If you’re interested at all in psychedelics, you’ve probably heard the term “microdosing” before. Even if you aren’t that interested, it’s a term tha thas definitely become more popular over the last few years. You may have seen articles like this one talk about how people who work in tech are microdosing during work to increase productivity and creativity. This study, titled “Adults who microdose psychedelics report health related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and depression compared to non-microdosers,” certainly sounds promising. However, it contains self-reported data from participants who filled out an online form to participate. This means the researchers have no baseline to compare the users’ data against.

The jury is still out on whether or not microdosing actually works. Before I discuss more, let me take a step back.

What is Microdosing?

Microdosing is the practice of taking a very small amount of a psychedelic substance, usually psilocybin or LSD. When I say small amount, I’m talking about 1/20th to 1/10th of a normal dose. This means that if your normal dose to trip with mushrooms is 2 grams, you would microdose with 0.1 – 0.2 grams. A serving this small isn’t enough to experience any hallucinogenic effects, but is enough to affect how you think and feel. The idea is that it will help boost creativity, focus, energy, and your overall mood.

I could certainly try to write about microdosing history and the science and how you’re actually supposed to do it, but that’s already been done very thoroughly by other websites. I highly suggest you check them out if you’re interested in learning more. Here is the most comprehensive microdosing guide I’ve come across. This guide also suggests the schedule, or protocol, that many microdosers follow, which is called the Fadiman Protocol. This calls for one day on, and then two days off. 

How I’m Going To Start

Today, July 1st, is the first day that I’m going to microdose. I’ll follow the Fadiman Protocol, meaning I won’t microdose for the next two days. Then on Monday I’ll do it again. So on and so forth. I’m then going to end the experiment at the end of this month in order to reflect on my time.

I’m going to use psilocybin, which is the ingredient in magic mushrooms that give them their psychedelic properties. I’ll take it in capsule form with ground-up mushrooms. The dosages will be anywhere from 80mg – 120mg depending on the day.

What I’m Hoping to Achieve

My purpose for microdosing is to enhance my overall mood and make me more productive. I work in tech sales, which can be a very repetitive job. I’m on zoom calls or answering emails and in front of a screen pretty much the entire day. Because of this, I sometimes find myself not having the energy or enthusiasm I wished I had while speaking with prospects or drafting email responses. I hope microdosing can help me maintain a better mood throughout the day and during these tasks.

I also hope that microdosing will help me think more creatively and inspire me to do more my work day is over. That could entail working more on this blog, thinking about other potential business ideas, or just going on a walk along the lake here in Chicago.

Do I Think Microdosing Will Work?

To be completely honest I’m still on the fence about whether or not I think microdosing actually works. In short, I do think that this experiment of mine will work, but not necessarily because of microdosing itself.

There still isn’t nearly enough data to know for certain whether or not microdosing works. One of the most interesting studies I’ve found to date concluded that microdosing did in fact lead to improvements in physiological well-being, but so did the placebo. This actually makes a lot of sense to me, given how powerful your mind is when you set an intention. The whole purpose of microdosing is to set an intention in order to improve your life in some way.

Another thought in the back of my mind is that there isn’t any real data on how long-term use of psychedelics affects the brain. Based on anecdotal evidence, there doesn’t seem to be any negative consequences, but it’s definitely still something to be cautious of. At this point I’m simply too curious to care. Not to mention I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with psychedelics so far, so what the heck. 

I also want to make it clear that this is NOT my first time microdosing in general. I have microdosed in the past with LSD. My purpose for microdosing was to help me stay awake and give me energy when I was partying a lot. This will be my first time microdosing on work days in order to improve my mood and productivity.

I’m excited to begin this journey and share my thoughts along the way. If you have experience with microdosing or any questions, leave a comment or drop me a note here!