Most people reach for caffeine after a bad night’s sleep, but recent research suggests creatine might be a worthy alternative.
In a 2024 study published in Scientific Reports, scientists looked at the link between creatine and sleep deprivation. They kept 15 healthy young people awake for 21 hours straight on two separate occasions.
During one all-nighter, each participant took a large dose of creatine—0.35 grams per kilogram of body weight, or about 28 grams for a 175-pound man. During the other, they took a placebo.
Throughout the night—at 6 p.m., midnight, 2 a.m., and 4 a.m.—the researchers scanned the participants’ brains, measured their fatigue, and ran tests assessing their memory, language, and attention.
On placebo night, participants became increasingly sleepy, and their test scores dropped steadily as the night wore on.
Their brain scans reflected this, showing a drop in the phosphocreatine-to-phosphate (PCr/Pi) ratio and a rise in brain acidity—two signs that their brain’s energy reserves were running low.
The results looked very different after taking creatine.
Instead of becoming more fatigued, their tiredness actually decreased, and their cognitive test performance improved. Compared to the beginning of the night, their language, logic, and numeric test scores increased by an average of 29%, 16%, and 24%, respectively.
Creatine also reduced early-morning fatigue by 8% and helped preserve their brain pH and PCr/Pi ratio.
Can Creatine Really Help with Sleep Deprivation?
According to the results of this study, creatine can boost your brainpower when you’re sleep deprived.
And what’s especially interesting is how fast the creatine worked. An earlier study showed creatine can blunt the effects of sleep deprivation, but people had to take it daily for a week.
In this study, a single large dose had measurable benefits within hours, suggesting creatine could offer a quick mental boost after a poor night’s sleep, during mentally demanding work, or before a nightshift.
It also supports the growing theory that the brain may need more creatine than muscle to function optimally.
Most people take 3–5 grams of creatine per day to boost physical performance and recovery, but that may be too low to impact brain function. Only a limited amount of creatine crosses the blood–brain barrier, creating a bottleneck that higher doses may help overcome.
It’s still too early to consider creatine a “cognitive enhancer.” But if future studies confirm these results, it might soon be one of the best supplements you can take—not just for your body, but for your brain, too.
Which Type of Creatine Offsets Sleep Deprivation Best?
Research into creatine and sleep deprivation is still in its infancy, so it’s too early to know which type of creatine is most beneficial.
That said, creatine monohydrate is probably your best bet—it’s the most widely studied, affordable, and well-established form, and it’s the one used in this study.
If you want a pure and potent source of creatine monohydrate that’s free from artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk and independently certified to contain no contaminants or banned substances, try Legion’s creatine monohydrate, creatine gummies, creatine capsules, or Recharge.
Or if you want to know exactly which supplements you should take to reach your fitness goals, take our free 60-second quiz and find out now.
Scientific References +
- Gordji-Nejad, Ali, et al. “Single Dose Creatine Improves Cognitive Performance and Induces Changes in Cerebral High Energy Phosphates during Sleep Deprivation.” Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, 28 Feb. 2024, p. 4937, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54249-9.
- McMorris, T., et al. “Effect of Creatine Supplementation and Sleep Deprivation, with Mild Exercise, on Cognitive and Psychomotor Performance, Mood State, and Plasma Concentrations of Catecholamines and Cortisol.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 185, no. 1, 17 Jan. 2006, pp. 93–103, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0269-z.
- Roschel, Hamilton, et al. “Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health.” Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 2, 10 Feb. 2021, p. 586, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020586. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
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