Microdosing LSD for Health & Longevity - Quick Reference Sheet
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Microdosing LSD for Health & Longevity

Created on 08/04/2026 – Quick Reference based on Evidence Review created using AI4L / Opus 5 – Audit

Taking an amount of LSD far below what alters perception, every second or third day. Compared against a dummy tablet, studies find same-day lifts in mood, energy and felt creativity, and longer sleep after a dose, but no lasting gains, and slightly reduced focused mental control. Anxiety is the most common reason people stop. Long-term heart-valve safety is unknown. (Full Review)

Protocol

Dose range
5–26 micrograms
Range used in controlled trials. Trials designed around genuine sub-perceptual exposure cluster at 8–13 micrograms; 10 micrograms is the threshold for perceptible effect.
Standard schedules
Every third day
One day on, two days off is the most widely followed naturalistic pattern; clinical trials used a fixed every-third-day or twice-weekly schedule over six to eight weeks.
Time of day
Morning
Used in all clinical protocols. The acute window runs to about 5 hours, so evening dosing would put peak effect near sleep onset.
Time to effect
Mood and wellbeing
Same day
Lifts on dosing days relative to non-dosing days, with no measurable change in overall mood between baseline and six weeks.
Sleep duration
Night after each dose
24.3 additional minutes of objectively recorded sleep; sleep is not shortened on the dosing day itself.
Cumulative benefit
None demonstrated
Every controlled trial comparing baseline against a six- or eight-week endpoint found no durable change in mood or cognition.

Benefits

Contraindications
  • Personal history of psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or depressive disorder with psychotic features; first-degree relative with a psychotic disorder; Prodromal Questionnaire-16 score of 6 or above
  • Borderline personality disorder or current post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Current or recent significant suicidal ideation or suicidal behaviour within the past 6 months
  • Known or suspected valvular heart disease of any grade, or pulmonary hypertension
  • Uncontrolled hypertension (resting blood pressure at or above 140/90 mmHg on repeated measurement), myocardial infarction within 90 days, unstable angina, or clinically significant arrhythmia
  • Lithium or monoamine oxidase inhibitor use
  • Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy
  • Current substance use disorder within the past 12 months, other than tobacco use
  • Significant liver impairment (Child-Pugh Class B or C)
  • Jurisdiction, occupation or legal situation where a controlled-substance finding carries unacceptable consequences
Key Interactions
  • Serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs: fluoxetine, sertraline, escitalopram, venlafaxine, duloxetine)
  • Tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, clomipramine, imipramine)
  • Antipsychotics and 5-HT2A antagonists (risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, cyproheptadine)
  • Over-the-counter medications (dextromethorphan cough preparations, St John's wort)
  • Supplements with serotonergic or monoamine oxidase activity (5-hydroxytryptophan, L-tryptophan, S-adenosylmethionine, Rhodiola rosea, Syrian rue)
  • Supplements with additive cardiovascular or anxiety-provoking effects (caffeine, synephrine, yohimbine, higher-dose Panax ginseng, pre-workout formulations)
  • CYP-modifying agents (inhibitors: ketoconazole, ritonavir, grapefruit juice, paroxetine, fluoxetine; inducers: rifampicin, carbamazepine, St John's wort)
  • Other interventions (ketamine, cannabis, MDMA, alcohol)
    •

Risk & Side Effects

  • High: Anxiety and dysphoria; transient cardiovascular stimulation; impairment of cognitive control
  • Medium: Perceptible psychoactive effects and functional impairment at the upper dose range; product misidentification and adulteration; legal exposure
  • Low: Somatic side effects; precipitation of psychosis or mania in predisposed individuals
  • Speculative: Valvular heart disease from chronic 5-HT2B agonism; hallucinogen persisting perception disorder

Monitoring

Marker Target Why
Resting blood pressure 105–120 / 65–78 mmHg Every dose is a transient pressor stimulus; baseline determines whether that is benign
Resting heart rate 50–70 bpm Establishes the reference for the acute heart-rate-raising response
Transthoracic echocardiogram (valve regurgitation grade) No regurgitation greater than trace at any valve; no leaflet thickening The only way to detect the 5-HT2B-mediated fibrotic valve change that is the central unresolved long-term risk
12-lead electrocardiogram, corrected QT interval Under 430 ms (men), under 450 ms (women) Screens for the conduction abnormalities and arrhythmia substrate that would make repeated sympathetic stimulation unwise
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) Under 0.5 mg/L Provides an objective anchor for the anti-inflammatory hypothesis and flags any inflammatory process before starting
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) Under 20 U/L (men), under 17 U/L (women) Clearance depends entirely on the liver, so liver function determines exposure from a fixed dose
CYP2D6 genotype and predicted metaboliser phenotype Normal (extensive) metaboliser Intermediate and poor metaboliser status raises exposure from a fixed dose and is the one genotype so far linked to an adverse outcome
Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, self-report version Score under 7 (no depression) or a fall of at least 50% from baseline if starting elevated Provides the validated, quantitative mood endpoint against which any claimed durable benefit is judged

Cadence: Blood pressure paired before and 2 hours after each of the first 3 to 5 doses; tolerability and adverse-effect review at 2 weeks and 6 weeks; then blood pressure and symptom review every 3 months for as long as dosing continues, with repeat echocardiography and electrocardiography at 12 months and annually thereafter.

Qualitative Assessment

  • Sleep duration and quality: Objective total sleep time from a consistent wearable
  • Perceived energy and motivation: Rated on dosing and non-dosing days separately
  • Mood stability and irritability: Tracked daily rather than recalled weekly
  • Cognitive clarity and focused attention: Pooled controlled evidence points to a decrement rather than a gain
  • Anxiety: Any recurrent anxiety on dosing days is the primary stopping signal
  • Blinded self-check: A period of capsules prepared so that active and inactive doses are indistinguishable
Not medical advice. Educational distillation of a single evidence review. Confirm any decision with a qualified clinician, especially in the presence of prescription drugs or chronic conditions.