What to Expect After Six Months of Microdosing: A Timeline

Psilocybin has garnered significant interest as both a nootropic and tool for proactive and reactive mental health.

While aging naturally leads to cognitive declines, there are a number of factors that accelerate ageing processes and threaten the integrity of our brain, from stress and diet to oxidative stress and inflammation.

In fact, a whopping 75% – 90% of human disease is related to the activation of our inflammatory stress-regulating systems.

Although common and costly, many chronic diseases are preventable. The number of neurological concerns that can be slowed or completely prevented through proactive and reactive measures is staggering; many chronic diseases are linked to lifestyle choices that are within your own hands to change.

If you're reading this article because you're looking for natural and clinically studied ways to improve your health, you're already on the path to change.

So, it's only natural to wonder: how long until I start seeing results from microdosing?

This article highlights some of the effects, benefits, and results you can expect from microdosing after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months.

How did we come up with the timeline?

Research on Psilocybin is still in its infancy. As such, there are no randomized clinical studies investigating the price timeline of results.

However, there is a boom of both in vitro and in vivo studies and a few pre-clinical and clinical studies exploring the way Psilocybin interacts with our body and brain, along with decades of anecdotal evidence from thousands of microdosers around the world.

So, we gathered data from three types of sources and synthesized them to come to the conclusions we present in this article. These sources are:

• Anecdotal evidence from forums, facebook groups, and reports, including our team's personal experiences with microdose coaching
• In vitro (test tube), in vivo (live animal), pre-clinical, and clinical studies on psilocybin's observed effects on our brain and body chemistry
• Clinical literature on the roles and functions of the molecular targets psilocybin is studied to modulate and interact with

We used anecdotal evidence as the premise for the timeline. We then looked at studies on psilocybin's molecular targets and synthesized them with clinical literature on the roles and functions of the systems they interact with in an attempt to understand the potential underlying mechanisms.

What are signs that my cognition is impaired?

Stress, physical or physiological, can trigger your body's inflammatory stress response. Continued exposure to stress can perpetuate cortisol dysfunction, immune dysregulation, circadian disruption, and widespread inflammation.

The impact reveals itself in myriad ways, and it can be different for every person and change over time, but it touches everything from your mood, brain, hormones, skin, sleep, gut, metabolism, and immunity.

In the brain specifically, the inflammatory stress response can impair functional connectivity between different brain regions, decrease serotonin levels, increase oxidative stress, and lead to atrophy, or shrinkage.

Symptoms of impaired cognition include:

• brain fog
• difficulty concentrating
• task inattention
• decreased productivity
• low mood or depression
• anxiety
• fatigue
• irritability or aggression
• gut issues, including IBS
• trouble sleeping
• oversleeping
• weight gain

Here's how psilocybin can help restore functional brain connectivity, healthy serotonin levels, and help protect from inflammation and oxidative stress.

Psilocybin for preventative care: the therapeutic potential.

Psilocybin has been studied to:

• stimulate neurogenesis, the growth of new nerve cells from your own stem cells
• enhance neuroplasticity, your nervous system’s ability to reorganize your nerve pathways
• amplify synaptoplasticity, making new synaptic connections by encouraging them to connect with nearby nerve cells
• activate a range of serotonin receptors

Psilocybin has a particular affinity for the 5-HT_2A receptor (5-HT_2AR), which is widely distributed in the central nervous system, especially in brain regions essential for learning and cognition.

In addition to their cognitive and mood benefits, 5-HT receptors play an important role in:

• suppressing inflammation,
• regulating circadian rhythms, and
• supporting energy balance, metabolism, and gut health.

In a review of 344 studies, of which 20 passed inclusion criteria, researchers demonstrated that a single psilocybin administration produced rapid changes in plasticity mechanisms on a molecular, neuronal, synaptic, and dendritic level.

That means that psilocybin was observed to promote positive structural changes in the brain on every level, which could explain its potential therapeutic capacity and pedigree status as a novel breakthrough therapy.

In the study, researchers looked for ways that the genes and proteins related to plasticity were expressed, including Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). They discovered that BDNF expression changed after a single administration of psilocybin, resulting in changed neuroplasticity and an increase in brain connectivity that outlasted the acute effects of the psychedelic, i.e. the trip itself.

However, repeated administration of a psychedelic directly stimulated neurogenesis and increased BDNF mRNA levels up to a month after treatment.

So, if you're worried about losing the benefits of microdosing while you're in the resting phase of your microdose cycle, rest easy you have no reason to be.

In another study on mice, low doses of Psilocybin decreased conditioned fear responses and increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a complex brain structure embedded deep in the temporal lobe that has a major role in learning and memory. The researchers believed this was in part mediated by serotonin 5-HT_2AR activation.

Here's what to expect after a day, a week, a month, and 6 months of microdosing.

Day 1 of microdosing psilocybin.

The small dose of psilocybin is interacting with your serotonin receptors, stimulating their mood-boosting benefits. With the right dose, you can expect to feel:

• calm energy
• reduced anxiety and irritability
• clear mind
• alertness

Also, serotonin's anti-inflammatory activity begins, but the effects aren't tangible yet.

Day 7 of microdosing psilocybin.

You've completed your first few rounds of microdosing, you've found the dose that works for you, and psilocybin's benefits are becoming more pronounced. You feel fine on your non-microdosing days, though there are still moments when you feel dips in your energy, mood, or cognition.

By day 7, you're feeling:

• improved focus
• spontaneous bursts of creative energy
• improved sense of confidence and well-being
• reduced mental and emotional fatigue

Day 30 of microdosing psilocybin.

You're halfway through your first full microdosing cycle. You're starting to notice psilocybin's neuroprotective, neurogenic, and synaptogenic benefits. You're feeling sharper, your memory is getting better, and getting a good night's sleep is becoming easier.

By day 30, you're experiencing:

• improved productivity, mental stamina, and cognitive flexibility
• enhanced learning and memory
• increased sociability

Month 6 of microdosing psilocybin.

You're more confident with microdosing now and might be experimenting with different microdose protocols. Not only is your cognition restored and mood lifted, but you're experiencing the physical benefits that come with healthy cognitive function, including:

• healthier gut
• laser focus
• happy mood
• better sleep
• adaptability

Read: Microdose Cycling: What It Is, and Why You Should Be Doing It

Read: The Benefits of Microdosing Psilocybin – Without the Fluff

Read: The Ultimate Guide to Magic Mushroom Microdosing

Note on microdosing.

Psilocybin is an outstanding gold-star ingredient for proactive and reactive health. However, we understand that each body is unique and will respond in different ways to plant and mushroom extracts, including psilocybin.

If you are otherwise healthy, do not expect immediate transformational results from adding psilocybin to your regimen. Preventative care is not about the present, but committing to our health and preparing for tomorrow.

We want all our customers to be satisfied. If you have any questions, please reach out to our wonderful Happiness Team at [email protected] and we will work with you to find a solution.

Shop microdose supplements.

discover microdosing