Resources How to begin
Start low, go slow
Our recommended way to begin: the lowest tier, steady conditions, one change at a time, and notes you can read back.
There is no prize for starting high
Begin at Micro, even if someone you know started higher. You can always take more on a later day. You cannot take less once it is in.
Take one dose on a dose day. If you feel little or nothing, that is what Micro is for. Do not take a second capsule the same day.
Keep your conditions steady
Same time of day, same setting, same intention. When the conditions stay the same, you can tell what the dose is doing and what the day is doing.
Choose a time of day you can repeat, somewhere familiar, on a day with nothing new planned.
Change one thing at a time
Change the tier, the time or the setting — never two at once. If you change two things and the day feels different, you will not know why.
Give each change a few dose days before you judge it.
Keep notes
A few lines after each dose day is enough. Write them the same evening, while the day is still clear.
Read your notes back after two or three weeks. Patterns show up on paper that you would miss from one day to the next.
- The date, the tier and the time you took it.
- Where you were, and who you were with.
- Your intention, in one sentence, written before you began.
- What you noticed, if anything — and what you did not.
- How you slept that night.
Leave days between doses
We recommend at least one full day off between dose days. Taking it every day is not something we suggest.
In a 2025 global survey of 5,399 people who had microdosed, the most common pattern among regular users was one day on, two days off1.
It is often called the Fadiman protocol, after James Fadiman, who described it2. About a quarter of regular users in that survey followed it1.
We describe it so you know the name, not as a rule.
When to step up, and when to stop
Step up to Mini only after several dose days at Micro, and only if you want something more noticeable. Keep everything else the same.
If a dose day feels wrong, stop. Next time, go back to the tier below, or take a break altogether.
You do not have to keep going. Stopping is always an option, and it needs no plan.
Sources
These guides are general information for adults, written by Mammoth Mushrooms. They are not medical advice. If you take medication or have a health condition, speak to a pharmacist or doctor first.
