Will Creatine Give You Energy? How It Powers Your Mind, Mood, and Memory

Will creatine give you energy? Is there more to this supplement than muscle growth and athletic performance? Let’s dive into how creatine impacts the brain, and its effects on mental energy, mood, and cognitive health.

Creatine 101

Creatine is a compound made by our liver and pancreas that is similar to protein, made up of three amino acids – arginine, glycine, and methionine. It’s found in every cell of the body but is stored mostly in our muscles as phosphocreatine or free creatine. Interestingly, a small but significant amount is also stored in the brain.

Every day, we lose or break down around 1-2% of our creatine stores (about 1-2 grams), which must be replenished through diet or supplementation. Red meat and fish are the best dietary sources of creatine and its amino acid building blocks, while plant-based diets generally fall short. Even those who consume animal protein may benefit from creatine supplementation, especially if they have higher physical or mental demands.

At a cellular level within the mitochondria, creatine supports the production of our body’s main energy source, called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. This occurs via the creatine kinase reaction, where creatine is converted into phosphocreatine. While this is often discussed in the context of muscle performance, your brain relies heavily on this same system, and uses a significant portion of your body’s total energy.

Creatine’s Role in Brain Function

Your brain is one of the most energy-demanding organs in your body, using an estimated 20% of your total energy. To keep up with this constant demand, it relies on compounds like creatine to help fuel brain activity and ensure brain cells all have adequate ATP.

In addition to supporting sustained energy in the brain, creatine also helps with neurotransmitter production, protects brain cells from damage, supports cell repair, and provides antioxidant benefits. All of these responsibilities are key for supporting brain function and reducing brain fatigue and oxidative stress.

Research shows that supplementing with creatine can effectively increase creatine levels in the brain. This may help with mental clarity, memory, and cognitive performance, especially during times of stress, for example in cases of sleep deprivation or travel and jet lag. Let’s dive into more specific brain health benefits of creatine.

Top 3 Research-Backed Brain Health Benefits

1. Boost Cognitive Performance and Mental Energy

One way creatine plays a powerful role in supporting cognition and mental energy is through its antioxidant properties. Creatine helps neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, which is known to impact both brain and hormone health. It also increases the activity of other antioxidants in the body. This becomes especially important during times of hormonal change, like perimenopause, when inflammation and oxidative stress tend to rise.

Creatine may also help improve mental clarity, memory, and processing speed, particularly during periods of high stress, like sleep deprivation, intense focus, mental fatigue, and hypoxia (a lack of oxygen to the tissues, which can happen in cases of sleep apnea). One study even found that a single high dose of creatine helped reverse mental fatigue caused by sleep loss.

Supplementing with creatine has been shown to increase brain creatine levels, but the optimal amount varies. Research has shown 10 grams of creatine per day effectively increased creatine levels in the brain by 10%. Additional data suggests a higher dose of 20 grams per day for a week or moderate dose of 4-5 grams per day for several months is also effective for boosting cognitive function and mental energy.

2. Support Mood and Mental Health

Creatine also has been shown to impact mood and aspects of mental health and wellbeing. Research has found that people with depression often have lower creatine levels in key areas of the brain like the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in regulating mood, memory, decision-making, and emotions.  It’s also been seen that the severity of depressive episodes is inversely linked to creatine levels in the brain – so lower creatine concentrations can lead to more severe episodes.

Supplementing with creatine can help restore energy (ATP) availability in the brain, support neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, and increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a compound with known antidepressant effects.

Research suggests similar dosage listed above for overall brain health has also been shown to help alleviate symptoms of major depressive disorder and improve the effectiveness of antidepressant medications – at least 20 grams per day for at least 4 weeks, or 5 grams for at least 8 weeks. This is a promising area of research, especially for individuals with treatment-resistant mental health disorders, or those seeking complementary support mood and mental health.

3. Protect Against Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Creatine’s benefits also include its potential role in protecting aging brains from cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. In fact, studies have shown that people with neurodegenerative diseases often have lower levels of creatine in the brain, and the severity of the condition may correlate with the degree of this shortfall.

As we get older, the brain’s energy metabolism or utilization naturally declines, which can affect memory, focus, and overall cognitive performance. This decline is even more pronounced in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Oxidative stress and impaired mitochondrial function also significantly impact neurodegenerative conditions, and can worsen their progression. 

Creatine supports mitochondrial function, therefore energy (ATP) production, and may help buffer against oxidative damage that contributes to age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. While more research is needed, creatine is showing promise as part of a brain-boosting wellness routine to protect against age-related cognitive decline, delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases, and even slow disease progression. 

Learn More About Benefits of Creatine Supplementation

With more research, it’s becoming clear that the benefits of creatine go way beyond supporting muscle growth. If you’re under chronic stress, experiencing hormonal shifts, or dealing with sleep deprivation or impaired cognitive function, creatine supplementation can be a simple, research-backed way to support your brain health.

Written by Romana Brennan, MS, RD