Creatine monohydrate
The most-studied sports supplement for strength; research on brain effects such as memory and fatigue during sleep loss is newer and smaller.
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Research
REALITY CHECK // Creatine is best known for strength and lean-mass gains alongside resistance training.
Levels: how we grade evidence. Grey = evidence of no benefit; amber = evidence it makes this goal worse.
Ratings are self-reported by a self-selected group of users: how it felt, not proof that it works.
>_ Protocol data coming soon: label checker ("Check your bottle"), study snapshot and form comparison for Creatine monohydrate.
How it was studied
Summary
Creatine is best known for strength and lean-mass gains alongside resistance training. Brain effects are less certain. Meta-analyses of RCTs found small memory improvements; one found them clearest in older adults, another in people with health conditions and in women, so who benefits most is unsettled. Small RCTs suggest it softens the drop in mental performance during a night without sleep. It is not a stimulant.
Mechanism
Creatine is stored as phosphocreatine, which rapidly regenerates ATP, the cell's energy currency. Supplements raise muscle creatine reliably and brain creatine modestly; the brain effect may matter most when energy demand rises, for example during sleep loss.
Typical studied dose
Memory trials used roughly 2.2–20 g/day for 5 days to 24 weeks. Sleep-deprivation trials used 20 g/day for 7 days, or a single dose of 0.2–0.35 g/kg body weight. Muscle studies typically used 3–5 g/day, sometimes after a 5–7 day loading phase of about 20 g/day.
Upper limit
Neither EFSA nor the FDA sets a formal upper limit for creatine. The ISSN position stand reports intakes up to 30 g/day for up to 5 years were well tolerated in healthy people. High single doses used in brain studies (0.35 g/kg) have no long-term safety data.
Popular stacks with Creatine monohydrate
Not enough stack data yet. A combination with Creatine monohydrate appears here once 5 people rate the same set.
Red flags: interactions and who should avoid it
Interactions
Creatine raises blood creatinine, which can make kidney function (eGFR) look worse on a lab report without actual kidney damage; tell your doctor you take it. Use caution with drugs that can strain the kidneys, such as ciclosporin (theoretical concern, not tested in trials). Large single doses can cause loose stools; splitting the dose helps.
Avoid or ask a doctor first if
Existing kidney disease, unless your doctor approves and monitors it. Bipolar disorder: in a small open study, both patients with bipolar depression developed hypomania or mania when creatine was added; talk to your psychiatrist first. Pregnancy, breastfeeding and under 18: not enough safety data.
Sources (PubMed)
- The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
PMID 39070254 · 2024 · Systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 RCTsMemory improved (moderate certainty); attention and processing speed evidence low certainty.
- Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
PMID 35984306 · 2023 · Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTsMemory gain clear in adults 66–76, absent in ages 11–31.
- Creatine monohydrate improved cycling Wingate performance but not cognitive function in young active males and females.
PMID 41960895 · 2026 · RCT, 40 young active adults, 1 weekNo cognitive effect in young active adults after 20 g/day for one week.
- Effect of creatine supplementation and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol.
PMID 16416332 · 2006 · Double-blind trial, 19 healthy adultsSmaller decline in reaction time, balance and mood after 24 hours awake.
- Single-Dose Creatine Reduces Sleep Deprivation-Induced Deterioration in Cognitive Performance.
PMID 42075005 · 2026 · RCT, 29 healthy adults, single doseSingle 0.2 g/kg dose reduced cognitive decline during 21 hours awake.
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine.
PMID 28615996 · 2017 · Position stand (narrative review)Up to 30 g/day for 5 years well tolerated in healthy people.
- Creatine monohydrate in resistant depression: a preliminary study.
PMID 17988366 · 2007 · open-label add-on study (n=10)Both bipolar patients developed hypomania or mania on creatine.
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