Is creatine good for your brain, not just your muscles?

Numbers match the citations in the article. A working link isn't proof that a page supports a claim; check the quoted passage and date.

1. 1

   Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

   Nutrition Reviews (Prokopidis et al.)Published Aug 19, 2022Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “DATA EXTRACTION: Twenty-three eligible RCTs were initially identified. Ten RCTs examining the effect of creatine supplementation compared with placebo on measures of memory in healthy individuals met the inclusion criteria for systematic review, 8 of which were included in the meta-analysis. DATA ANALYSIS: Overall, creatine supplementation improved measures of memory compared with placebo (standard mean difference [SMD] = 0.29, 95%CI, 0.04-0.53; I2 = 66%; P = 0.02). Subgroup analyses revealed a significant improvement in memory in older adults (66-76 years) (SMD = 0.88; 95%CI, 0.22-1.55; I2 = 83%; P = 0.009) compared with their younger counterparts (11-31 years) (SMD = 0.03; 95%CI, -0.14 to 0.20; I2 = 0%; P = 0.72). Creatine dose (≈ 2.2-20 g/d), duration of intervention (5 days to 24 weeks), sex, or geographical origin did not influence the findings. Creatine supplementation enhanced measures of memory performance in healthy individuals, especially in older adults (66-76 years). SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. 42021281027.”

2. 2

   Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

   Experimental Gerontology (Avgerinos et al.)Published Apr 25, 2018Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Systematic review of six randomised controlled trials with 281 healthy individuals. Short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning may be improved by creatine administration; results for other cognitive domains were conflicting. Older adults (66–76) may benefit more than younger people.”

3. 3

   International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine

   Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Kreider et al.)Published Jan 3, 2017Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “These studies provide a large body of evidence that creatine can not only improve exercise performance, but can play a role in preventing and/or reducing the severity of injury, enhancing rehabilitation from injuries, and helping athletes tolerate heavy training loads. Additionally, researchers have identified a number of potentially beneficial clinical uses of creatine supplementation. These studies show that short and long-term supplementation (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) is safe and well-tolerated in healthy individuals and in a number of patient populations ranging from infants to the elderly. Moreover, significant health benefits may be provided by ensuring habitual low dietary creatine ingestion (e.g., 3 g/day) throughout the lifespan. The purpose of this review is to provide an update to the current literature regarding the role and safety of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine and to update the position stand of International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN).”

4. 4

   Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Loading on Sleep Metrics, Physical Performance, Cognitive Function, and Recovery in Physically Active Men: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.

   Nutrients (Ben et al.)Published Dec 7, 2025Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “During the supplementation, CrM improved sleep quality compared to PL, as measured with the SSQ scale (d = 0.81, p = 0.009), and was associated with an earlier in-bed time (r = 0.60; p = 0.026). However, CrM did not affect sleep latency (t = 0.98; p = 0.35), sleep efficiency (t = 0.018; p = 0.98), or total sleep time (t = 0.25; p = 0.81). After the supplementation phase, CrM resulted in significantly lower muscle soreness scores, as measured by the Hooper questionnaire (d = -0.59; p = 0.046), improved cognitive performance on the DCT (d = 0.77; p = 0.013), and enhanced TD (r = 0.88; p p p > 0.05). A 7-day CrM loading protocol improved subjective sleep quality during the supplementation phase, enhanced cognitive performance, and increased physical output during high-intensity intermittent exercise. CrM also reduced muscle soreness, but did not significantly affect objective sleep parameters, or recovery markers up to 72 h post-exercise. These findings suggest that CrM may offer additional benefits beyond its traditional ergogenic role.”

5. 5

   Real-world creatine supplementation: a large-scale cross-sectional study of use, knowledge, and experiences.

   Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Burridge et al.)Published Jul 21, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Cognitive performance was the most commonly endorsed goal (67.8%) yet showed the largest within-person unmet-expectation rate (64.4% of cognitive-goal endorsers did not perceive a matched cognitive benefit; McNemar p ConclusionsIn this middle-aged, gender-balanced community sample of creatine users, behavioral loyalty was high yet substantial knowledge gaps, unmet benefit expectations, and self-reported side-effect burdens disproportionately affected women and older adults, who together comprise an increasingly important share of contemporary creatine users. Knowledge appeared as the most consistent positive correlate of supplementation experience, suggesting education may be a tractable lever for improving real-world outcomes; misconceptions about kidney safety and long-term tolerability may warrant particular attention as educational targets. The cognitive expectation gap may reflect a dose-translation issue rather than absence of efficacy. These findings generate hypotheses for prospective evaluation of education, gender-tailored dosing guidance, and expectation-setting interventions in real-world creatine users.”

6. 6

   Evaluating the Safety of Creatine Monohydrate in Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Renal, Hepatic, and Cardiometabolic Outcomes.

   Cureus (Rubinchuk et al.)Published Apr 10, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “A comprehensive search of PubMed was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify relevant human studies published between 2015 and 2025. Inclusion criteria required original research involving adolescents or physically active youth receiving creatine monohydrate with reported safety outcomes. Five studies met eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis, comprising randomized controlled trials and longitudinal cohort studies. Across diverse populations, including youth athletes and adolescents with medical conditions, creatine supplementation was generally well tolerated, with no consistent short-term safety signals reported in renal function, liver enzymes, or cardiometabolic risk markers within the study periods. No serious adverse events were attributed to supplementation. These findings summarize currently available evidence regarding creatine safety in adolescent and physically active pediatric populations and highlight the need for larger prospective studies with standardized dosing protocols and longer follow-up periods.”