Can Creatine Help Your Brain?

Main Chapters:

Creatine is a small molecule, composed of two amino acids, that's abundant in muscle cells as an energy storage system. Our body can make creatine, but eating creatine can be used to boost levels of creatine in muscles, and to a lesser extent, nerves. Decades of research document that creatine, combined with an exercise regimen, will increase muscle size and strength more than exercise alone would do. Creatine is usually well tolerated, but there have been some concerns about people with pre-existing kidney disease.

Preliminary research with sleep deprived individuals, and a variety of neurologic and mental health conditions have suggested that creatine might help in those situations as well. But the studies have been small, and results have been very inconsistent. Large trials of creatine to treat Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease were stopped prematurely, after enrolling hundreds of patients, because there was no demonstrated benefit from creatine. Meta-analyses of human research highlight the lack of large, rigorous studies on cognitive or executive function effects of creatine. No studies of ADHD have been published. There is weak evidence of creatine helping with memory, speed in performing attention tasks, and helping with sleep deprivation.

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References:

References:Creatine Supplementation for Cognition: A Critical Perspective on Promise, Proof, and Public Perception (Igor Eckert 2025)

The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2024)

Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation (2024)

Letter to the Editor: Double-counting due to inadequate statistics leads to false-positive findings in “Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” (2023)

Is It Time for a Requiem for Creatine Supplementation-Induced Kidney Failure? A Narrative Review (2023)

Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health

Full Chapter list:

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Psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author John Kruse, MD, PhD presents practical, actionable, well-researched information about treatment options that scientists and clinicians recommend for adult ADHD and other mental health conditions.

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