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Does lion's mane make you high? What eight trials measured
None of the eight human lion's mane trials we read reported a high. Two tested a single dose within 90 minutes. Here is what each one measured.
No. In the eight human lion’s mane trials this desk read, none reported a high. The two that tested a single dose, at 60 and 90 minutes, found a quicker Stroop task in one and no significant change in composite mood in the other. None of their abstracts names an intoxication scale, so that is a limit, not proof.
That answer to “does lion’s mane make you high” is evergreen: there is no news hook, only the published human evidence. This desk read eight trial abstracts through PubMed’s E-utilities on 19 October 2026. A broader PubMed search returned 15 records, so eight is what we read, not every study that exists.
Does lion’s mane make you high in the trials?
The place a high would show is the first hour or two after a dose. Two trials looked there. Docherty 2023, run at Northumbria University, gave 1.8 g to healthy 18-to-45-year-olds and tested them 60 minutes later. They were quicker on the Stroop task (p = 0.005); the authors add that “null and limited negative findings were also observed”.
The Frontiers in Nutrition 2025 crossover gave 3 g of a 10:1 fruiting-body extract and tested at 90 minutes, including positive and negative affect. It found no significant effect on composite cognition or mood, and one better pegboard score. A faster task and an unchanged mood score is the opposite of intoxication.
What did each trial measure?
Every cell is from the abstract, not the full paper.
| Study (PMID) | Dose and form | Length | Who | What it measured | Adverse events, per abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docherty 2023 (38004235) | 1.8 g | One dose, then 28 days | 41 healthy adults, 18-45 | Stroop, cognition, stress, mood | Not stated |
| Front Nutr 2025 (40276537) | 3 g of 10:1 extract | One dose, tested at 90 min | 18 healthy adults, 18-35 | Cognition, positive and negative affect | Not stated |
| Mori 2009 (18844328) | Four 250 mg tablets, three times a day | 16 weeks | 30 adults, 50-80, mild cognitive impairment | HDS-R cognitive scale | “No adverse effect” on lab tests |
| Nagano 2010 (20834180) | Cookies; dose not stated in abstract | 4 weeks | 30 women | Menopause, depression (CES-D), sleep, complaints index | Not stated |
| Vigna 2019 (31118969) | Not stated in lines read | 8 weeks | 77 adults with overweight or obesity | Depression, anxiety, sleep, binge eating | Not stated |
| Saitsu 2019 (31413233) | Fruiting-body supplement; dose not stated | 12 weeks | Not stated in lines read | MMSE, Benton, verbal learning | Authors call intake safe |
| Li 2020 (32581767) | Three erinacine A-enriched mycelia capsules a day | 49 weeks | Mild Alzheimer’s disease | CASI, MMSE, daily living | 4 dropouts: stomach, nausea, rash |
| Evans 2026 (42884628) | 2 g a day, mycelium plus fruiting body | 28 days | 10 healthy adults, 18-55 | Flanker, card sort, plasma BDNF | Authors: “safe and well tolerated” |
What the table cannot tell you
Read the “measured” column again. Every instrument is a cognition test, a mood or sleep questionnaire, or a blood marker. None of the eight abstracts names a drug-effect or altered-perception scale, the kind used when researchers want to know whether a substance makes people feel intoxicated. So “no high was reported” is accurate, and “a high was ruled out” goes further than these abstracts.
The doses also matter. The acute studies used 1.8 g and 3 g of extract; the dose post sets out the full range the trials gave. Nothing here tells you what a much larger amount would do.
Why do some people say it makes them feel weird?
The only recorded complaints in what we read were physical. Li 2020 lost four participants to abdominal discomfort, nausea and skin rash and reported no other adverse events. The newest record we read, Evans et al., published in Nutrients on 26 September 2026, is a ten-person pilot with no statistically significant change in executive function. Our safety write-up covers the harm side in more detail.
Questions readers ask
Is lion’s mane psychoactive?
Not in the sense people usually mean. In the trials we read it was given as a supplement and tested on reaction times, memory scales, stress and mood questionnaires, and none of the abstracts reports an intoxicating or perception-altering effect. Two trials changed scores on specific tasks after one dose, which is a measurable effect on the brain, but that is a long way from a high.
Is lion’s mane a psychedelic?
Nothing in the eight abstracts we read describes it working like one. The compounds the trial papers name are hericenones and erinacines, and none of those abstracts mentions psilocybin or psilocin. We read no laboratory analysis or regulator page on that point, so we make no composition or legal claim beyond what the trials recorded.
How does lion’s mane make you feel?
On the trial evidence, mostly not very different. The 3 g single-dose study found no significant change in composite mood at 90 minutes. Two longer studies recorded lower depression scores, and one a borderline stress trend, but those are slow changes on questionnaires over weeks, measured in small samples, not an effect you would notice as a feeling an hour after a dose.
Can lion’s mane mess with your head?
The complaints on record in what we read were physical. Four people left the 49-week Li 2020 trial because of abdominal discomfort, nausea and skin rash, and a 2025 systematic review lists stomach discomfort, headache and allergic reactions as possible side effects that are commonly unreported. No abstract we read records confusion, anxiety spikes or altered perception.
Where this leaves the label-reader
A tub that hints at a buzz is selling something none of the eight abstracts we read reported, and one that promises calm or focus is leaning on small, short studies whose own authors ask for caution. If you want to know what the evidence does support, our rundown of what lion’s mane is good for is the place to start. None of this is medical advice, and the FDA has not evaluated these statements. Lion’s mane is sold as an adult supplement not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease; anyone on medication should ask a clinician first.