Reishi Mushroom: Benefits, Dosage & How to Use

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a bitter, woody mushroom that has been used in East Asian medicine for more than 2,000 years to calm the mind, support sleep, and build resilience to stress. It is what's known as an adaptogen — rather than pushing your body in one direction, it helps it find its own balance. Modern research is still young, but the best human studies point to reishi’s role in easing fatigue and supporting a steadier sense of wellbeing.

What is reishi?

Reishi is a hard, shelf-like mushroom that grows on hardwood stumps and logs in humid forests across Asia. In China it’s called lingzhi — the “mushroom of immortality” — and in Japan it’s reishi. For over two millennia it was reserved for emperors and nobility, taken as a tonic for long life, vitality, and a calm mind.

You won’t find reishi on your dinner plate. Unlike shiitake or maitake, it’s far too tough and bitter to eat. Its value lies in its compounds, which is why reishi is almost always taken as an extract — a tincture, powder, or tea — rather than as food.

At Mushroom Compadres we call reishi “The Soul.” If Lion’s Mane is the mushroom for a sharp mind, reishi is its evening counterpart: the one you reach for to slow down, unwind, and recover.

What does the research say about reishi’s benefits?

Reishi is one of the most studied medicinal mushrooms in the world, but most of that research is still early-stage — laboratory and animal work, with a smaller number of human trials. Here is an honest look at what the science actually shows.

1. Easing fatigue and supporting wellbeing

This is reishi’s best human evidence. In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of 132 people with neurasthenia — a condition marked by persistent fatigue and low energy — eight weeks of a reishi polysaccharide extract produced a significantly greater drop in tiredness and a greater sense of wellbeing than placebo (Tang et al., 2005). It’s a single trial, but it’s a well-designed one, and it lines up with how reishi has been used traditionally for centuries.

2. Winding down and supporting sleep

Reishi has a long reputation as a calming, sleep-supporting mushroom. The science here is mostly preclinical: in animal studies, reishi extract helped animals fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, apparently by acting on the brain’s GABA system — the same calming pathway many relaxation aids target (Chu et al., 2007). This points to a plausible mechanism behind the traditional use, though we don’t yet have large human sleep trials to confirm it. Importantly, reishi is not a sedative. It won’t knock you out. Think of it as a signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to slow down.

3. Supporting the immune system

Reishi is rich in beta-glucans — complex sugars that interact with immune cells. In a small study of people in poor health, twelve weeks of a reishi extract shifted several immune markers, including natural killer cell activity (Gao et al., 2003). This was a small, early study without a placebo group, so it should be read as a promising signal rather than proof. The wider picture is that reishi appears to modulate the immune system — helping regulate it rather than simply revving it up.

4. The compounds that make reishi work

Reishi’s activity comes from two main families of compounds, and this is where extraction quality matters enormously (Yang et al., 2019):

• Triterpenoids (the ganoderic acids) — more than 200 have been identified. These give reishi its bitter taste and are linked to its calming, adaptogenic character. They only dissolve in alcohol.
• Polysaccharides (including beta-glucans) — the compounds behind reishi’s immune-modulating activity. These only dissolve in hot water.

This is the single most important thing to understand about buying reishi: a tincture made with water alone, or alcohol alone, captures only half the mushroom. A proper reishi extract uses both — which is exactly how ours is made.

What the research does not show

Being honest about the limits matters as much as the benefits. A Cochrane review — one of the most rigorous types of evidence review — pooled the trials on reishi for heart-related risk factors and found no proven benefit for blood sugar, blood pressure, or cholesterol (Klupp et al., 2015). A separate Cochrane review on reishi and cancer concluded it should never be used as a stand-alone treatment, though it may have a supporting role alongside conventional care, on weak early evidence (Jin et al., 2016). We mention this not to undersell reishi, but because you deserve the full picture — not just the flattering half.

How to take reishi: dosage and forms

Reishi comes in several forms. Here’s how they compare.

Form	Typical daily amount	Notes
Dual-extract tincture	1–2 ml, once or twice daily	Best absorption; captures the full compound range when dual-extracted
Powder or tea	3–9 g daily	Traditional form; water-soluble compounds only
Standardised extract capsules	1–1.5 g daily	Convenient; quality depends on extraction method

Our reishi tincture is dual-extracted at a 1:8 ratio — meaning 100 ml is made from the equivalent of 12.5 g of bioactive mushroom extract. A typical serving is 1–2 ml, taken either under the tongue for 30–60 seconds or stirred into an evening drink such as herbal tea, warm water, or cacao.

When to take it: evening is ideal. Reishi suits the wind-down at the end of the day rather than the morning push. How long until you feel it: reishi is not a quick fix. Most people notice effects build over two to four weeks of daily use, with deeper benefits over six to twelve weeks. Consistency is the whole game.

Is reishi safe? Side effects to know

Reishi is generally well tolerated at normal supplement doses. Some people experience mild, temporary effects such as dry mouth, an upset stomach, or dizziness — more often with powders than with tinctures.

A few important cautions:

• Medication interactions. Reishi may add to the effect of blood-thinning, blood-pressure, and blood-sugar-lowering medications, and may interact with immune-suppressing drugs. If you take any of these, speak to your doctor first.
• Very high powder doses. Rare cases of liver irritation have been reported with large amounts of reishi powder taken over months — not an issue at normal tincture servings.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. There isn’t enough safety data, so it’s best avoided.

How we grow and make our reishi

Here’s a fact that should bother you: when researchers tested 19 functional mushroom supplements sold in Europe, only 5 actually contained the mushroom on the label. That’s the industry we set out to fix.

We grow our reishi ourselves, in a vertical farm on our regenerative farm in the Algarve, Portugal — not sourced from an unnamed supplier overseas. We use 100% fruiting bodies (the actual mushroom), never mycelium grown on grain, which can leave a powder that’s mostly starch. Every batch is extracted twice — once in hot water for the beta-glucans, once in Bagaço (a traditional Portuguese pomace alcohol) for the ganoderic acids — so the full compound profile ends up in the bottle. And we lab-test our mushrooms through an independent US laboratory that measures the active compounds, not just generic quality markers. Read more about how we make our tinctures →

Reishi FAQ

Does reishi make you sleepy?

Not in the way a sleeping pill does. Reishi isn’t a sedative — it’s a calming adaptogen. Rather than forcing sleep, it’s traditionally used to help your nervous system downshift so that rest comes more easily. Many people take it in the evening for exactly this reason.

When is the best time to take reishi?

Evening is the usual choice, because reishi is associated with calm and recovery rather than energy. If you’re taking it as part of a daily routine, pairing it with an existing evening habit — a cup of tea, winding down before bed — helps you stay consistent.

How long does reishi take to work?

Reishi works gradually, not instantly. Most people use it daily for two to four weeks before noticing a difference, with fuller effects over six to twelve weeks of consistent use. It rewards patience.

Can I take reishi with Lion’s Mane?

Yes — they’re a natural pair. A common routine is Lion’s Mane in the morning for focus and reishi in the evening to unwind. There are no known problems combining common functional mushrooms. You’ll also find both together in our 3-Mushroom Blend.

Is it safe to take reishi every day?

For most healthy adults, daily use at normal serving sizes is how reishi is traditionally taken and how it’s used in studies. If you take prescription medication — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, blood-sugar, or immune-suppressing drugs — or you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your doctor first.

Find your calm with reishi

If stress, restless evenings, or a constantly-on mind are what you’re working with, reishi is the place to start. Explore our single-mushroom Reishi Tincture, or get reishi alongside other mushrooms in our 3-Mushroom and 5-Mushroom Blends. You can also browse our Anti-Stress and Sleep collections.

New to functional mushrooms? Start with our complete guide: Functional Mushrooms: The Complete Guide. Or read about reishi’s morning counterpart, Lion’s Mane, and the antioxidant powerhouse Chaga.

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This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Mushroom Compadres products are food supplements, not medicines, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medication, speak to a healthcare professional before use.

References

1. Tang W, Gao Y, Chen G, et al. (2005). A randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract in neurasthenia. Journal of Medicinal Food, 8(1), 53–58. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15857210/
2. Chu QP, Wang LE, Cui XY, et al. (2007). Extract of Ganoderma lucidum potentiates pentobarbital-induced sleep via a GABAergic mechanism. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 86(4), 693–698. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17383716/
3. Gao Y, Zhou S, Jiang W, Huang M, Dai X. (2003). Effects of Ganopoly (a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract) on the immune functions in advanced-stage cancer patients. Immunological Investigations, 32(3), 201–215. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12916709/
4. Yang Y, Zhang H, Zuo J, et al. (2019). Advances in research on the active constituents and physiological effects of Ganoderma lucidum. Biomedical Dermatology, 3, 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41702-019-0044-0
5. Klupp NL, Chang D, Hawke F, et al. (2015). Ganoderma lucidum mushroom for the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), CD007259. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25686270/
6. Jin X, Ruiz Beguerie J, Sze DMY, Chan GCF. (2016). Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) for cancer treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4), CD007731. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27045603/
7. Wachtel-Galor S, Yuen J, Buswell JA, Benzie IFF. (2011). Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi or Reishi): A Medicinal Mushroom. In: Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects (2nd ed.). CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92757/