Amit S Sardal is a Mumbai-based Fitness Expert, Trainer, Educator, and Learning & Development professional specializing in Fitness Education & Exercise Science.
With over 15 years of experience, he has contributed to developing the next generation of fitness coaches and trainers through teaching at leading fitness academies. He currently delivers lectures for the postgraduate Master’s in Human Movement programme at Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya, affiliated with the University of Mumbai.
What sets him apart is his holistic approach to fitness and wellbeing as he emphasizes the integration of Strength Training and sustainable lifestyle modifications to promote physical as well as mental wellness. His diverse clientele encompasses various age-groups, sportspersons for whom he brings a customized approach via in-person & online training with a focus on using exercise to promote mental wellbeing.
For decades, creatine has been associated with bodybuilders, strength athletes and individuals looking to improve their performance in the gym. It is one of the most extensively researched sports supplements, with well-established benefits for strength, power and high-intensity exercise performance.
But what if the same supplement that helps your muscles perform better could also help your brain?
Recent studies suggest that creatine supplementation may offer benefits beyond muscular performance, potentially influencing memory, attention and mental fatigue. However, more research is needed before these cognitive benefits can be firmly established.
How Does Creatine Work in the Brain?
On Mental Health Day, let’s discuss how this could be used as another small hack to help our brain perform better. To understand creatine’s potential benefits, we must first understand how it works.
Our cells require energy in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Creatine, through its conversion into phosphocreatine, helps regenerate ATP rapidly when energy demands increase. This mechanism is particularly useful during short, intense muscular efforts, such as lifting weights or sprinting.
However, muscles are not the only tissues requiring energy. The brain, despite representing only a small percentage of our body weight, consumes approximately 20% of the body’s resting energy expenditure. Everything from remembering information to solving problems and maintaining attention involves energy-dependent processes. Researchers are therefore investigating whether increasing creatine availability in the brain could improve certain aspects of cognitive performance.
Where Do We Get Creatine From?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by the body, primarily in the liver and kidneys, using the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. It is also obtained through our diet, particularly from animal-based foods such as meat, poultry and fish. However, the quantities obtained through food are generally much lower than those used in supplementation studies. While several forms of creatine supplements are commercially available, creatine monohydrate remains the most extensively researched and scientifically supported form. Importantly, all four studies discussed in this article either used creatine monohydrate or, in the case of the meta-analysis, examined trials using this form.
What Does Research Say About Creatine and Cognitive Function?
Several studies provide interesting insights:
1. Gordji-Nejad et al. (2024): In a study involving 15 healthy adults undergoing sleep deprivation, a single high dose of creatine improved aspects of cognitive performance and processing speed along with changes in brain energy metabolism.
2. Gordji-Nejad et al. (2026): A subsequent research involving 29 participants found that creatine reduced deterioration in certain cognitive tasks, including logical reasoning, vigilance and processing speed, during sleep deprivation.
3. Xu et al. (2024): A meta-analysis involving 16 randomised controlled trials and 492 participants reported improvements in memory, attention time and processing speed.
4. Sandkühler et al. (2023): A randomised controlled study involving 123 adults found, at most, a small potential benefit to working memory after six weeks of supplementation, with no convincing improvement in general reasoning ability.
The findings suggest that creatine might be particularly useful when the brain is experiencing increased metabolic stress, rather than necessarily improving cognition in healthy, well-rested individuals.
Should You Take Creatine for Brain Health?
Not quite.
While creatine’s benefits for strength and athletic performance are well documented, its potential effects on cognitive function are still being investigated.
Importantly, the promising sleep-deprivation studies used unusually high experimental doses. These should not be confused with the conventional 3–5 grams daily commonly used for muscular benefits.
In 2024, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that a causal relationship between creatine supplementation and improved cognitive function had not yet been established. Individuals with medical conditions, particularly kidney disease, should seek medical advice before supplementation.
Creatine and Brain Health: The Bigger Picture
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this research is that it challenges our tendency to view physical and mental performance as entirely separate pursuits.
The brain and muscles are different organs, but both depend upon efficient energy metabolism. Creatine may eventually prove useful beyond the weight room. For now, its muscular benefits remain considerably better established than its cognitive ones.
Creatine is not yet a proven brain booster, but it has certainly earned the attention of researchers studying brain health.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, psychiatrist, or other qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here. Reliance on any information provided in this article is solely at your own risk.