Ali lahko spite na čarobnih gobah in tartufih?

When you make the decision to trip on a psychedelic substance, it is useful to consider not just how the trip itself will go, but also what the after–effects could be. Magic mushrooms don’t tend to cause a comedown, unlike other substances such as MDMA. However, despite this groovy lack-of-comedown, shrooms do have the persistent reputation of being difficult to fall asleep after. 

Anecdotal reports from those with shroom experience often describe falling asleep, and staying asleep, as being a little more challenging than usual, when attempted soon after taking magic mushrooms. Of course, there are some people who find the opposite. Some people get super sleepy after taking shrooms — or even purposefully consume them just before bed! So why does this happen? And is there any way to prevent or manage these effects?

Can I Sleep on Magic Mushrooms?

It is definitely possible to fall asleep while on shrooms, but it could be less easy than usual. Especially if you choose to take the dose just before bed. A psilocybin trip can make you feel very alert and stimulated, especially in the first few hours. For many, sleeping through the experience would be a complete waste. However, once the trip subsides and the effects of psilocybin wear off, sleep typically returns to your normal baseline. This is usually between 5 and 6 hours after the ingestion of shrooms, though of course it does also depend on your personal body chemistry. 

The Science

In 2020 Frontiers in Pharmacology published a študija that examined the effects of psilocybin on sleep. In it, participants were either given either magic mushrooms or a placebo, and then attempted to sleep after the effects wore off. Those who had taken shrooms were found to take slightly longer to reach REM sleep than those who took a placebo. However, the actual quality of their sleep, and their ability to ostani asleep was not affected.  

What Does This Actually Mean For You?

So, psilocybin lahko make falling asleep more difficult, if taken relatively soon before bed. This is mainly due to the serotonin system in your brain needing to recalibrate after tripping. It can also be due to being very stimulated after your experience — some describe their mind ‘racing’. Others need to digest the things they felt, learnt, and saw. 

However, this is simple to remedy: just take your dose at least 6 hours before you plan to sleep! 

As a rule, we tend to recommend that you clear a whole day (and maybe the next) for a proper magic mushroom trip. By planning accordingly, any effect that psilocybin will have on your sleep is negligible. If it is your first time taking shrooms, we suggest you take them early in the day so you can get to know how quickly psilocybin metabolizes in your body.  

Apart from this rule of thumb, the ways to help encourage sleep to come after a trip are pretty much the same as if you hadn’t taken shrooms at all. Avoiding screens before bed, going for an evening walk, drinking tea, taking a bath, and also — not worrying about not sleeping. If you found some emotional points came up during your trip, talking to a friend, on the phone or in person, can be a good way to process and calm your mind. 

Can Magic Mushrooms Help With Sleep?

As always, there’s two sides to every story. While magic mushrooms may disrupt sleep for some of us, for others they can actually induce slumber! If you do feel the urge to sleep while under the influence of shrooms, it’s best not to fight it. Some psychedelic therapists posit that if your body is craving sleep during a trip, then the body knows best. Processing can still be done within the dream space. Others find that after a high-dose trip they feel cognitively and emotionally satisfied and fulfilled, making drifting off that much easier. 

In addition, there are actually those who choose to microdose psilocybin to improve their sleep — sometimes referred to as the ‘night-cap protocol’. For some people, microdosing can actually induce feelings of fatigue, aiding sleep and relaxing the mind and body. Additionally, many night-cap protocol advocates report that they feel energized and revitalized the next morning. 

Do Shrooms Affect Our Dreams?

Unsurprisingly, some people find their dreams to be more vivid after taking shrooms. The colors can be brighter, the imagery clearer, which can lead to beautiful, mysterious, immersive dreams. However, on the flipside, if you are prone to night terrors, it could exacerbate this too. If that’s you — maybe it’s best to trip earlier in the day, to reduce risk. 

As Freud said, dreams are the “royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind”; and, as psychedelics lead us to delve deep into our unconscious, the two are very likely to overlap. Your later dreams may echo what you felt or saw during your trip, or your trip may echo themes you have previously encountered in dreams. Pay attention to any synergy here — it could be useful for self-exploration and discovery. 

Some people report that lucid dreaming comes easier to them in the days after a mushroom trip. Perhaps due to a temporary thinning of the walls between our conscious and unconscious worlds. 

Does Psilocybin Have Long Term Effects on Sleep?

The effects of shrooms on our long-term sleep patterns seem to be short-lived. Your sleep is unlikely to be disrupted (če sploh) after the first night. Unless of course you take shrooms very, very often — something we do not recommend — due to the build-up of tolerance making this an ineffective practice. If you do find your sleep disrupted severely, refrain from magic mushrooms for at least two weeks — it is likely the issue could be something else.

Interestingly, there could be longer-term positive effects on sleep after a psychedelic trip. For many people magic mushrooms are an effective treatment to mediate the symptoms of mental health conditions such as depresija and anxiety. These conditions themselves often tend to disrupt and compromise sleep patterns and sleep quality. If these conditions are improved by psilocybin, it follows that this in turn can improve sleep for the user. 

Ultimately with magic mushrooms and sleep it’s all about learning and listening to the patterns and rhythms of your body. Always give a psychedelic trip space for you to mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically digest it. 

Sweet dreams!