Over the past decade, I’ve stopped talking about sleep. My children have been through times when they’ve woken multiple times in the night, and others when they struggle to fall asleep in the first place. So when other people talk about how tired they are, I’ve learned to say nothing – afraid that if I start complaining, I’ll never stop.
Even when all my children – now aged nine, seven and three – choose the same night to sleep well, my own whirring mind wakes me between 2am and 4am.
I’m grieving for my mum, who died in January, and know how grief disrupts my sleep. When my dad died 15 years ago, my mind whirred so much that I ended up doing a yoga teacher training course, which I loved, in a bid to calm my thoughts. I also had surgery recently that took me from peri-menopause into menopause: if ever there was a time for insomnia, it is now.
So when I was introduced to Mama Shrooms functional mushrooms for sleep, I wasn’t expecting dramatic results – they didn’t require wholesale lifestyle change.
The brand is founded by plant-based chef Gemma Ogston, author of The Healing Cookbook. She started using functional mushrooms in her cookery, dedicating a whole chapter of her most recent book to them, before launching Mama Shrooms 18 months ago.
Her nighttime blend includes the mushroom reishi, consumed in China and Japan for centuries to promote calm, longevity, and resilience; the mushroom chaga, traditionally drunk as medicinal tea in Siberia during dark winters for hundreds of years; and the mineral magnesium, extracted from seaweed, of which half of us in the UK get less than the daily recommended amount.
“I wanted to make blends because they’re easy for people to take, rather than deciding which supplements to use when. I think there’s a lot of supplement overwhelm: many people have a whole cupboard full but don’t use them because making a smoothie or tea to put them in can be a real barrier,” she explains.
“Mushrooms work well together and complement each other.”
Ogston calls reishi “the sleep mushroom” because it supports the parasympathetic nervous system and calms the body. “It’s really good for stress and overwhelm and for racing thoughts at night. Lots of my customers send me their Apple Watch and some people don’t experience longer sleep, but deeper sleep. It’s good for perimenopause stress and waking in the night, which I’m facing at the moment.”
Chaga, meanwhile, is “restorative, rich in antioxidants and plant nutrients polyphenols”. She adds: “It’s great for reducing inflammation, for recovery and resilience and good for immune support, especially during stressful periods. It supports sleep because chronic inflammation can have a huge effect on our sleep quality.”
Magnesium supports melatonin production, helps reduce muscle tension, and reduces stiff jaws and restless legs.
I start taking the nighttime blend an hour before bed. The first night, I swallow the capsule with some warm milk and go to bed, expecting to struggle to sleep. Even a slight improvement would be worth it for me, but I drift into a deep sleep. I wake at 2am, feel a moment of panic and lie awake for an hour before I drift off again. When I wake again around 6am, I’m amazed: I feel like I’ve had decent sleep.
The second night is similar, but I sleep from 10pm until 5am. When I wake, I feel disoriented for about two minutes and then my body wakes up. I experience no grogginess and am alert for the day ahead. I can’t quite believe it.
It becomes a ritual: a mushroom capsule emptied it into my hot milk (just how I prefer it, most people just swallow the capsules). The taste of the blend is slightly bitter but I find that I don’t mind it at all. Within 30 minutes to an hour of taking the capsules, I start to feel tired – though sometimes I question whether it’s simply that I feel relaxed. Sleep comes easily, consistently.
When my children wake me in the night, I get up for them, but because thankfully this has become more infrequent I am now averaging seven hours of sleep a night. Sometimes my whirring thoughts wake me at 2am, but on those nights I drift off again quickly. The majority of nights, though – and I feel like I should whisper because I don’t want to jinx it – I sleep through, something I haven’t experienced for years.
I’ve now been taking the night blend for two months and this week ordered my next month’s supply online (they’re on sale at health shops like Holland & Barrett). Like an increasing number of people, I’ve become a mushroom convert.
Functional mushrooms are having a field day. They sit within the growing market for adaptogens – which also include plants including ashwagandha and herbs including ginseng – so-called because they used to help our bodies adapt to stress; the benefits we may each experience will be slightly different because they adapt to our bodies individually. The market for adaptogens is currently worth more than $12bn globally and set to expand to over $20bn by the early 2030s, driven by the growing wellness industry.
There are a growing number of excellent mushroom brands offering tinctures, coffees and teas. Ogston warns to always check the packet as not all contain a significant amount of mushroom.
Dr Federica Amati, head nutritionist at health platform ZOE, suggests eating mushrooms in their raw form, if possible. “When it comes to mushrooms like reishi and chaga, the real magic lies in their complex fibres and how they feed your gut microbiome,” she says. “Reishi, traditionally known as the ‘mushroom of immortality’, is packed with essential minerals and unique bioactives that support a healthy gut. Meanwhile, chaga is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols that support immunity and lower inflammation.
“Rather than treating these mushrooms as magic pills, incorporating them into your daily food routine is a scientifically backed way to diversify your plant intake and feed your good gut microbes,” she adds.
However, she warns people should avoid high-dose concentrated supplements during pregnancy, unless specifically prescribed by a doctor – while whole food options are considered safe.
I’ve also started taking Mama Shrooms daytime blend, which contains the well known fungus Lion’s Mane, used widely for focus; cordyceps, which is said to boost immune support and energy production in our cells; and vitamin C, crucial for our immune systems. I mix it in my morning coffee and find that I am more focused.
My daughter Astrid, nine, has started drinking the less potent Mama Shrooms teen blend – after confirmation from Ogston herself that the product can be taken by anyone eight and above – which tastes like unsweetened hot chocolate with cacao alongside a mix of functional mushrooms including tremella, which is good for complexion. She says it helps her relax.
But it’s the sleep transformation for which I’m so grateful and surprised. My nervous system feels so much more calm – and it’s a lot less effort than learning to be a yoga teacher.
How to choose functional mushrooms
There are a growing number of excellent brands, Gemma Ogston says. But she recommends supplement users check packets carefully for:
Third-party testingLook for certificates of analysis (COAs) via a QR code or website link. This shows the mushrooms have been independently tested for heavy metals, pesticides, mould and purity.
Beta-glucansThese are the key beneficial compounds linked to quality and immune support – check t hey are listed.
Active compoundsMake sure that the active compounds from the mushrooms are listed. So if you’re taking cordyceps look out for cordycepin; if taking reishi look for triterpenes; and if taking chaga check for betulinic acid.
Dual extractionCheck the method by which the beneficial compounds have been obtained for the product. Dual extraction uses both hot water and alcohol to help extract the full range of active ingredients, and get the most out of your mushrooms.
Fruiting bodySee which form the fungus was grown as. Fruiting bodies are higher in active compounds than cheaper mycelium grown on grain.
Transparent sourcingGood brands clearly state where and how mushrooms are grown and harvested.
Hence then, the article about i woke every night at 2am then a mushroom supplement cured my insomnia was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I woke every night at 2am – then a mushroom supplement cured my insomnia )
Also on site :