Lion’s Mane doesn’t affect sleep directly. However, it helps to reduce stress hormones and anxiety symptoms, making you feel more relaxed. As a result, you may find it easier to get to sleep -and stay asleep.
The Indirect Effects of Lion’s Mane Mushroom on Our Sleep
Lion’s Mane is a mushroom that is often used to help with sleep. It has been shown to help with insomnia, chronic pain, and even Alzheimer’s disease. It is called Lion’s Mane because of the appearance of the mushroom – it resembles a mane on a lion. The way it helps insomnia and chronic pain is by acting as an anti-inflammatory.
When you reduce inflammation in your body, you can sleep better and experience less pain. The mushroom also contains compounds like beta-glucans which are known to have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are important for good health because they can help protect against free radicals which cause damage to cells in the body.
Lion’s Mane has also been shown to improve sleep quality by reducing anxiety and depression levels, improving mood and cognitive function, reducing insomnia symptoms, increasing REM sleep time and reducing cortisol levels in the blood.
The polysaccharides and oligosaccharides in the mushroom help promote nerve growth factor (NGF) which, besides helping calm you down and make you more focused, can be useful for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease.
However, not all compounds in Lion’s Mane affect sleep. The mushroom is comprised of different chemicals that have unique effects on your body. Let’s have a look at some of them:
Active Compounds and Their Effects
Lion’s Mane is known to have the following active compounds:
- Hericenones – these are anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous compounds that are believed to stimulate nerve growth.
- Erinacines – these are also anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous compounds, and they are the ones that work together with hericenones to increase NGF.
- Erinacines A, B, C, D – these are all different variations of the erinacine compound and they have different effects on the body, such as reducing oxidative stress.
- Polysaccharides – these make up most of what Lion’s Mane Mushroom consists of and they have a variety of benefits including detoxification, immune boosting properties and antioxidant properties. They also help with digestive issues like constipation or diarrhea as well as allergies and asthma symptoms.
What is the Optimal Lion’s Mane Dosage for Sleep?
The recommended dosage of Lion’s Mane Mushroom is 500-3000mg of a high-quality extract, with the higher doses being more effective. It often takes 2-4 weeks before you notice the full effects of Lion’s Mane. However, you can start feeling the benefits as soon as 2 days into supplementation, as everyone reacts differently to this mushroom.
It’s important to do your research on the types of Lion’s Mane Mushrooms on the market, as there are different types of extracts, and some are better than others.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom can also be taken in capsule or tablet form, which is more convenient for people who find it hard to swallow whole mushroom chunks.
Unfortunately, there are many Lion’s Mane Mushrooms supplements today that don’t work at all as they are of low quality. With Lion’s Mane supplements, the saying “you get what you pay for” really is true.