In today’s obsession with wellness fueled by influencers, podcasts and self-proclaimed health “gurus” with no scientific training, it seems we have turned to fast media instead of science as a main source of knowledge.
Information is everywhere yet we seem to disregard the importance of questioning its origins. Ironically, science and reason have become the last thing we refer to.
In an attempt to rebrand the fading trends of homeopathy and natural remedies, microdosing has taken center stage, promising transformation through doses too small to prove anything at all. But this new wave of self proclaimed “biohacks” deserves far more skepticism than what is given. Despite their trendy wellness marketing, they remain fueled largely by hype rather than science.
Microdosing refers to taking a small dose — usually a small portion of the standard effective dose — of a classic hallucinogen, a class of psychedelics (distinct from dissociatives), used in microdosing, such as psilocybin, the substance found in “magic mushrooms” or LSD. Anecdotal reports have praised its supposed range of benefits such as cognitive-enhancement and improved mood.
Yet anecdotal evidence is just that — stories we tell ourselves and others, giving rise to psychology’s fascinating placebo effect. With no empirical proof that these small doses have any significant physiological effect, microdosing has yet to prove itself useful as a mood enhancer, tool for focus and productivity or boosted energy.
Essentially, it’s the combination of psychedelic research along with manipulated media that’s driving the frenzy around this “revolutionary” way of taking a drug.
Psychedelics have become increasingly popular for their potential to improve long-lasting mental health conditions. Michael Pollan, a pioneer in “psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy,” intentionally targets the use of things like LSD or psilocybin to treat depression, anxiety and addiction. In sufficient doses and in the right environment, psychedelics have shown to significantly improve depression and anxiety in those suffering from multiple mental disorders.
However, the success of psychedelics at full therapeutic dosage does not necessarily imply success at microdoses. In fact, a study published by University of Chicago Medicine found no evidence supporting claims that taking small amounts of classic hallucinogens at regular intervals improves cognitive performance.
However, despite this lack of proof, Dr. Harriet de Wit, a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, is reluctant to draw any absolute conclusions.
“We can’t say necessarily that microdosing doesn’t work,” de Wit said. “All we can say is that, under these controlled circumstances, with this kind of participant, these doses and these intervals, we didn’t see a robust effect.”
Interestingly, the purpose of such studies is to generalize findings and expand knowledge in the field of science. Yet, even as microdosing repeatedly proves indistinguishable from placebo, even scientists hesitate to accept the data in absolute terms. In the right dose, even science isn’t immune to a good story.
With so many alleged benefits like increased focus and reduced anxiety, microdosing seems like the perfect antidote for stressed-out college students. A recent study found that a significant portion of students reported microdosing to manage mood or improve cognition. But with multiple studies showing that these ‘benefits’ could just be a placebo effect, microdosing could very well be the psychological equivalent of manifesting all the intelligence you never knew you had.
At UM, the appeal is already visible. One senior majoring in Marine Science and Biology with a chemistry minor described microdosing to me as “not terrible, just safer than taking a full dose, and honestly, kind of a way to say you’ve done the drug without actually doing it.”
For many students, microdosing becomes less about transformation and more about flirting with the idea of psychedelics while staying within what feels like a controlled, manageable boundary.
The media buzz around microdosing often leaps ahead of the research and in many cases, the story is more compelling than the data. In the end, just as there is not enough evidence to show that microdosing has any significantly positive effects, there isn’t enough to prove its harmful either.
A placebo is unlikely to cause any physical damage, but the fact that we can convince ourselves that something with virtually no measurable effect can elevate our consciousness should make us question how much power we have granted the media to convince us of our own potential.