Lion's mane benefits: what three human studies found
You've probably seen lion's mane in everything from coffee to gummies and wondered whether it does anything.
Lion's mane is an edible mushroom that grows in a white clump of long, soft spines. Research on what it does in people is fairly new, so we went to the human studies.
Below are three placebo-controlled studies in healthy adults: what each one found, and what it means for your day. The original papers are listed further down, so you can read them yourself.
This article at a glance
The short version
Two benefits have human research behind them.
Benefit 1
Quicker reactions, clearer thinking.
Researchers saw this after a single serving, in healthy adults.
Benefit 2
Supports memory and cognition.
Researchers saw this after 12 weeks of daily lion's mane, in healthy adults over 50.
Online, you'll also see bigger claims about lion's mane and the brain. Those come largely from lab and animal research, which can't tell us what happens when a person takes it, so we left them out.
Where this article's evidence sits
- 1Lab and animal studiesEarly clues about how something might workNot cited here
- 2Human studiesPeople actually take it
- 3With a placeboCompared against a look-alike with nothing active
- 4Randomized, double-blind, with a placeboWho gets what is set by chance, and nobody knows who got whatThe 3 studies here
What makes a study worth trusting
One person's experience can't tell you much. People feel sharper after a good night's sleep, or simply because they expect to. A well-run study is built to separate the effect of the thing being tested from everything else.
A placebo
One group takes lion's mane. The other takes a look-alike with nothing active in it. If the lion's mane group improves and the placebo group doesn't, you know it was the lion's mane.
Chosen by chance
Who gets what, or in what order, is set by chance, not by the researchers, so the comparison starts out fair.
Double-blind
Neither the people taking part nor the researchers running the tests know who got what until the end. That way, what people expect can't sway the results.
Crossover
Some studies add one more step. Everyone tries each option on a different day, so each person is compared with themselves. You'll see the word in one of the sources below.
Each of the three studies below was randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled.
What each study found
How long people took lion's mane in each study
when the result was measured time on lion's mane
Study 1
Quicker on a focus test after one serving. Source 1
Young, healthy adults took either lion's mane or a placebo. After their first serving, people in the lion's mane group got faster on a task that measured how quickly they could focus while ignoring a distraction. The placebo group didn't show the same change.
Study 2
Faster reactions after 1,000 mg of lion's mane extract. Source 2
Healthy adults came in on three separate days. On each visit they took something different, in random order: lion's mane, a comparison ingredient, or a placebo. On the lion's mane day, people reacted faster than they had before taking it.
Study 3
Better scores on a memory-and-thinking test after 12 weeks. Source 3
Healthy adults over 50 took lion's mane or a placebo every day for 12 weeks. Scores in the lion's mane group rose significantly, and the group finished ahead of the placebo group.
What this means for your day
The two results showed up on different timelines, and that tells you how to think about lion's mane.
For focus
One serving
Speed on attention and reaction tasks improved after a single serving.
For memory
Every day, 12 weeks
The memory result came from lion's mane taken every day for 12 weeks.
The focus results came after a single serving, so a day you need to concentrate is a good day to try it. The memory result came after 12 weeks of daily use, so if memory is your goal, make it a daily habit.
Check it yourself
All three papers are free to read in full. Here's where to look on any one of them.
- Each paper has a DOI, a permanent ID that always points to the same paper. Click the link below, or paste the DOI into doi.org.
- The summary at the top of the paper, called the abstract, gives the design and the main results in one paragraph. If the words randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled appear there, the study used the safeguards described above.
- Then check who took part. A study in adults over 50 tells you about adults over 50, and a study in young adults tells you about young adults.
- Near the end, look for the sections on funding and conflicts of interest. That's where a paper says who paid for it and who supplied what was tested.
These are studies of lion's mane itself.
- Source 1Docherty S, et al. 2023. The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults: A Double-Blind, Parallel Groups, Pilot Study. Nutrients. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled. doi:10.3390/nu15224842
- Source 2La Monica MB, et al. 2023. Acute Effects of Naturally Occurring Guayusa Tea and Nordic Lion's Mane Extracts on Cognitive Performance. Nutrients. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover. doi:10.3390/nu15245018
- Source 3Saitsu Y, et al. 2019. Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of Hericium erinaceus. Biomedical Research. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled. doi:10.2220/biomedres.40.125
Who might want to try it
If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, or you take prescription medication, check with your doctor first. There isn't enough research on those situations yet. If you have a mushroom allergy, avoid it.
Share
