Sleep Effects of Magic Mushrooms

Magic mushrooms are wild or grown psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Psilocybin is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. The primary organic psychoactive and hallucinogen substance that causes a psychedelic trip.

Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic drug like LSD. They can cause you to experience sensations that seem real but are not.

Research shows that taking magic mushrooms helps treat mental health conditions. Also, many users have fewer negative emotions and feel refreshed after.

But like most drugs, magic mushrooms are susceptible to substance abuse. So in the US, it’s not yet accepted as a legal medical treatment.

Despite its therapeutic potential, it’s still identified as a Schedule I drug. This is due to its potential for improper substance use.

Effects of Hallucinogenic Drugs on Sleep

Sleep is a complicated subject. When you disrupt brain chemistry, it takes a while for things to come back into balance.

All hallucinogen drugs can cause psychological or emotional disturbance. Some even cause accidents.

People who experience bad trips develop and experience sleep disturbances

Some reports say that people who use psychedelics have trouble sleeping. Psychedelics induce ecstatic dreams. Thus, they can harm sleep quality, so they tend to disrupt sleep.

This is due to drugs’ effect on the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Serotonin and Sleep

The psilocybin in shrooms, when converted, influences the mind and body’s serotonin levels.

Serotonin doesn’t regulate mood but also manages sleep cycles.

In many neurochemical reactions, serotonin cues your brain. For example, it tells your brain to move from one sleep stage to the next.

Rapid eye movement (REM) or REM sleep is the dream stage. It occurs toward the end of the sleep cycle. This short period lasts several minutes—your heart rate, eye movements, and breathing all slow down.

People on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) spend less time in REM sleep. As a result, health professionals use this medication to treat major depression and anxiety.

People use magic mushrooms to treat the same mental health conditions. Thus, those who take magic mushrooms spend less time in REM sleep.

Many wake up after psychedelics feeling like they haven’t slept. This is because taking psychedelics disrupts sleep architecture.

They have slept but are not completely rested.

One common negative sleep side effect of psilocybin mushrooms is insomnia. Even if you had a good experience with this psychedelic drug, you might still struggle to sleep.

Psychedelic drugs can give you the weirdest sleep. Thus, they do have a negative effect.

These psychedelic drugs include D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and magic mushrooms.

Changes in neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, lead to sleep difficulties.

How To Prepare for Your First Trip

Suppose it’s your first time. It’s essential to get you ready for your first magic mushroom trip.

Between half a gram and one gram of dried mushrooms should be enough. So don’t take more than that on your first trip.

People consume hallucinogenic substances orally. So these substances must move through the digestive system.

Eating raw magic mushrooms will show effects 30 minutes after consuming them.

Eating psychedelic mushrooms on an empty stomach will make your trip more intense.

A shroom trip lasts about six hours. The peak effects occur about an hour after consumption and disappear after a few hours.

Shrooms stay in your system within 24 to 48 hours,

It’s recommended for inexperienced users to take mushrooms with a “trip sitter.” They must be someone not under the influence of drugs. Because they will help calm you and navigate the challenges of your trip.

Stick to one low dose at a time and wait for at least 10 to 14 days between doses to the adverse effects. The more psilocybin in the shroom, the longer it’ll hang around in the body.

Magic Mushroom Recipe

Some eat fresh or dried mushrooms. But some mix it with food or steep it in hot water or tea.

Crushing up shrooms to make tea or soaking them in lemon juice is a technique called lemon tekking.

Drinking a bit of citrus juice can also help, especially if you experience an upset stomach after consuming shrooms.

Precautions

National Institute on Drug Abuse said taking shrooms can cause effects such as:

• euphoria altered perception (visual and auditory hallucinations)

• altered thoughts or mood

• increased or slowed heart rate

• headache

• raised body temperature

• quick breathing

• nausea and vomiting

• sweating or chills

• facial flushing

• dilation of the pupils

• tremors

Also, anyone on Monoamine Oxidase inhibitors must use extreme caution with psychedelics. They may increase blood pressure.

Different species will carry various levels of psilocybin. Also, the same amount of mushrooms has diverse amounts of psychedelic ingredients. This leads to very different strengths.

For example, fly agaric mushrooms contain ibotenic acid and muscimol. These substances cause several psychological effects. These are twitching, drooling, sweating, dizziness, vomiting, and delirium.

Final Thoughts

Many factors influence the effects of drugs on individuals. Magic mushrooms are not an exception. Factors include the following:

• dosage and previous drug use

• age and weight

• personality and emotional state

• environment (dark room or well-lit room)

• family history

• history of mental illness.

So if you are wondering, do magic mushrooms keep you awake? Or do they make you fall asleep? The answer will depend on the factors listed above.