Do mushrooms keep you awake? A scientific and cultural study
When it comes to using psychedelics, one question that often arises is, “Do mushrooms keep you awake?” The answer is it depends. The relationship between psychedelics and sleep is complex, and it’s not as straightforward as you might think. On a simple level, psychedelics like mushrooms typically energize your brain. Have you ever tried sleeping after drinking a coffee? It’s the same idea with shrooms, which can cause difficulty sleeping the night after using it.
But like most other topics on psilocybin, it has not yet been thoroughly researched. So let’s investigate deeper
The Scientific Impact of Mushrooms on Sleep
According to this study, psilocybin, the chemical found in magic mushrooms, may have some effects on sleep.
The scientists wanted to check how psilocybin, a compound found in “magic mushrooms” that’s thought to have the potential to help with depression, affects sleep. Sleep is essential for our mental health, and changes in sleep patterns can reflect and influence the state of our mental health.
What did they do?
- They had 20 adult volunteers (half men, half women) who were healthy take part in the study.
- These volunteers were given psilocybin on one day and a placebo (a substance with no active effect) on another day. This was done in a random order, and neither the scientists nor the participants knew who was taking what until the study was over.
- They then measured the participants’ sleep using a special kind of brain scan called polysomnography that records brain activity during sleep.
Key findings
After taking psilocybin, people took longer to enter REM sleep, which is a phase of deep sleep where dreams usually happen. It also seemed like they spent less total time in REM sleep. Here are a few more key findings:
- The psilocybin didn’t seem to make a big difference in other types of sleep or how the brain was active during sleep overall.
- After taking psilocybin, the deep restorative sleep (where the brain gets to rest and repair itself) wasn’t as intense as expected based on previous studies with similar substances.
Subjective vs objective sleep
Part of the study included findings on objective and subjective sleep.
- Objective Sleep Measures vs. Subjective Sleep Quality: The study looked at both how psilocybin scientifically affected sleep (objective measures like the amount of REM sleep) and how participants felt about their sleep (subjective experiences). Overall, the participants did not report worse sleep quality after taking psilocybin when considering the group as a whole; however, …
- Gender Difference in Subjective Sleep Quality: When analyzing the data further, specifically regarding subjective experiences, a gender-specific finding emerged. Only men reported a decrease in their subjective sleep quality after taking psilocybin, compared to the placebo. This was not observed in women.
So, to reconcile these points:
In general, participants did not feel that psilocybin worsened their sleep quality based on the overall subjective reports (when not separating by gender).
A closer look revealed that men specifically did report a decrease in subjective sleep quality after taking psilocybin, distinguishing their experience from that of women in the study.
What does it mean?
The researchers hoped psilocybin would improve certain types of sleep in ways similar to other antidepressants, which could help explain how it might fight depression. While they did see some changes in sleep, psilocybin didn’t increase the brain’s deep restorative sleep in the first cycle after taking it, as they had hoped. In fact, it seemed to decrease it. This was surprising because deep sleep is crucial for brain health and well-being.
Do Mushrooms Keep You Awake? The Internet and History Weigh In
Magic mushrooms, or psilocybin mushrooms, have long sparked discussions about their effects on sleep. Both ancient practices and modern online forums seem to converge on one point: mushrooms can significantly alter sleep patterns. Let’s explore how.
Ancient Wisdom and Nighttime Revelations
Historically, cultures worldwide have used magic mushrooms in rituals believed to connect the physical with the spiritual realm, often extending into the night. This historical use suggests that ancient peoples may have valued the wakefulness induced by these fungi for spiritual journeys. Does this imply an age-old acknowledgment that mushrooms disrupt sleep in favor of deeper exploration?
The Digital Era’s Collective Experience
Fast forward to today, and platforms like Reddit, Shroomery, and other online forums are bustling with personal accounts that echo how psilocybin mushrooms affect their sleep. A common theme emerges from threads and discussions: many individuals report that consuming magic mushrooms leads to extended periods of wakefulness, often accompanied by deep introspection or vivid experiences that the user wouldn’t want to sleep through.
It’s for this reason that many will suggest you don’t take shrooms too late in the day, to avoid poor sleep.
Societal Narratives and Scientific Curiosity
These anecdotal evidences from modern forums provide a real-world context that supports scientific inquiries into “do mushrooms keep you awake?” While research delves into the specifics of psilocybin’s impact on REM sleep and other sleep stages, societal and cultural narratives offer a broader view of its role in shaping sleep experiences..
Will Psilocybin Improve My Sleep?
We’ve now looked at scientific and cultural views on psilocybin and sleep. So, do mushrooms keep you awake? The simplest answer is they probably will. While it’s true psilocybin may promote calmness and influence mood positively. It’s more likely your brain’s activity will lead to a delay REM sleep and difficulty sleeping overall. The practice of microdosing psilocybin for better sleep is under investigation too, with no clear consensus yet.
The key takeaway is that psilocybin’s effects on sleep are multifaceted and as research continues, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of how psilocybin can impact sleep health.
