user build new connections. With such mind-improving properties, it’s no wonder they also improve immunity against illness.
For this reason, many also have adaptogenic properties. That means their other benefits serve the user in terms of stress relief and emotional resilience – the ability to deal with stress. Unique properties like protection against dementia, immunity strengthening, stress resilience, and antioxidants that fight free radicals in the body are all important considerations when choosing nootropics.
There are also synthetic nootropics. Noopept and Modafinii, for example, increase mental endurance and wakefulness.
There Are Nootropic Mushrooms, Too
Some nootropics come in the form of mushrooms. While you may have heard of them as tasty additions to meals, their extracts give you benefits that in their stomach-filling form cannot. Following are the most popular nootropic mushrooms:
- Chaga
- Lion’s Mane
- Turkey Tail
- Reishi
- Cordyceps
- Maitake
When encountering nootropic mushroom products, you will either find them as single mushrooms or a combination of two or more. Often, people choose a mixture of two or more for a greater variety of cognitive and other health benefits.
Best Way to Take Nootropics
While powders promise an easy – if not messy – way to take nootropic mushrooms, I’ve always found tinctures to be extremely effective. However, they can also take the form of shots, gummies, and chocolate, a lot like psychedelic or magic mushrooms do – and they’re sometimes labelled as magic mushrooms with a proprietary nootropic blend by the vendor.
It makes a lot of sense to choose tinctures or shots – both absorb very quickly into the bloodstream and bypass the need for digestion, so you start getting the benefits right away. They’re also highly concentrated, making sure you get a powerful dose every time. Just keep in mind that tinctures are for dosing as a supplement that helps you throughout the day, and shots and other forms are specifically for relaxing or adventure.
What Happens If You Microdose and Take Nootropics?
Both microdosing and nootropics are popular these days because of their unique approach to mental clarity, focus, and creativity. They work to give cognitive benefits in very different ways. While natural nootropics provide long-term benefits that build up over time and synthetic nootropics shorter-term benefits with sharper focus, the approach with microdosing is a spaced-out dosing schedule.
The great news is, microdosing while taking nootropics has a synergistic effect. Psychedelic mushrooms and nootropics together encourage even greater improved focus, mental clarity, and emotional balance than taking either substance alone.
This is true even with the “One day on, two days off” scheduling for microdosing, while taking nootropics every day. The effects of microdosing last for up to two days and benefit you in the short term, while nootropics give you both short-term benefits like more mental energy and long-term benefits like better memory and learning.
Another benefit is the ability to offset the challenges from microdosing, such as negative after-effects or increased anxiety some people encounter. Both work together to improve energy levels, a positive mood, and emotional stability throughout the day. By someone improving their mood, for example, they’ll think more positively about whatever the day brings them, or anything they were thinking about doing, and feel more motivated and open towards that.
Finally, there’s promise that microdosing psychedelic mushrooms can result in long-term cognitive benefits — there’s just not enough research to confirm it yet. Imagine the even greater results from microdosing plus taking nootropics.
A Different Kind of Microdosing
Whether you’re microdosing on its own or in combination with nootropics, there are different types of psychedelic mushrooms to choose from. There’s one in particular that’s made just for microdosing – Mindless Mushrooms.
Made by Real Botanicals, their commitment to premium quality, precise dosing, and clean, simple, allergy-friendly formulas give you only the effects you want – nothing more, nothing less.
You might be interested in “Nootropics vs. Psychedelics.”
You might enjoy “Why Tinctures Work So Well for Nootropics.“
Get helpful tips in: “Avoiding Side Effects with Mushrooms“