Among the many supplements available on the market, creatine is one of the most popular because of the strong body of evidence supporting its safety and effectiveness. When we talk about creatine, it is normal for us to tend to think of its benefits on strength and muscle mass, or its positive effects on high-intensity and short-duration exercises (for example, a sprint). Even in recent years, evidence has increased regarding its benefits in endurance sports (you can read more here). However, looking beyond its effects on muscle, recent evidence suggests that creatine could also benefit another of the most important organs: the brain.
Although creatine is mainly present in muscle, there is a small (but important) percentage present in other organs such as the brain. In this sense, it is important to remember that, although the brain is a small part of our body in terms of volume (approximately 2%), it is one of the organs with the highest energy requirements (using approximately 20% of the total energy). That is why creatine also plays an important role for the proper functioning of the nervous system, especially in situations where brain function is compromised (1). In this context, creatine supplementation could be beneficial for improving brain health and cognitive performance, or at least attenuating their deterioration in certain situations (for example, with aging). But what does science say?
Benefits of creatine in cognition
Although the evidence continues to grow, there is a strong enough basis to support the potential benefits of creatine on cognition, especially in some specific populations. For example, a meta-analysis that included 10 studies looked at the effects of creatine supplementation (usually administered in doses of around 3-5 g/day, although it depends on the study) on memory, observing benefits especially in older people (>65 years), although not so much in young people (between 11-31 years) (2). However, other studies have found such benefits even in young, healthy people. More than 20 years ago, a study showed that creatine supplementation (5 grams per day for 6 weeks) improved memory and intelligence in 45 young adults. Of course, the participants were vegetarians, and one might think that the benefits were due to the fact that they did not get enough through their usual diet (3). However, another, more recent study in 123 subjects (of which half were vegetarians and the other half were not) has shown that the same creatine supplementation protocol improved cognitive performance in young people, and did so in a similar way in both vegetarians and non-vegetarians (4).
Creatine in situations of mental fatigue and sleep deprivation
On the other hand, creatine could also attenuate the harmful effects of mental fatigue. In this sense, one study showed that supplementation with 8 grams per day for only 5 days attenuated the mental deterioration that occurred with a placebo after repeated mathematical calculations (5). In addition, we know that lack of sleep greatly affects cognitive performance, and that part of these effects could be due to the brain's high demand for creatine. In this regard, there is evidence showing that creatine supplementation could improve cognitive performance under conditions of sleep deprivation. Specifically, one study administered a single dose of 0.35 g/kg of creatine (about 25 grams for a 70 kg person) or placebo to a group of participants for an entire day during which they did not sleep at all (6). Interestingly, the results showed that this protocol not only maintained creatine levels at the brain level, but also attenuated the drop in cognitive performance. These findings could also have relevance at the sports level, and in fact, compared to a placebo, creatine has been shown to attenuate the deterioration in technical performance in rugby players who were in conditions of sleep deprivation (7).
Conclusions
Although more studies are needed to confirm whether creatine can improve cognitive performance specifically in athletes, it has been shown to exert benefits at the brain level, especially in older people and in other situations that could be relevant in sport, such as in conditions of mental fatigue or sleep deprivation. We often overlook it, but we must bear in mind that success in many sports has a substantial cognitive component, making it especially important to maintain cognitive performance under fatigue. Therefore, we see how creatine not only has benefits on a physical level, but can even have them at the brain level.
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CREATINE MONOHYDRATE (Creapure®) – NEUTRAL FLAVOR
Pedro Valenzuela
Researcher in the Physiology Unit of the University of Alcalá and in the Performance Control Unit at the Sports Medicine Center (AEPSAD, CAR of Madrid).
Web: www.fissac.com
References
1. Forbes C, Cordingley D, Cornish S, Gualano B, Roschel H, Ostojic S, et al. Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health. Nutrients. 2022;14(921):225–39.
2. Prokopidis K, Giannos P, Triantafylidis KK, Kechagias K, SC F, Candow D. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Rev. 2022;In press.
3. Rae C, Digney AL, McEwan SR, Bates TC. Oral creatine monohydrate supplementation improves brain performance: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 2003;270(1529):2147–50.
4. Sandkühler JF, Kersting X, Faust A, Königs EK, Altman G, Ettinger U, et al. The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive performance—a randomised controlled study. BMC Med [Internet]. 2023;21(1):1–16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03146-5
5. Watanabe A, Kato N, Kato T. Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation. Neurosci Res. 2002;42(4):279–85.
6. Gordji-Nejad A, Matusch A, Kleedörfer S, Jayeshkumar Patel H, Drzezga A, Elmenhorst D, et al. Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation. Sci Rep [Internet]. 2024;14(1):1–15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54249-9
7. Cook CJ, Crewther BT, Kilduff LP, Drawer S, Gaviglio CM. Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation – a randomized placebo-controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr [Internet]. 2011;8(1):2. Available from: http://www.jissn.com/content/8/1/2
