Feeling on top of the world, being active and energetic enough to get things done, and being hit with bursts of creativity to create the coolest thing ever? Well, that’s what many people hope for when they turn to shrooms (magic mushrooms), and you might be thinking about joining the fun too.However, since shrooms are potent psychedelics, they can be unpredictable. You need to know just how soon you’ll start tripping and how long you’ll be riding this colorful wave so you can plan your day (or night) accordingly.Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. This guide will fill you in on everything you need to know—how long the effects last, what each phase feels like, and some pro tips to ensure your experience is smooth. There’s a lot to learn from this article, so let’s get started.
The high effects of a magic mushroom trip typically last three to six hours at most. But don't think it's over just because the clock says so. The ride starts with sensations slowly ramping up 10 to 15 minutes after consuming the shrooms. For some, the kick-in time can take as long as 30 minutes. You'll experience heightened senses, deep thoughts, and trippy visuals for about two to three hours. This is considered the peak time when you can control the outcome of your trip. After the peak, the effects taper off, leaving you in a state of calm and introspection for several hours. This often happens along with noticeable changes in your mental state.Here's an illustration to explain the timeline of psilocybin mushrooms’ high effect:
| Phase | Timeframe | Description |
| Initial Effects | 20 to 30 minutes | The beginning stages after ingestion are when the effects start. |
| Peak Experience | 2 to 3 hours | The height of the trip, where experiences are most intense. |
| Winding Down | 4 to 6 hours post-ingestion | The period when the intensity begins to decrease. |
| Residual Effects | A couple of hours after the peak | Lingering effects post the primary experience. |
However, this timeline isn’t always the case for everybody. Certain factors will determine exactly how soon the effects of psilocybin shrooms will kick in after consumption and how long the effect will last. One of such factors is the dose. Bigger doses mean a longer trip, while smaller doses keep things shorter. But it still doesn’t end there. In the following section, we explain these factors in detail.
How long your shroom trip lasts is mostly about how much you take. There are two main ways: macrodosing and microdosing.Macrodosing means you’re going big, consuming a hefty amount of shrooms for a full-on psychedelic journey. Expect a trip that lasts six hours or more. With macrodosing, your setting and mindset are crucial—otherwise, you might have a less-than-pleasant experience.Microdosing is the exact opposite. It’s when you take just a tiny bit of shrooms, usually around 0.5 to 1 grams. This results in a much shorter, milder experience because there’s less of the psychedelic in your system.
If your body has a fast metabolism, then the effects of the shrooms will be relatively shorter. A slow metabolism makes the effects last longer.
Set means your mental state before you start the trip—how you're feeling and what’s happening in your head. Setting means where you are when you’re tripping—like the room, the people around you, and the place's vibe.These two factors can influence the effects' duration. Shrooms can warp your sense of time, making a colorful moment feel like an eternity when it’s really just 30 seconds or making a happy moment zoom by in what feels like a flash.
Tolerance doesn’t directly affect the length of your shroom trip, but it can increase the intensity.If you keep taking the same shrooms too often, your body will get used to them. Try tripping again too soon, and you’ll need a bigger dose to feel the same effects.
Shrooms can be consumed in various forms—dried whole mushrooms, powdered, or brewed into tea—because your body handles each form differently.Eating them fresh makes you likely to have an intense but shorter trip. If you brew the shrooms into tea or mix it with food, the effect will start slow but will be longer. Also, if you soak dried, ground-up shrooms in lime or lime juice before eating them (lemon trekking) can speed up the effects. So, if you’re aiming for a speedier trip, that’s one trick you might consider.
Quick tip:
Generally, shrooms usually don’t pop up on most standard drug tests. They also leave your system quickly, so blood or saliva tests won’t catch them unless you’re tested within a few hours. A more recent scientific study has proven that shrooms are almost invisible in the system after just 6 hours.Still, pinning down precisely whether shrooms will show up on a drug test can be difficult becuase there are so many types of tests, and some are way more sensitive than others.In the table below, we illustrate the various drug tests and how they can detect psilocybin in the body:
| Drug Tests | Shroom Detectability |
| Urine tests | Not detectable. |
| Hair follicle tests | Possibly detectable since it looks for drug use within the last 90 days. But it’s a costly test and is uncommon. |
Quick Tip:
Psilocybin mushrooms can ‘expire’ when bacteria or mold begins to grow on them. Another way they turn bad is when the psilocybin and psilocin — the psychoactive compound in shrooms — degrade over time.You can tell a shroom has expired when it has brown or dark spots, a foul odor, sliminess, a mushy texture, and visible mold (white, blue, or green).With that in mind, you can buy shroom-infused capsules or teabags, which will also last longer than leaving fresh mushrooms unattended. Magic mushrooms content in microdoses such as the ones from the Schedule35 store never go bad.
Overall, your metabolism, the dose and potency of the psilocybin mushroom, the method of consumption, and your tolerance levels will affect how long the effects last. But expect them to not exceed 6 hours. If you’re worried about the effect of shrooms lingering for too long, then it’s better to try microdosing. Microdosing means taking a tiny, sub-perceptual dose of magic mushrooms. Products like shroom-infused chocolate bars, Shroom tea, and capsules from Schedule35 are perfect for this. Microdosing can boost creativity and improve your mood without the intense trip. By Chris Bates
