Microdosing mushrooms: the guide and protocols
Par Rédaction - 09 April 2026
Protocols
Microdosing mushrooms
the guide and protocols
By the Mush n Go editorial teamUpdated 24 September 202613 min read
Protocols
Beware the shared word: this kind of microdosing has nothing to do with psychoactive mushrooms. It means taking a low, regular dose of adaptogenic mushroom and plant extracts — usually 500 mg to 1 g per species — instead of a high, occasional one. The principle rests on one observation from the trials: what carries the results is duration, not the amount per dose.
What this is and is not
Two different practices under the same word.
In much of what you read online, "microdosing" means taking tiny doses of psilocybin mushrooms. That is not the subject of this article, and it is not what we sell.
- The species discussed here — lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi, chaga, ashwagandha — contain no psychoactive molecule. No psilocybin, no effect on perception.
- They fall under the food supplement regime in the European Union, with the labelling and traceability obligations that go with it.
- "Microdosing" here means a dosing strategy: low dose, daily, over a long period. Nothing more.
If you are looking for information on psychoactive mushrooms, it is neither our field nor our purpose. We set out the legal frame in our article on the side effects of adaptogenic mushrooms and plants.
The principle
Duration makes the result, not the dose.
Look at the published trials on these species: they run four to sixteen weeks, at stable doses. None describes an effect proportional to the amount taken at once. Mori's trial, the longest available, runs over sixteen weeks at a constant dose — and the gap observed disappears four weeks after stopping.
The "high dose" logic
You take a lot, occasionally, hoping for a noticeable effect. That is the logic of a stimulant — caffeine's logic. It matches no published protocol on these species.
The "low dose, every day" logic
You take little, but without skipping days, for several weeks. That is the trials' logic, and the one our formulas follow: one capsule a day, or one cup each morning.
The practical advantage of the low dose is also digestive: the discomfort described — bloating, loose stools — almost always shows up in people who start at full dose.
The doses, species by species
What the trials used, and what to do with it.
| Species | Starting dose | Usual dose | Dose in trials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lion's mane | 500 mg | 1,000 to 2,000 mg | 1.8 to 3 g (Mori 2009, Docherty 2023) |
| Cordyceps | 500 mg | 1,000 to 2,000 mg | 3 g (Chen 2010) |
| Reishi | 500 mg | 1,000 to 2,000 mg | Polysaccharide extract, 8 weeks (Tang 2005) |
| Chaga | 500 mg | 1,000 mg | No reference human trial |
| Ashwagandha | 250 mg of standardised extract | 300 to 600 mg | 240 mg (Lopresti 2019), 600 mg (Chandrasekhar 2012) |
The trial doses are well above those of supplements on the market. That does not mean you should copy them: nothing indicates the effect is proportional, and duration remains the decisive parameter.
What the studies say
Four protocols, and how long they ran.
What all these trials have in common is not the dose: it is having held for several weeks. That is the central argument of this page.
Mori et al., 2009 · Japan
30 adults aged 50 to 80, 3 g of Hericium erinaceus a day for 16 weeks. Higher scores on a cognitive function scale. The gap disappears 4 weeks after stopping: the effect depends on continued intake.
Chen et al., 2010 · United States
20 sedentary adults, 3 g of Cordyceps sinensis extract a day for 12 weeks. Ventilatory threshold during exertion 10.5% higher. Very small sample.
Chandrasekhar et al., 2012 · India
64 adults, 600 mg of ashwagandha root extract a day for 60 days. Blood cortisol 27.9% lower, against 7.9% on placebo.
Docherty et al., 2023 · United Kingdom
41 young adults, 1.8 g of Hericium erinaceus extract. The one exception to the duration rule: a single dose shortens reaction time on a speed task. At 28 days the results are more nuanced.
Put another way: one documented acute result, and four protocols that hold for between eight and sixteen weeks. References at the bottom of the page.
The starting protocol
Three weeks to set it up, then you leave it alone.
Week 1 — half dose
500 mg a day of a single species, in the morning, with food. The aim is not the effect, it is checking that your digestion takes it well.
Week 2 — full dose
Move to the usual dose, still with one species only. Keep the same time of day: regularity of hour counts as much as regularity of day.
Weeks 3 to 8 — change nothing
This is the hard part, and it is the part that produces the trial results. No adjustment, no species added, until the eighth week.
One variable at a time. If you start three supplements in the same week you change your sleep, you will learn nothing from the experiment.
When to take what
The species do not share the same slot.
Morning, with food
Lion's mane, cordyceps, ashwagandha. These are the species studied on the day — cognition, exertion, morning cortisol. With some fat for ashwagandha, whose withanolides are fat-soluble.
Before a training session
Cordyceps, thirty to sixty minutes before. It is the only slot where it has a specific interest.
Early afternoon
A second dose of ashwagandha if the day is long. Never after 4 pm.
Evening
Reishi, thirty to sixty minutes before bed. Never cordyceps at that hour: not dangerous, just counterproductive.
Should you take breaks?
The honest answer: nobody knows.
- What the trials say. They run up to sixteen continuous weeks, with no break, and describe neither a loss of effect nor notable adverse effects.
- What common practice does. A one to two week break every two or three months. It is a reasonable habit, not a demonstrated result.
- What is not documented. Use beyond sixteen weeks, in either direction. Nobody can tell you what happens after a year.
- What is certain. The effect observed in Mori's trial disappears four weeks after stopping. A long break therefore resets the counter.
Our reading: take a break if you feel like it, knowing the data does not justify it. What is justified is asking your doctor before prolonged use.
Three protocols by goal
Three situations, three combinations.
Focus
Lion's mane in the morning, at a stable dose, for at least eight weeks. As a base, a cup of mushroom coffee to keep some caffeine without an espresso's load. Worth reading: natural nootropics.
Stress
Ashwagandha in the morning — the active whose drop in cortisol is measured — and reishi in the evening. Two doses, two slots, eight weeks. Worth reading: how to lower cortisol.
Exertion
Cordyceps in the morning or before the session, twelve weeks to match the conditions of Chen's trial. Nothing in the evening.
In all three cases: one to three species at most. Beyond that, each dose falls too low to approach the ones used in the trials, and you are mostly paying for a list of ingredients.
The mistakes that keep recurring
Five reflexes that cancel the protocol.
- Raising the dose because nothing has happened by day five. No trial describes a result at five days, except on a speed task. Doubling the dose only brings forward the date of the digestive upset.
- Stacking five species. A blend of five mushrooms splits the same total mass across five label lines. It sells better and doses worse.
- Changing the time every day. Regularity of hour is part of the protocol, above all for evening doses.
- Skipping weekends. Two days in seven is nearly 30% of the protocol missing.
- Buying without reading the label. Part of the mushroom, extraction ratio, beta-glucan standardisation: without those three pieces of information, your real dose is unknown.
Knowing whether it works
Three concrete markers, written down in advance.
Writing those markers down before starting avoids the main bias in this kind of experiment: reconstructing, afterwards, the improvement you were hoping for.
Precautions
The cases where you should seek advice.
Ask your doctor before starting a protocol if:
- You take an anticoagulant, an antidiabetic, an immunosuppressant or thyroid medication.
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding: ashwagandha is not advised and data is lacking for the mushrooms.
- You are under 18.
- You are allergic to edible mushrooms.
- You are considering use beyond sixteen weeks: that is the limit of what is documented.
- You are due to have surgery: stop two weeks before.
Our formulas
One dose a day, and that is the whole protocol.
Our formulas are built on that logic: one stable daily dose, over a thirty-day course, rather than a high occasional one. Brainstoorm brings 1,000 mg of lion's mane, 1,000 mg of cordyceps and 1,000 mg of chaga per cup, with 3,000 mg of maca and 20 mg of microencapsulated caffeine. Focus, Anti-Stress and Sleep + follow the same principle, in capsules, formulated in Toulouse.
Brainstoorm
Three species at 1,000 mg each, in the same cup. The protocol fits inside the breakfast ritual.
Discover Brainstoorm →
Focus
Lion's mane, saffron, bacopa monnieri, ginkgo biloba and maritime pine, in a thirty-day course.
Discover Focus →« I manage to concentrate and my memory has improved slightly »
★★★★★ Fatima B. · verified review of Focus
« What I appreciate most is the steadier energy it gives: no jitters, no crash »
★★★★★ Nawel F. · 7 January 2026
Real customer reviews, translated from French without editing the content. These are individual experiences, not study results.
Your questions
What you ask us about microdosing.
Is microdosing adaptogens the same as microdosing psychoactive mushrooms?
No, they are two different things that share a word. The species discussed here — lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi, chaga, ashwagandha — contain no psychoactive molecule and fall under the food supplement regime. "Microdosing" here means a dosing strategy: low dose, daily, over a long period.
What dose should you start at?
500 mg a day of a single species for one week, then the usual dose — 1,000 to 2,000 mg depending on the species. For ashwagandha, 250 mg of standardised extract to begin with, then 300 to 600 mg.
How long before judging?
Three weeks for a first checkpoint, eight weeks for a conclusion. That is the median length of the published trials, which run four to sixteen weeks.
How many species at once?
One to three, no more. Beyond that, each dose falls too low to approach those used in the studies: you are paying for a list of ingredients rather than a quantity of actives.
Should you take breaks?
The trials run up to sixteen continuous weeks, with no loss of effect described. A one to two week break every two or three months is common practice, but the data does not support it. Bear in mind the effect observed fades within four weeks of stopping.
Can you raise the dose if you feel nothing?
It is the most frequent reflex and the least useful. No trial describes an effect proportional to the dose per intake. Raising it only brings forward the date of the digestive upset.
Morning or evening?
Lion's mane, cordyceps and ashwagandha in the morning; reishi in the evening, thirty to sixty minutes before bed. Cordyceps is never taken in the evening.
How do you know if your product is well dosed?
Three pieces of information should be on the label: the part of the mushroom used (fruiting body or mycelium), the extraction ratio, and the beta-glucan standardisation. If one is missing, your real dose is unknown.
Sources
The references cited in this article.
- Mori K. et al. (2009). Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytotherapy Research, 23(3), 367-372.
- Chen S. et al. (2010). Effect of Cs-4 (Cordyceps sinensis) on exercise performance in healthy older subjects: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(5), 585-590.
- Chandrasekhar K. et al. (2012). A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 34(3), 255-262.
- Lopresti A.L. et al. (2019). An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract. Medicine, 98(37), e17186.
- Docherty S. et al. (2023). The acute and chronic effects of Lion's Mane mushroom supplementation on cognitive function, stress and mood in young adults. Nutrients, 15(22), 4842.
- Tang W. et al. (2005). A randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract in neurasthenia. Journal of Medicinal Food, 8(1), 53-58.
To go further
What to read next.
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