--- title: "Evidence Grows That Tripping on Shrooms Might Increase Your Lifespan" description: "In a new study, scientists have uncovered evidence that psilocybin, the main compound in magic mushrooms, may be a cure for aging. " date: "2025-07-13" modified: "2025-07-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/psilocibin-mushrooms-aging-study" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "anti-aging" - "health" - "psilocybin" - "Telomeres" --- # Evidence Grows That Tripping on Shrooms Might Increase Your Lifespan ![In a new study, scientists have uncovered evidence that psilocybin, the main compound in magic mushrooms, may be a cure for aging. ]() *A tray of psilocybin mushrooms is prepared to be distributed to congregants by Benji "Teopixqui Dez" Dezaval, founder of The Community of PACK Life, before a gathering in the basement of his home, which serves as Colorado's first psychedelic church, on February 18, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dezaval, who started the church in 2024, hands out up to two grams of a psilocybin mushroom to each church congregant weekly. Colorado voters passed Proposition 122 in 2022, which decriminalized the use of psilocybin mushrooms, commonly referred to as "magic mushrooms." Dezaval has seen the church grow to over 400 congregants in the past year. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images\* In a new study, scientists have uncovered evidence that magic mushrooms just might be an effective anti-aging treatment. Published [in the *Nature Partnering Journal Aging*](), a new paper by researchers at Emory and Baylor's medical schools suggests that psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms — there are a range of species that produce it, but the best known is probably *Pisolocybe cubensis* — might extend the lifespans of both mice and potentially humans. The two-part study tested medium-sized doses of psilocybin on older mice, and later introduced similar amounts of the compound to human cells to see how it affected their telomeres, which shorten as organisms grow older and are viewed as a hallmark of aging. In both the mice and the human cells — half of which were fetal lung cells, the other half from adult skin — the introduction of psilocybin was linked to preserved telomere length. In other words, the study appears to show that telomeres shortened more slowly after being given psilocybin than they would have without, and that mushrooms may increase cellular lifespan. In addition to the telomere findings, the researchers also noted that the psilocybin-treated mice showed increased survival skills and had "improvements in overall fur quality," which may suggest further anti-aging properties as well. According to Louise Hecker, a Baylor medical and cardiovascular researcher and the senior author of the paper, she and her colleagues were compelled to look into the potential lifespan-enhancing effects of psilocybin because, for the most part, it [hasn't really been studied directly](). "The overwhelming majority of what we know about psilocybin is how it impacts the brain," Hecker said in a [press release about the study](). "Our findings suggest that psilocybin has potent effects on the entire body, including antiaging properties, which also may contribute to the plethora of observed beneficial clinical outcomes." However, some previous research has suggested that psychedelic drugs could be linked to positive health outcomes. A study in 2021, for instance, [found that]() people who used hallucinogenic drugs including psilocybin, LSD and mescaline had a lower risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. Some [other studies suggest]() that people who have periodically used psychedelics recreationally are less likely to be overweight or obese. While Hecker's colleague and paper coauthor Kosuke Kato urged caution when establishing a causal link between shrooms and increased lifespan, he pointed to the results in the aged mice as perhaps the most important part of the research. "This is a very exciting and clinically relevant finding that suggests that even when \[psychedelic\] intervention is initiated late in life, it can have dramatic impacts," Kato said in the press release. While there's "still a lot to understand, including optimal dosing protocols that will lead to maximal efficacy," Kato said that further study will hopefully help researchers and medical practitioners alike figure out how psilocybin treatment can work. Hecker, meanwhile, enthused that her team's findings "open an exciting new chapter in psychedelic research" — a field that's [already shown lots of promise]() in recent years when looking into the ways these drugs can help with [mental illness]() and [dementia](). "Psilocybin may represent a disruptive agent that promotes healthy aging," she said. "The next steps need to explore the therapeutic effects across multiple age-related diseases." **More on psychedelics:** [*People Are Taking Massive Doses of Psychedelic Drugs and Using AI as a Tripsitter*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()