Mushrooms are everywhere in 2025: post-apocalyptically terrifying on TV (The Last of Us), hanging in our wardrobes (see: mycelium “leather”) and being ingested as powders and capsules in a bid to boost our collagen (tremella) and improve immunity (cordyceps).
Hericium erinaceus, AKA lion’s mane, so named for its shaggy-haired appearance and used in Eastern medicine for centuries, might just be the mightiest mushroom of all. On TikTok alone, “lion’s mane mushroom” boasts over 53.7m posts extolling the many virtues of the “brain boosting” nootropic, which devotees insist improves memory and helps them feel sharper and more energised.
What are the benefits of lion's mane?
Research into lion’s mane is a growing area: promising, but inconclusive until larger-scale studies are undertaken. So far, researchers have discovered lion’s mane has gut microbiome benefits, anti-inflammatory potential and can act as an anti-depressant in adult mice.
As far as brain-boosting goes, one small study of adults found lion’s mane improved performance speed and worked in a stress-reducing capacity, while in 2023, University of Queensland scientists concluded that in pre-clinical testing, lion’s mane had “a significant impact on the growth of brain cells and improving memory.”
As a longtime supplement-sceptic who believed I’d be glowing and energised if I could just stop scoffing chocolate daily, I never thought I’d be consuming – let alone extolling the virtues of – lion’s mane.
It started as an impulse-buy: Dirtea’s Focus Powder flashed up on my phone screen, promising enhanced memory and better mental clarity. The modern-day, IRL equivalent of Alice’s experience, except I wasn’t in Wonderland… I was procrastinating on my laptop when I should have been writing articles.
Then I took my first bite of mushroom – fine, I stirred powder into my shake – and changes started happening, right away. I worked more efficiently. Completed tasks in an organised manner. Switched easily between creative work and admin (a pet hate).
Was it lion’s mane or placebo? I didn’t know – or care. I’d gone from sluggish (even on Concerta, a methylphenidate ADHD medication) to energised and focused.
“Lion’s mane acts on our brain, repairing it and making it grow, a process we call neurogenesis. Many patients say they feel more clear-headed and that they can focus for hours,” explains Raquel Britzke, registered dietitian and founder of Britzke Nutrition. Britzke recommends mushrooms to patients when they complain of mental fatigue, difficulty concentrating and as a healthier replacement for coffee.
How do I take lion’s mane mushroom?
Lion’s mane is available as powders, coffees, gummies, capsules, tinctures, even transdermal patch stickers. (Recently, I’ve been loving Kind Patches Focus Patches for long writing stints.)
“Powders and coffees are a good way of getting it – then it has the potential to interact with the gut, and that can have a positive impact which can link to brain health,” nutritional therapist and founder of Nourish&Be, Helena Barham, tells Glamour. “Be careful with gummies – you don’t know what fillers they’ve put in there.” A capsule or liquid version (e.g. a tincture), will likely have a higher concentration of the key ingredient, and also help with absorption.
Confession: I was obsessed with apple-flavoured Dirtea Lion’s Mane gummies when they launched last year, but I’m convinced anything that tastes better than Percy Pigs must be dangerous, so I’ve swapped to Dirtea’s Mushroom Coffee – it’s like superpowered Nespresso, and I drink half the coffee I used to.
Other lion’s mane brands with ardent fan bases and positive reviews include The Nue Co, Balance, Sixways and Protein Works.
What’s the link between lion’s mane and ADHD?
Receiving an ADHD diagnosis in my late-30s was heartbreaking and empowering at once. Medication turned things quickly, but in autumn 2024, my NHS pharmacy ran out.
I decided I’d manage with lifestyle changes: better diet (protein, veg, whole grains; no alcohol), exercise and supplements (lion’s mane, plus magnesium and omega-3 fish oils – a psychiatrist recommended the latter two.) I was shocked when I felt more or less the same on this new regimen as I had when taking the meds.
There are currently no clinical trials proving that lion’s mane helps ADHD, but anecdotal evidence abounds – you’ll find that everyone from exams-stressed teens to founders has tried it. (I interviewed Bombas CEO, David Heath, for a business article a few years ago, and he told me he’d swapped prescription meds for lion’s mane and cordyceps blends.)
Lion’s mane can cause side effects (nausea, gastro issues, allergic reactions) – but I haven’t experienced any. Also, it doesn’t leave me with that jittery, motor-running-through-me feeling I sometimes get when I take prescription meds.
But experts advise proceeding with caution and under a doctor’s orders, especially if you’re already on other medications.
“Young people are exploring, and when they get onto a wellness trend they see on TikTok, they often think, ‘right!’ That’s their evidence: someone's used it, it's worked for them,” explains clinical psychologist and neurodiversity specialist, Dr Sona Kaur. “But they don't always realise that natural doesn't mean risk-free. I can't stress that point enough. They need to be very cautious.”
