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Does Creatine Make You Smarter Too?
In Does Creatine Make You Smarter?, Dynomight looks beyond creatine’s familiar use for strength and asks whether the same energy system might also improve how the brain performs.
The answer appears to be: maybe a little.
A 2024 analysis of 16 randomized trials found modest improvements in memory, attention, and processing speed, but not in overall cognition or executive function. The certainty of the evidence ranged from moderate for memory to low or very low for most other areas.
The effects may be more noticeable in older adults, vegetarians, people experiencing mental fatigue, and those who are sleep deprived. One small randomized study found that a large dose helped reduce the decline in cognitive performance during 21 hours without sleep. That is interesting, but it does not mean creatine increases general intelligence in a healthy, rested person.
The European Food Safety Authority reviewed the research and concluded that the evidence was not consistent enough to approve a claim that creatine improves cognition. Benefits observed at high short-term doses were not reliably reproduced with lower or longer-term supplementation.
Creatine is one of the rare supplements with strong evidence that it can help make you stronger. The possibility that it might also make the brain slightly more resilient under stress is fascinating.
It probably will not make anyone smarter in the way the headline suggests. But helping a tired or aging brain maintain its performance may still be valuable.