Lion’s Mane And ADHD: Could It Offer An Alternative To ADHD Medication?
If you live with ADHD, you’ve probably heard of every treatment under the sun. Since it’s such a commonly misunderstood condition, the so-called solutions are often half-baked or totally ineffective at managing the symptoms you’re living with.
Like you, we’re so over the unhelpful advice usually given to people with ADHD. We don't want to hear people trying to ask whether you’ve focused or tried meditating; we want real solutions that could help alleviate the struggles of ADHD that people face daily.
If you look deeper into the science behind the problem, as we tend to do here at TwentyTwo, you might be surprised to find that a little ol’ mushroom could support your overall well-being and improve your life with ADHD. Want to know how?
Lion’s Mane offers many potential benefits; used in traditional Chinese medicine, this impactful mushroom is favoured by many. Here’s everything you need to know about using Lion’s Mane mushrooms to manage ADHD, minus those annoying misconceptions. Read on to find out more.
What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but that isn’t always the best description for those who experience it. The things that most people report with this chronic medical condition include significant difficulty focusing, lower impulse control, and, to a lesser degree, a hyperactive personality.
There’s been a significant rise in the number of people diagnosed with ADHD, and that’s likely because it’s no longer seen as a ‘problem’ that young children have at school. It’s final list being recognised as a persistent and life-changing condition, which means more resources for you and a better understanding from the people around you. Yay!
The not-yay part is that ADHD doesn’t have a single, conclusive test to find out if you have it or not. Most people living with ADHD now found out when they were children or have only recently gone through the process of getting a formal diagnosis.
It’s not known whether ADHD is caused by environmental or genetic factors, but there are a few guesses that have been made.
What Causes ADHD?
If you have ADHD, you might have looked at the people around you and wondered whether they have it, too; they just don’t know it. Well, you could be right. Studies have shown more and more that it’s likely genetics contribute to ADHD, as they’ve found similar gene markers in people with this condition. But they haven’t found a particular ADHD-causing gene.
Instead, scientists found things they call risk factors. They discovered that children who experience brain injuries, exposure to toxins like tobacco and alcohol, and traumatic stress at a young age are more likely to have ADHD.
However, just because you experience these things doesn’t mean you will have ADHD. The word scientists use in this case is ‘interplay’. If you have a lot of these risk factors mixed with genetic predisposition and environmental influences, then you just have a higher likelihood of having ADHD based on the statistics.
Sadly, that does mean it’s harder to get a diagnosis because so much goes into consideration. But ADHD has several clear symptoms that your average GP (not a genetic scientist with a lab coat and a pointy needle) would use to determine what you’re dealing with.
What Does ADHD Feel Like?
When you have ADHD, it affects all aspects of your life. Some of the most commonly reported symptoms and behaviours include:
- Disorganisation
- Impulsiveness
- Problems focusing on a task
- Poor time management
- Issues with multitasking
- Restlessness
- Low tolerance to frustration
- Mental health disorders, in particular depression and anxiety
- Trouble coping with stress
It’s possible to have only some of these issues or more. ADHD affects each person differently. For example, some people say they struggle daily to concentrate on simple tasks like cooking a meal, whereas others say they struggle most with having too much energy.
More recently, studies are looking into the evidence that those brain and gene differences (some of those risk factors we mentioned earlier) could mean abnormally low levels of serotonin and dopamine are behind lots of these symptoms.
Dopamine and serotonin are, put simply, chemicals that give your brain a little reward for doing what you want it to. This is interesting information to add to your ADHD knowledge, and it could open up a whole new world (magic carpet and all) of treatments for ADHD.
Common Treatments for ADHD
Before we eventually get to the power of functional mushrooms, what treatments are already available for ADHD? Well, typically, you’d get a mixture of medication and psychotherapy.
The medication part of that is usually amphetamines, which work by increasing dopamine; the thing scientists think some people with ADHD are deficient in. This medication elevates you to a ‘normal’ level of dopamine, making life easier.
On the other hand, it has many side effects, which make life harder. However, some ADHD patients have tried alternative medicines, like dietary supplements, to treat their individual symptoms.
Some of the remedies that have been studied and shown to be helpful are Vitamin B6, as it helps produce serotonin and dopamine, Zinc, because it can regulate dopamine, Magnesium, as it's low magnesium is proven to cause hyperactivity; and Iron, as attention deficiency has long been related to low iron levels. The moral of the story is that people with ADHD should take their multivitamins.
How Lion’s Mane Helps With ADHD
Now we can get to the main point. Does Lion’s Mane help with ADHD? Similar to the other dietary supplements, Lion’s Mane works because it targets the specific physical contributors behind each ADHD symptom. Let’s break it down to make this shroomy science a little easier to understand.
Improves Attention
Studies have shown that Lion’s Mane can improve attention, working memory, and concentration in adults, which hits all of the biggest complaints of ADHD.
Lowers Inflammation
Quality supplements of Lion’s Mane mushroom have proven to have massive anti-inflammatory effects, which have been shown to directly improve working memory, focus, and attention in adults.
Regulates Important Brain Juices
Lion’s Mane supports our brain enzymes and the parts that transmit information around the brain. Happier enzymes and transmitters mean more stable moods and better focus for people with ADHD. So, happy days for Lion’s Mane fans!
What Does Lion’s Mane Do to the Brain?
Now that you know that Lion’s Mane has a big effect on those with ADHD, we can dive a little deeper. The truth is, that Lion’s Mane does a lot more. This powerful mushroom offers a wide range of benefits!
Let’s stay inside the ADHD brain for a second. In here, Lion’s Mane can get to work on a bunch of things. As mentioned, it can prevent inflammation, but it could also have a protective effect on your brain cells, improving your overall memory and promoting the creation of new neurons.
Lion’s Mane contains incredibly beneficial compounds called hericenones and erinacines. It’s okay; you can forget those words instantly, we don’t want to confuse you.
The important thing to remember is that those two compounds found in Lion’s Mane hugely support a little unassuming protein in your brain that’s responsible for regulating your brain’s growth, development, and repair. Pretty crucial stuff for everyone, not just those with ADHD.
In fact, researchers found that Lion’s Mane finds it extra easy to deliver these essential compounds straight into your brain. Good news for your brain, right?
The Benefits of Taking Lion’s Mane
Apart from benefiting your brain, how can Lion's Mane help the rest of your body, and how else can Lion’s Mane help people with ADHD aside from helping with the big issues? Lion’s Mane has the answers to those questions.
Multiple studies have been performed on both animals and humans that show Lion’s Mane helps with attention span, focus, mood, and spatial memory.
Again and again, Lion’s Mane has proven itself to be a reliable little mushy against all sorts of ADHD symptoms when taken consistently. But wait, there’s more.
When you have ADHD, it’s pretty common to struggle with other things that aren’t directly caused by your condition. Things like anxiety, depression, and fatigue make it even harder to manage your mood and attention. This mental health mushroom has wonderful impacts on those struggling with such conditions.
Additionally, Lion’s Mane offers potential anti-inflammatory effects that have proven useful against coexisting conditions like this, particularly mood disorders.
It can also inhibit fatigue, which people with ADHD commonly report because of the extra pressure of constantly working through the associated brain fog and distraction.
You’d never suspect that a tiny mushroom could do all that to help improve the life of someone with ADHD, but it can.
How Do You Take Lion’s Mane for ADHD?
It’s all well and good talking about how great Lion’s Mane can be for you, whether you have ADHD or not, but how do you take it? Let us guide you.
Well, for attention-based improvements, it’s generally recommended to take a dose of high-quality Lion’s Mane extract at around 1000 mg per day. Funnily enough, that’s close to the dose we suggest for our super-strength Lion’s Mane capsules.
Each serving of TwentyTwo's Lion's Mane contains 1,800mg of pure hot water extract fruiting body. This means that you can ensure you’re getting the correct dose to achieve all of its positive and supportive effects.
Lion’s Mane for People With ADHD
Does Lion’s Mane work for ADHD? Those with ADHD can see a clear improvement in their attention levels, ease of focus, and memory abilities, all with a simple Lion’s Mane supplement.
This little shroom goes the extra mile, though, improving brain health and helping with mood disorders such as anxiety and depression that are commonly reported alongside ADHD. If you’d like to see what this powerful fungus can do for you, find out more about our quality Lion’s Mane capsules today.
Our Lion's Mane supplements are incredibly popular. We want our customers to experience the health benefits of Lion's Mane for themselves; we offer our capsules in packs of 30 and 60.
Grown in the UK, our mushrooms are 100% natural and vegan-friendly. They offer a simple and hassle-free way of consuming Lion's Mane. We believe that the future is fungi, so we encourage you to join us by kickstarting your Lion’s Mane journey today.
