With Silicon Valley pouring billions into energy solutions to meet the massive electricity demands of AI, it’s easy to forget that old-fashioned human intelligence is very energy intensive, too. Recent research suggests one potential solution for more brain power: a supplement called creatine.
Human brains are needy; they burn about 20% of the body’s resting energy. Creatine is an organic compound that comes from food and the body’s own natural production. It keeps energy flowing where the body needs it most. Hundreds of studies have looked at the benefits of taking creatine as a supplement, focusing on how it invigorates muscles during short bursts of exercise.
Researchers are now exploring if these supplements can help cognition. Boosting creatine could make us more resilient to life’s biggest brain drains, like suffering a head injury, working intensely, or just fighting the insults of aging.
“There’s good reason to think scientifically that creatine benefits the brain, but those theories need to be tested,” says Matthew Taylor, associate professor of dietetics and nutrition at University of Kansas Medical Center.
Before we start fortifying bread and pasta with creatine or popping supplements, here’s what scientists think about its benefits and risks.
How creatine works
Creatine plays an essential support role in energizing the cells for brain activity, muscle contractions, and even immune responses.
The main source of energy in cells throughout the body isn’t creatine itself, but adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. As our cells use ATP, this molecule loses a tiny unit called a phosphate (made of phosphorus and oxygen). But creatine is standing by the ready, having stored up phosphates for just this occasion. It donates phosphates to replenish the ATP molecules so they can be used for energy again. These instant charge-ups happen repeatedly, billions of times per second, in periods of high demand (like wrapping your mind around the enormity of that statistic).
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As we age, the brain becomes less efficient at using creatine to make energy, leading to several dysfunctions. Power-producing structures called mitochondria start wearing down. Inflammation and excess oxidative stress can overwhelm brain cells. As they die off, cognition declines.
“Older brains become more energy-starved because they don’t produce or use energy as well,” Taylor says. “It’s reasonable that creatine supplements could help prevent brain metabolism changes before people develop issues with cognition.”
Creatine from food
We get creatine from eating certain meats. But most dietary creatine goes to the muscles, not the brain. You’d have to eat loads of food with creatine to get any effect.
Tuna, salmon, and red meat are high in creatine. Herring leads the pack with 1 gram per five-ounce fillet. You might reasonably assume, then, that diets without meat are leaving potential brain benefits on the table. However, research on this point is mixed. At least one study found that vegetarians have similar brain creatine levels as meat-eaters—likely because the brain relies mainly on its own natural creatine production, rather than food sources.
But studies show that when vegetarians significantly up their creatine intake with a supplement, markers of short-term memory improve.
The right dose
Supplements offer much more creatine than food, increasing the likelihood that the compound reaches the brain. The usual supplement for exercise, five grams per day, is equivalent to the amount found in about five pounds of cooked chicken, and even more may be needed to affect cognition.
The brain is surrounded by a layer of tightly joined cells, called the blood-brain barrier, that acts as a bouncer turning away any substances deemed unworthy of accessing our most precious resource. It’s unclear how much creatine the brain bouncer is willing to let inside. If you send a larger crowd of energetic partiers to the door, more may slip through.
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“I’m a big proponent of taking more than what’s typically recommended for athletes,” says Darren Candow, professor of exercise physiology, nutrition, and aging at the University of Regina in Canada. “Muscle is like a vacuum sucking in creatine. Whatever is left over, the brain says, ‘OK, we’ll let you in slowly.’” Candow, who receives a stipend to advise supplement companies, takes 10 grams per day.
Others like Mark Tarnopolsky, professor of neurometabolic disorders at McMaster University in Canada, recommend the lower five-gram dose, especially if you’re supplementing for many years. “Over a lifetime, I don’t think a super-high dose makes sense,” Tarnopolsky says.
Supplementing to protect the aging brain
Some evidence in animals shows that creatine supplements help protect against cognitive issues caused by aging. “In older people, we see mitochondrial DNA damage in the brain, including regions involved in memory,” says Tarnopolsky, who is 63 and started taking creatine in his late 40s. “That’s where creatine has the greatest potential for benefit.”
“There might be subtle improvements you don’t notice on a daily basis,” Taylor says. He takes five grams most days but hasn’t observed cognitive benefits. Sometimes he forgets to have the creatine. “Apparently it doesn’t help me remember to take it,” he says.
More research is needed. A review in 2018 found “tentatively” that creatine supplements improved short-term memory and reasoning in young healthy individuals. Since then, two carefully conducted studies with control groups found similar types of benefits. One reported tiny increases in IQ, with the authors noting that even small differences could support critical tasks like learning and planning.
Specific brain stressors
Compared to effects on memory and age-related brain health, more research shows creatine supplements can protect against specific cognitive stressors.
For example, young adults deprived of sleep for 21 hours performed better on tests of memory when taking 25 grams of creatine. Since travel can be tiring, Candow doubles his dose to 20 grams to counter jet lag from international trips. A 2024 review found creatine helped cognition only in people who were fatigued, though it considered studies mostly involving lower doses.
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Research suggests creatine supplements could protect against bigger stressors like strokes, making them 30-50% less severe. It may also cushion the blow of mild-to-moderate head injuries. “There’s some evidence it helps with brain energy metabolism in those scenarios,” Taylor says.
Such injuries seem to cause metabolic changes similar to effects of Alzheimer’s disease. In a small pilot study, Taylor found that Alzheimer’s symptoms improved with 20 grams of creatine daily. He calls the finding “extremely limited,” though, and is exploring a larger follow-up trial.
Risks
Extensive research on creatine has revealed minimal side effects at lower doses. Creatine monohydrate is the most researched type. “Major side effects are unlikely,” says Tarnopolsky, who launched a company with creatine supplements after decades of studying them. “But at 10 grams or higher, all bets are off.”
In some children with impaired creatine synthesis who took massive doses, creatine has crystallized as kidney stones, but this is rare, Tarnopolsky says—adding that research shows it’s a myth that typical supplement users risk kidney damage.
Another potential issue is that if you supplement with high doses for many years, the body may make less of its own creatine. However, Candow thinks when you stop supplementing, “your brain physiology probably just comes back to normal.” More research is needed in this area.
Taylor notes a few studies in which patients with Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease took big doses over long periods of time. Only minor side effects were reported, like mildly upset stomachs and muscle cramps.
How to take it
Creatine powder is consumed by mixing it into water or other liquids. Tarnopolsky notes that downing creatine alongside a small portion of food may help prevent any stomachaches.
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A buzzy ingredient in supplements is a creatine precursor called GAA. Lab studies suggest creatine plus GAA benefits spatial memory. Such research is promising but “in its infancy,” Candow says. Tarnopolsky recommends against the precursors since much more evidence supports the finished product.
Future research questions
Stacey Ellery, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Australia, is looking at whether taking creatine supplements in pregnancy can protect against complications for the fetus’ developing brain.
“Brain cells make and use creatine while they grow in utero,” Ellery says. “A creatine supplement might supercharge the cells.” In sheep given creatine, the fetus’ brain is more protected from oxygen deprivation. Ellery will start clinical trials in humans soon. Much more research is needed before pregnant women are recommended to actually take creatine to improve pregnancy outcomes.
Ellery also notes how creatine could support another group under stress: new mothers. Some research shows creatine may help with mood disorders, potentially including postpartum depression, in addition to countering sleep deprivation. “Creatine might be advantageous after birth for mom’s recovery, hormone fluctuations, and other issues that come with having a baby,” she says.
In the meantime, the best way for anyone to protect brain energy levels isn’t by taking a creatine supplement. It’s through working out, eating well, and managing stress. “Preliminary evidence suggests creatine could provide added value, but it will never supersede the impact of a healthy lifestyle,” Taylor says.
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