How Long Does Kratom Last in Your System?

Some of the most common questions we are asked about Kratom regard the duration of its effects on the body – how long do effects last? How long does it stay in your system? What are, if any, the withdrawal symptoms?

Despite the fact that Kratom has been used for thousands of years by indigenous people in places like Thailand and Malaysia, it is relatively new to Western markets, which, unsurprisingly, has led to numerous misconceptions about the substance. To clear up some of the confusion, we are going to go over everything you need to know about the duration of Kratom’s effects on the human body and mind.

We will explain how long it takes for Kratom to take effect, how long it stays in your system, and even explain whether or not Kratom will show up after taking a traditional drug test. If you have questions about how long Kratom lasts and stays in your system, you have come to the right place!

How Long Does It Take for Kratom to Take Effect?

Before we get into questions dealing with how long Kratom’s effects last, we will start by going over some basic information about how long it takes for the effects to present themselves in the Kratom user.

Kratom is Very Dose-dependent

One of the most important pieces of information you should know about Kratom is that its effects and duration are very dose-dependent. This means the amount of Kratom you take, as well as the potency of that Kratom, will have a major impact on the types of effects you will experience, how intense those effects will be, how quickly they will present themselves, and how long they will last. This is why we stress the importance of finding your optimal dose when first starting out.

A low dose of Kratom, even a microdose, will result in a radically different experience than taking a moderate dose or a high dose. This is also true for the duration of Kratom’s effects, meaning the amount you take will influence how long the Kratom will affect your body and how long it will take your body to fully process and eliminate the substance.

The amount you take will also impact the speed at which you experience the effects of the Kratom.

The General Rule

In most cases, when someone takes enough Kratom to experience some of its effects, those effects will typically present themselves about 10-15 minutes after ingestion. Again, the amount you take will have an impact on how quickly you experience the effects, but in general, most people find they have begun to experience at least some of the effects within the first 20 minutes.

Most people find that Kratom effects are heightened and occur quicker if they have consumed the Kratom on an empty stomach. This is because the Kratom – whether you’re consuming Kratom leaf, Kratom powder, or a Kratom capsule – is digested faster, which causes it to enter the bloodstream and interact with brain receptors much faster. The amount of food you have in your stomach can vary at any time depending on what and how much you have eaten, so it is also much easier to find your optimal dose when starting out, by taking on an empty stomach consistently.

The Duration of Kratom Effects

As explained above, the amount of time that you will experience the physical and mental effects of Kratom will depend heavily on the amount you ingest.

For most people, the effects experienced from a small dose of Kratom will last for roughly two hours. On the other hand, a larger dose can result in effects that last for as long as eight hours.

In terms of a middle ground, meaning the average amount of Kratom that most people ingest, peak effects tend to last for roughly three hours. Again, these durations will depend on a variety of factors, but in most cases, roughly three hours is a reasonable expectation for the effects of Kratom from a regular-sized dose.

External Factors

General terms, like “small dose” and “large dose,” can be somewhat misleading when discussing Kratom use. This is because a person’s physical size, amount of body fat, genetic profile, age, and how much food and water they have in their system will influence the ways that a particular amount of Kratom will interact with their body.

The quality and potency of the Kratom they are consuming will also play a role in everything, from how quickly the Kratom will affect them to how long those effects will last.

Peak Effects

Regardless of how much Kratom an individual has consumed, most find that they experience the peak effects from Kratom roughly 1.5 hours after they ingest it.

The Half-life of Kratom

No matter what substance you have ingested, your body begins processing and eliminating that substance as quickly as it can. The body will absorb some, which is what causes the physical and mental effects we associate with the ingestion of Kratom and other substances, while the rest of the substance will be excreted by the body as efficiently as possible.

What Does the Term “Half-life” Mean?

When describing how long substances stay in the body, the scientific community usually measures the half-life of each particular substance. The term “half-life” refers to the amount of time it takes the body to process and eliminates exactly one-half of the substance. As you would expect, the longer the half-life of a substance is, the longer it will affect a person after they have consumed it.

For example, the average half-life of caffeine in a healthy human body is roughly five-to-six hours. This means, after consuming caffeine, your body will have broken down and eliminated roughly half of it about five hours later.

Kratom’s Half-life

When discussing the half-life of Kratom, it becomes a little bit more difficult to come up with exact figures. This is simply because there has been less scientific research performed on Kratom than there has been on more common substances, like caffeine, alcohol, and a variety of recreational and prescription drugs.

Based on the available information, it is suspected that Kratom has a half-life of 23.25 hours or nearly a full day. This estimate is largely based on the current belief that the primary active alkaloid found in Kratom – mitragynine – has a half-life just shy of 24 hours.

In other words, it would take the average person nearly two days to fully clear any traces of Kratom from their system. Again, these general figures will vary from one person to the next based on a wide range of factors.

While these half-life estimates are far from perfect, more information is sure to surface as further research is conducted on Kratom and its effects on the human body.

Factors that Influence the Duration of Time that Kratom Stays in Your System

We discussed some of the factors that influence Kratom’s half-life above, but we will now go over them in more detail, so you will have a greater understanding of how long it might stay within your own system:

• Age: Older people usually have a longer elimination half-life than their younger counterparts. Not only is this the case with Kratom ingestion, but it also tends to be the case with just about any orally ingested substance. As the body ages, it becomes less efficient, which explains why the half-life for most substances grows longer as we get older. 
• Body Fat and Physical Health: The amount of body fat a person carries will also play a role in how long it will take for the active alkaloids in Kratom to be eliminated from the body. Kratom alkaloids are very fat-soluble, which means those with a higher body-fat percentage will usually retain Kratom metabolites inside their body longer than someone with a lower body-fat percentage. In general, healthy people also tend to process substances much faster than less healthy individuals, so, if you are healthy, there is a good chance your body will process Kratom relatively quickly. 
• The Genetic Component: Certain individuals process particular substances faster than others. In most cases, this is simply down to their particular genetic makeup, so it can be difficult to predict. Your metabolic rate and how healthy your digestive system is will play a major role in how long the effects of Kratom last. 
• Water and Food Intake: The amount of food and water in your stomach will also impact the speed, severity, and duration of Kratom effects. If you have an empty stomach, any Kratom you ingest will likely impact you faster and have a stronger effect than if recently ate. 
• The Potency of the Kratom: As mentioned previously, the type of Kratom you take – in terms of the specific strain but also the form it is taken – will impact how long it stays in your system and how long the effects will last. Kratom can lose potency over time, and low-quality Kratom tends to be less potent than fresh Kratom that is grown and dried properly.

Will Kratom Show Up During a Drug Test?

In most cases, Kratom will not show up on a standard drug test. While it is possible to detect Kratom in the blood and urine, it is rarely tested for.

Part of the reason why Kratom does not show up on standard drug tests is simply that it is not being looked for. This could change in the future, especially as Kratom becomes a more mainstream substance and awareness of it grows. But for now, there is little chance Kratom would show up on most drug tests.

That being said, there is a specific Kratom test called the Kratom 10-panel Drug Test. This test is designed to specifically test for the presence of Kratom in a person’s system; however, the test is fairly uncommon.

Final Words

Like any substance, Kratom will linger in the body, even after its effects are no longer noticeable.

For most people, the actual effects will last for about three hours, although this can differ depending on a variety of factors. Even after the peak effects have faded, you will likely still experience some lingering effects that will fade gradually over the course of a few hours.

The only true way to know how long Kratom will last is to carefully manage dose control. As with most things, experience tends to be the best teacher when discussing Kratom use. Always use high-quality Kratom from a reputable source and be careful about starting out slow and building your experience over time.