If you’ve written creatine off as something just for bodybuilders, the research on memory, focus and mental energy may change your mind.
Creatine has spent thirty years filed under muscle building, but it’s really about cellular energy, and your brain is one of the most energy-hungry organs you own. Research suggests a daily serve of creatine monohydrate may support memory, attention and processing speed, with the clearest signals in older adults, people who are stressed or short on sleep, vegetarians and vegans, and potentially just women in general. It’s not a stimulant or a hormone and it won’t make you “bulky”. But at 3–5 g a day, taken consistently, it’s one of the most researched and best-value supplements out there.
Creatine has an image problem.
POV: I’m a big plastic tub, in a gym bag and I’m pasted everywhere in bodybuilding forums.
If you’ve never touched it because you assumed it wasn’t for you, that’s not an oversight on your part. The marketing was never aimed at you. But the research has quietly moved on, and some of the most interesting creatine studies of the past few years have nothing to do with biceps (although it is great for refueling and re-energising the muscles!).
Here’s what that means.
Your body makes some of its own creatine, and you get more from meat and fish (so I’m also looking at you vegans/vegetarians!!). Around 95% of it is stored in your muscles, but you’re turning over roughly 1–2% of your stores every day, and most of us aren’t walking around with full ones. That’s the entire logic of a daily serve: you’re topping up a system that’s already running.
Your brain runs on the same fuel
Your brain is around 2% of your body weight and uses roughly 20% of your energy. Anything that supports cellular energy is therefore worth investigating for the brain, and that’s exactly what researchers have been doing.
A 2024 analysis pooling 16 randomised trials in nearly 500 adults found creatine supplementation may improve memory, attention and processing speed. An earlier analysis of memory studies found the benefit was strongest in older adults. Two groups stand out in the research. People who are sleep deprived or under high mental load seem to notice creatine most, which makes sense when you remember it’s an energy buffer; a buffer matters most when the tank is being drained. And vegetarians and vegans, who get little creatine from food, tend to start with lower stores and have responded well in memory studies.
Researchers are exploring creatine for supporting the brain’s energy supply after concussion and mild traumatic brain injury, and there are some studies that also show positive effects for mood!
What about women specifically?
This is where I find the research most exciting for my own clients.
Women tend to carry lower creatine stores than men, and hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause all change how the body handles energy. Researchers are actively studying whether creatine may help with cycle-related fatigue, and in postmenopausal women there’s evidence that creatine combined with resistance training may support muscle and bone. Shout out to all my postpartum mums who have a case of baby brain- YES it’s a real physiological thing and YES creatine can help!
Important side notes:
Some people notice the scales rise slightly in the first weeks of starting creatine. That’s water moving into your muscle cells, which is exactly where you want it, and it settles. The second thing is, some people can get bloated with creatine if you start having too much too quickly, so go easy. Start with a low dose (2g per serve to begin with for a week or two) and see how your body responds. Then work your way up to the full dose.
Do you need creatine to be healthy?
Absolutely not. Whole foods, sleep, movement and managing stress will always matter more than any powder. BUT creatine is a really nice optional extra with solid evidence behind it.
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It’s most worth considering if:
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You eat little or no meat or fish
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You’re over 40 and thinking about strength, bone and memory for the decades ahead
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You’re strength training through perimenopause or menopause
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You’re in a season of broken sleep or heavy mental load, like shift work, study or a new baby
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You already train regularly and want the best-evidenced supplement to support it
So to break it down.
Creatine’s reputation was built in the gym, but it’s full potential is so much bigger than that. It supports the energy system every cell in your body uses, and your brain is one of the highest users of them all. The research on memory, attention and mental energy is growing, particularly for women, older adults and anyone running on less sleep and more stress than they’d like. If that’s you, a daily serve is one of the simplest experiments in nutrition.
By Georgina Waugh
Clinical Nutritionist (BHSc Nut Med)
Wellbeing George Nutrition