Ageing may be slowed down by the same substance that causes you to look at your hands for three hours.

Researchers discovered that psilocin, the substance your body produces after consuming psilocybin, increased survival rates in older mice and helped human cells live longer in the lab. Their findings were published in npj Ageing. The findings imply that this formerly banned drug may do more than just change your thoughts. Literally, it might prolong your life.

“There was overwhelming clinical evidence that it has benefits for multiple disease indications,” said lead researcher Dr. Louise Hecker in an interview with StudyFinds. “But very little was known about how it affects the body outside the brain.”

What is Psilocybin?

Psilocin-treated human lung cells outlived untreated ones by up to 57% in laboratory experiments. They remained healthy, continued to divide, and grew older more slowly. The substance seemed to shield telomeres, the protective coverings on chromosomes that deteriorate gradually with age, and lessen oxidative stress. Additionally, it raised SIRT1 levels, a protein linked to DNA repair and cellular lifespan.

The mice then appeared. Researchers administered monthly dosages of psilocybin to female mice that were 19 months old, which is the age of a human being in their 60s. Eighty percent of the mice who received treatment were still alive after ten months. The control group only reached that point in half. Additionally, the psilocybin-treated mice displayed more new hair growth and less greying.

For something more famous for melting faces on blacklight posters, that’s not a bad result.

How, then, is a psychedelic accomplishing this? Serotonin receptors, which are present throughout the body and not only in the brain, may hold the key. They appear to set off a series of events that lessen stress, protect DNA, and support long-term cell health when they are activated.

Naturally, this is not an excuse to overindulge in mushrooms. Only female mice were used in the study, and it is unknown what long-term effects repeated doses would have on people. In the majority of nations, psilocybin is still illegal, and scientists are still working to establish the safe dosage for any possible anti-aging effects.

It’s a thought-provoking discovery anyway. The discussion of psilocybin centred on altered states for decades. The focus is now on something far more fundamental: living a longer and maybe healthier life.