polycultured

two farmer/foragers sharing resources. herbal tinctures & artisanal goods. organic by nature, quality by design

[polycultured @polycultured]

https://t.co/KZV9evLFFf

[polycultured @polycultured]

If you’ve ingested lions mane fruiting body / mycelium, how did it affect your sleep?

[polycultured @polycultured]

Genuinely curious about this.
Going to do a poll ⬇️

[polycultured @polycultured]

Have you taken lion's mane and noticed any sleep changes - good or bad, direct or indirect? Let us know in the comments!

https://t.co/LhKzO8sBGa

[polycultured @polycultured]

Have you taken lion's mane and noticed any sleep changes - good or bad, direct or indirect? Let us know in the comments!

https://t.co/LhKzO8sBGa

[polycultured @polycultured]

This 2025 review found evidence lion's mane may improve sleep, support brain cell growth and stress resilience, and shows small improvements in cognitive tests like memory and thinking scores
https://t.co/898qFVYKDw

[polycultured @polycultured]

It is theoretically possible that these effects could influence sleep in different directions, and there is currently no strong clinical evidence showing predictable sleep disruption OR improvement mechanisms. Individual responses are still not well understood

[polycultured @polycultured]

Another study: Researchers stressed mice for 9 days to disrupt their normal sleep patterns and increased anxiety-like behavior - then gave the mice lion’s mane mycelium at two different doses. High doses improved the disrupted sleep patterns

https://t.co/8rEhLXYKH4

[polycultured @polycultured]

Overall, the improvements in sleep seemed to happen alongside improvements in mood, suggesting the sleep benefits may come indirectly through improved emotional regulation rather than a direct sleep-inducing effect.

[polycultured @polycultured]

Lion's Mane and Sleep 💤🧵

Limited animal and human studies suggest potential benefits for mood, anxiety, cognition, and sleep-related outcomes.

Some people report better sleep, while others note insomnia. What could be the reason why?

[polycultured @polycultured]

In one 8-week human study of 77 obese adults who had both mood and sleep problems, people taking lion’s mane reported improvements in depression, anxiety, and sleep quality compared to baseline measures.

https://t.co/FhRQh1iNdW

[polycultured @polycultured]

These proteins help brain cells stay healthy, reduce stress-related inflammation, and improve resilience.

If anxiety and mental stress improve, sleep often improves as a side effect rather than a direct sedative effect.

[polycultured @polycultured]

Indirect mechanism: instead of acting like a sedative or directly changing sleep chemicals, it may support brain health systems involved in recovery and stress regulation.

These include natural "growth and repair” signals in the brain (proteins NGF and BDNF).

[polycultured @polycultured]

Lion's Mane and Better Sleep

Some human studies suggest lion’s mane may modestly improve mood and sleep, and some animal studies show it can reduce stress-related sleep disruption. Neurotrophic signaling may be involved.

https://t.co/WcBS3qrGSf

[polycultured @polycultured]

This suggests acetylcholine signaling is an important part of how REM sleep is generated.

Lion’s mane causing AChE inhibition and vivid dreams in humans is not totally proven, but this is the proposed connection.

[polycultured @polycultured]

Research in animals has also shown that REM sleep depends on specific “switches” in the brain. In this study, scientists used genetic tools to turn off two of these switches in mice. The mice almost completely lost REM sleep.

https://t.co/75V04DzBtk

[polycultured @polycultured]

Acetylcholine is one of the brain chemicals that helps control sleep cycles, especially the REM stage of sleep and dreaming.

The insomnia side of lion’s mane comes down to acetylcholinesterase inhibition and its hypothesized association with disturbed sleep & vivid dreams.

[polycultured @polycultured]

However, the predicted effects were weaker than those drugs, and this was based entirely on computer modeling rather than human or lab experiments so keep the quality of the evidence in mind.

[polycultured @polycultured]

Two compounds, erinacerin A and hericenone B, appeared (in computer models) to bind to the enzyme in a way that resembles how the Alzheimer’s drugs donepezil and galantamine interact with it.

[polycultured @polycultured]

A 2024 computer-based study looked at compounds found in lion’s mane mushroom and simulated how they might interact with this enzyme.

https://t.co/ZUkiZ0AnRM

[polycultured @polycultured]

Normally, the body uses an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase to break acetylcholine down.

Some medications for Alzheimer’s disease work by slowing down this enzyme, which leads to higher acetylcholine lvls in the brain. Medications that inhibit AChE are associated with insomnia

[polycultured @polycultured]

Let's start with Lion's Mane and Insomnia

Some researchers think lion’s mane might affect sleep because of how it could interact with a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which is involved in attention, memory, and REM sleep.