Does microdosing actually promote anti-ageing?

Microdosing is taking small amounts of a substance, usually a psychedelic like LSD. However, it doesn’t have to be LSD—plenty of substances in the Lysergamide family work for microdosing. Using magic mushrooms is also a popular microdosing option!

Thanks to the work of researchers, we know microdosing psychedelics can be beneficial.

And, of course, we have hundreds of thousands of anecdotal reports. While not conclusive evidence, it’s certainly a well of information about the benefits of microdosing.

Students and academics report better focus. Entrepreneurs report better motivation and productivity.

People suffering from poor mental health can often find solace in microdosing.

One thing that has come up in discussion is if microdosing has any anti-ageing effects. Let’s look at that now.

What Does the Science Say? Does Microdosing Actually Promote Anti-Ageing?

So what does the science say? Does microdosing actually promote anti-ageing? There’s evidence it might.

Larger doses of psychedelics increase neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in the brain. These processes occur when one is younger. As one grows older, the brain is less “flexible,” in a sense. You become more close-minded, as it were, fixed in routine and habit.

Psychedelics break this mould and expand your brain. When the stereotypical 60s hippie says, “drugs expand your mind, maaan!” they weren’t joking.

And although researchers cannot establish “direct causation,” the data suggests regular psychedelics “potentially lead to structural changes in brain areas supporting attentional processes, self-referential thought, and internal mentation.”

Nothing here points to microdosing actually promoting anti-ageing in the sense of fewer wrinkles or less back pain.

But psychedelics relax the serotonin system (by acting as a 5-HT2A receptor agonist), dissolving old brain patterns and opening up new opportunities for neurogenesis.

In the sense that “you’re only as old as you feel,” regular use of psychedelics seems to halt and reverse the brain’s inflexibility that occurs as we age.

And halting this process can have compounding, life-changing effects.

Consider, for example, microdosing in your fifties. This may make your brain act twenty years younger. And because you’re brain is acting younger, your mind follows—the “openness” aspect of your personality increases.

And then you feel younger. You might start taking up hobbies you feel too old to do—things requiring physical exertion and exhaustion.

Does microdosing actually promote anti-ageing? It supports positive brain changes. And how you decide to use those changes could result in performing activities that reverse your aging process.

So, in a sense, microdosing doesn’t cause you to reverse aging, but it can indirectly promote anti-ageing and longevity.

How Does Microdosing Indirectly Promote Anti-Ageing?

A Johns Hopkins study looked at psilocybin’s effect on personality changes. They found lasting personality changes in nearly 60% of the participants—traits like open-mindedness, imagination, and abstract ideas.

It seems universally agreed that psychedelics promote brain chemistry that help expands the mind. So does this mean you can use this new broad-mindedness to look and feel younger?

Of course! Research suggests there are plenty of things that slow down the ageing process. Here’s a list of seven that work well with microdosing. But this list is by no means exhaustive!

1. Have More Sex

Do we have your attention? Research from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital suggested women having regular sex were perceived as being up to seven years younger than those who weren’t.

So, microdosing Lysergamides in bed with your partner promotes anti-ageing? You don’t have to tell us twice.

 

2. Exercise

This one’s a no-brainer. Research consistently shows that adults who exercise regularly have younger cells than those who are sedentary.

Research links sedentary lifestyle diseases that get aggressive in old age. So you’re best to get up and to move right now! Need that extra dose of motivation? Does the idea of running at 6 am sound like torture? That’s where microdosing helps give you that boost.

 

3. Drink Water

Dehydration not only diminishes your cognition, but chronic dehydration will also dry out the skin and cause it to lose colour.

Of course, everybody knows they should be drinking more water. Easier said than done, of course. That’s where microdosing can help you keep on schedule by helping organize your thinking.

4. Cut out Toxic Relationships

Happiness is essential to feeling young. And you can’t be happy in toxic relationships. Researchers in the UK found people in unhappy relationships – platonic or romantic – are more likely to gain weight and suffer other health problems.

It’s a mind and body problem, so helping the mind helps the body. Maybe that microdose boost can help you gain the confidence you need to get out of that toxic relationship. Additionally, microdosing is known to improve relationships and deeper connections! Hold those who are dear to you closely and re-evaluate the relationships that are dragging you down. Life is short, spend it with people who are good for your well-being!

5. Meditate

Studies are pretty clear that regular meditators have greater brain volume and more grey matter. Even casual meditators seem to experience less stress.

Meditation and psychedelics perform similar changes in the brain. So meditating on a microdosing protocol is like taking a multivitamin for the brain.

 

6. Eat Right

Food is an emotional topic, so we’ll let you decide if “eating right” means more plant-based food than animal-based (or vice versa).

In the meantime, if you think you’ve figured out the optimal anti-ageing diet for yourself, microdosing could help you stick with it.

7. Laugh with Friends

Research at the University of Michigan found that smiling makes you feel happier. Even if you’re not in the mood for smiling. Additionally, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers found that laughing increases the brain’s reward centres.

So smiling and laughing are good ways to feel young and happy. But what about looking more youthful?

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development published an exciting study. When showing photos of people, the participants generally underestimated ages by two years when the person in the photo was smiling.

Does Microdosing Actually Promote Anti-Ageing?

Microdosing promotes anti-ageing because regular use of psychedelics can change brain patterns to make you more open-minded.

But does it cause anti-ageing? Like reducing inflammation and increasing collagen? There’s not a lot of research to either confirm or deny that.

So, for now, focusing on what we know (microdosing changes your brain) and then using that to introduce anti-ageing habits in our lives does answer our question.

Yes, microdosing can actually promote anti-ageing.

But, of course, it’s all relative to the individual. Suppose you choose to use the focus microdosing provides to work longer hours at the office, sleep less, and continue a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. In that case, you won’t be using microdosing to promote anti-ageing.

But, if you’re like many others out there, you’ll probably find the microdosing experiences increase your awareness, subtly but surely.

You may find you want some lifestyle changes that you get out of that stress-related office. With microdosing, you may find you want to do things that promote anti-ageing.