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12.12.2023

Lion's mane extract improves reaction speed and reduces stress

Supplementation with Lion's mane extract increases the reaction speed just one hour after ingestion. If you take Lion's mane for a few weeks, the amount of psychological stress you experience will decrease.

Study
British psychologists at Northumbria University divided 41 men aged 18-45 into 2 groups. The men in the control group took a placebo daily for 4 weeks, while the men in the experimental group took 1,800 milligrams of Lion's mane extract daily.

The men used a product from the American Sempera Organics that is marketed as SO-DSX1. We were unable to find any data on the phytochemical composition of SO-DSX1.

Results
The researchers determined the effect of supplementation on a broad spectrum of psychological parameters. You can see them below. On most of these, Lion's mane had no effect.

The extract did have an effect on the reaction speed one hour after ingestion. The researchers determined this with the Stroop test. You take this test while sitting behind a computer screen. The researchers suspect that this increase in reaction speed is caused by Lion's mane increasing the activity of BDNF in the brain.

Another effect that the British psychologists were able to demonstrate was the decrease in stress among the test subjects after several weeks of supplementation. This may be the result of the dampening effect of Lion's mane on inflammatory factors such as TNF-alpha.

Conclusion
"It is crucial that further investigation is conducted employing larger sample sizes", write the British.

"The research field to date is still within its infancy, and findings from this trial offer a promising avenue of interest, and further work is encouraged in this area."

Source:
Nutrients. 2023 Nov 20;15(22):4842.

More:
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Lion's Mane as a life extender 02.08.2019
Human study | Lion's Mane is a brain booster 01.03.2018
Lion's Mane, the memory mushroom that makes athletes fitter 05.12.2015

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