Can creatine supplements support brain health?

If you regularly work out or follow any sports influencers, you’re likely to have heard of creatine. 

In the 1990s, creatine entered the marketplace as a supplement to enhance sports performance and help build muscle.

More recently, claims have been made that creatine supplements can also increase your thinking skills and protect your brain health as you age.

Here, we dive into the research to explore whether these supplements really can benefit your brain.

What is creatine?

When you consume energy, your cells can’t directly use it. First, it has to convert it to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — the cell’s “energy currency.” Creatine helps cells make more ATP in times of increased exertion, like exercise.

At any point in time, around 95% of your body’s creatine is in your skeletal muscles, ready to lend a hand if you burst into action. The rest is in your brain, liver, kidneys, and elsewhere.

The main dietary sources of creatine are animal products, particularly meat. Products containing soy are the best plant-based sources of creatine.

Creatine in sports

Unlike the vast majority of supplements, there is good evidence that creatine is effective. According to a review published by the International Society of Sports Nutrition, “Studies have consistently shown that creatine supplementation [...] can improve exercise performance.”

The authors also explain that there’s good evidence that it can improve post-exercise recovery, injury prevention, and help build muscle.

Although they aren’t as effective for all people or all types of activity, and most of the research has focused on healthy men, it’s clear why creatine supplements are some of the most popular for athletes. 

Next, we explore whether creatine can be as beneficial for brain health as it is for exercise performance.

Creatine and thinking skills

Your muscles take creatine from your diet and also produce it in certain organs, but your brain is different. While it can derive creatine the same way as your muscles, it can also make its own. 

This means that while vegetarians and vegans have lower levels of creatine in their blood than omnivores, levels in the brain are kept roughly the same.

That your brain can generate its own supply of creatine suggests it’s important for brain health. This begs the question: Can creatine improve thinking skills?

For instance, in one study, 34 healthy young adults took creatine supplements for 2 weeks, and performance improved in some cognitive tasks.

However, a study involving 22 young adults taking creatine for 6 weeks did not find any benefits, and another on 30 young adults for 6 weeks had similarly negative findings.

One of the most recent studies on the topic, published in 2024, found that just a single dose of creatine did improve cognitive performance in people who were sleep deprived. A study published around the same time didn’t find a significant effect.

Performance during times of stress

Some scientists have investigated the benefits of creatine on thinking skills under stressful conditions. The theory is that the benefits might be more pronounced when the brain is under duress. 

In one such study, 15 people took creatine or placebo supplements for 1 week. The participants were then subjected to hypoxia (a lack of oxygen), which makes it harder to maintain your attention. 

Those who had been taking creatine maintained their attention during hypoxia, while those taking placebo did not.  

This is an intriguing result, but it’s difficult to know how useful this effect is in every day life, where oxygen is (thankfully) abundant. It might play a part in sports performance though, especially in sports that require intense physical and mental activity.

In another study, participants were deprived of sleep for up to 24 hours while being asked to exercise occasionally. Those taking the creatine supplement had better mood and performance on a complex mental task than those taking placebo.

Some research focuses on older adults and cognitive decline, but the picture is muddled here, too. Some studies have found benefits, while others have not.

So, as it stands, the evidence for creatine improving cognitive skills is inconclusive.

Creatine and brain injury

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are very common, caused by car accidents, sports injuries, and so on. For some people, they can have a long-lasting effect on many aspects of their life, including mood and cognitive performance.

TBIs are asociated with changes within the brain, such as inflammation and nerve damage. They are also associated with reduced levels of creatine. So, could creatine supplements help treat TBIs?

There is some evidence, mostly from animal studies, that this approach might work. But there are very few studies in humans.

The authors of another review conclude that there isn’t enough data to prove that creatine supplements benefit people with TBIs. 

However, they also explain that, because these products seem to be safe and are relatively cheap, and because TBIs can have devastating effects, supplementation for those who are at high risk for TBIs “might be considered more prudent.”

Creatine and neurodegenerative conditions

Neurodegenerative diseases include Parkinson’s and forms of dementia, like Alzheimer’s. These conditions are characterized by a gradual decline in brain function. Currently, treatments mostly tackle symptoms, and there are no cures.

Some scientists are investigating whether creatine supplementation might help slow the progress of these devastating diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists have shown that people who are genetically susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s disease have lower levels of creatine in their brains. 

There’s also some evidence from animal studies that creatine might protect against damage caused by the build-up of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s. However, not all animal studies have had such clear-cut results, and there have been no studies in humans.

Parkinson’s disease

In Parkinson’s disease, brain cells die off in a small part of the brain important for controling precise movements. It causes tremors and makes moving around and carrying out everyday tasks more challenging. It can also cause mental health difficulties and cognitive decline.

Symptoms gradually worsen until the individual can no longer look after themselves.

As with the research into Alzheimer’s, early evidence from animal models suggested creatine supplements might protect against Parkinson’s.

“Overall,” conclude the authors of a review, “there is little evidence to suggest that creatine slows the progression of motor system impairment in [Parkinson’s].” 

So, as it stands, there’s simply not enough evidence to suggest these supplements can help treat Parkinson’s.

Summary

Taken together, creatine supplements do seem to have benefits for sports performance, at least for some people. 

However, when it comes to cognitive skills and neurodegenerative conditions, the jury is out.

As with so many aspects of health and disease, it’s likely that different people respond differently to creatine supplementation.

Perhaps, as scientists continue to investigate, they will find that for certain groups of people, creatine improves thinking skills and staves off diseases of the brain. But for now, the evidence of a protective role for brain health simply isn’t there.