Even for aging meditators, the cognitive and physical symptoms of growing old are an increasing reality. Emotional distress and growing anxiety can also take their toll. The combination of cognitive, emotional, and physical factors can shake spiritual beliefs to the core.

Any calm abiding garnered during years of discipline may now seem just out of reach. The benefits of mindfulness and other practices may not be enough to help alleviate the suffering of old age. For spouses, partners, friends and family, caretaking for those with declining conditions such as dementia see the need for more tools — both for the ones aging as well as those providing the caregiving.

Many baby boomers experimented with drugs and many did not, but at the time of becoming young adults, today’s senior citizens did not receive the growing cultural message that is now becoming normalized: that the mindful ingestion of plant medicine has powerful healing qualities. That is one of the reasons microdosing is exploding around the globe and certainly in our own backyard.

Microdosing psychoactive plant medicines means consuming a minimal amount, below the threshold of hallucinating and with the ability to function as normal, while having many potential cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits. Through citizen science, thousands report better mood, more tolerance, increased sociability, better focus, more stamina, and better sleep, among other benefits. It is also reported that microdosing brings a greater connection to ourselves, our communities and with the natural world in which we live.

I can attest to many of these findings as my own husband for more than 40 years, a partner who has meditated one hour each morning and night for almost every day of our marriage, has a brain that is aging. Navigating this new phase of the human experience is not our fate alone. Of U.S. adults over 65, one in every 10 is reported to have dementia. Experts report more than 7 million people ages 65 or older had dementia in 2020 and trends predict that 9 million Americans could have dementia by 2030.

Microdosing may not change the course of the disease, but it has made each day feel fuller and more gratifying — for both of us. He reports being more “present.” He has better focus and can be more physically active. He sleeps soundly, so deeply that I, too, sleep better.

For me, it has been a welcome surprise that I can flow more easily with what each day presents. Embodying this deeper sense that all is OK results in greater kindness, the ability to handle more, and to do so with increasing grace. This translate into more patience and tolerance. It helps my partner feel safer and loved. It helps ground me in my essential nature. So while a brain may be showing signs of aging, our hearts can continue to expand. What better gift as we prepare for the inevitable?

Nowadays there are doctors, pharmacologists, certified microdosing coaches and others that believe more information and education can help people know how to mindfully microdose — bringing intention and greater awareness to the process and to do so safely. Microdosing isn’t for everybody, and there are risk factors and contraindications.

Access to knowledge is also an important tool for harm reduction. As clinical trials continue at universities such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Imperial College and UCLA, and legalization and decriminalization gain momentum, we will better understand the therapeutic value of these plant medicines. We have a major ally in healing and well-being. It’s easy to understand why aging meditators are microdosing. Why wait?

Lauren Alderfer is an award-winning mindfulness author and microdosing educator. Her coming book, “The Mindful Microdosing Journal,” is available on Amazon. She lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.