Energy is something most people never have enough of. Muscle power, brain power, balance and alertness all require it. If you’re an athlete or just someone who enjoys brisk walking or working out in the gym for better health, you know what a difference energy makes. Many things can affect energy, such as diet and sleep. But there’s one key ingredient many are unaware of: creatine.
What is creatine?
Composed of three amino acids—the building blocks of protein—creatine has a key role the molecular machinery that translates energy from food metabolism to muscle contraction, nerve transmission, and other processes that maintain life and vitality. Most creatine is stored in muscle, but it’s also in every cell in the body—including the brain.
One to two grams of creatine are synthesized by the body each day. We need to get more from diet. The recommended dietary creatine level is at least 1 gram daily, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) an annual study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The principal sources are meat and fish.
But nearly half of people in the US consume less, the 2017-2018 survey found. (Vegetarians may be at particular risk). Even at an adequate intake, cells store creatine at only 60 to 80 percent of capacity. A supplement can help.
Creatine has been studied since the mid-19th century, but the value of supplementation emerged in a 1992 study showing that it increased creatine storage by 20 to 40 percent, amplified muscle contraction, and reduced fatigue. Impressed by these findings, British athletes in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics took creatine and performed exceptionally well. Since then, there have been more than 650 studies of the compound, and it’s become one of the most popular ergogenic (energy-enhancing) supplements, used by an estimated 40 to 60 percent of athletes, and 5 to 10 percent of the general public.
Creatine benefits for athletes
The best-established use for creatine supplements is improving athletic performance in sports that demand brief periods of intense activity. Athletes who take creatine monohydrate (the formulation used in 95 percent of studies) can sprint faster, lift heavier weights, and respond more forcefully to the high-demand moments of baseball and soccer.
It gives the competitive edge of an extra kick at the end of a long race or game. Researchers found, for example, that it increased swimmers’ speed in the final 50 meters of a 400-meter swim, and cyclists’ speed in 1 to 4 kilometer (km) sprints to finish a 120 km time trial, according to data cited in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Medicine.
This may be because the compound increases the supply of glycogen, energy-ready carbohydrate stored right in the muscles. Increasing glycogen is the rationale for carbohydrate loading before a marathon, and the addition of creatine makes it more effective.
There is also evidence that creatine increases muscle mass and strength. A 2020 study found improvements in chest press, leg press, and total body strength with creatine, compared with placebo, and a 2011 study showed increased muscle thickness around the elbow after 6 weeks of training, according to a review published in the journal Nutrients in 2024.
Injury prevention and recovery
Tired muscle is more prone to injury, and creatine has been shown to delay and reduce fatigue, offering protection against strains, sprains, and muscle tears.
It guards the brain as well. The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends that athletes in sports that risk brain or spinal cord injury take supplements for neuroprotection.
Because creatine increases the amount of water stored in the body, it can reduce heat-related injury. One 2003 study, conducted at Arkansas State University, of 72 college football players training in a hot, humid environment found less muscle cramping, heat illness, strains and total injuries in those who took creatine. If you are injured in a game or an everyday mishap, the compound has been shown to promote a faster recovery. The healing process requires neuromuscular stimulation, and the energy from creatine activates nerve cells.
Similarly, creatine can reduce the atrophy that often sets in after an injury forces inactivity. A limb in a cast, for example, will lose muscle at a slower rate, and regain it faster after the cast is removed.
Creatine loading beforehand can prevent atrophy when a period of inactivity is anticipated—with orthopedic surgery, for example. Doctors often advise optimizing physical condition with diet and training for several weeks before surgery, and creatine can make this regimen more effective.
Exercise for health
The benefits of creatine aren’t just for competitors. In fact, it at least as important for nonathletes, throughout the life cycle. About 40 percent of creatine studies, in fact, have included untrained individuals who are just beginning training.
When starting an exercise regimen for better health, a little encouragement goes a long way. Often, novice exercisers push themselves too hard, get sore and achy, and decide it’s not for them. Creatine makes this less likely. A 2024 study at Institute of Physical Education, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan. found that 28 days of supplementation reduced muscle soreness after exercise. Exercisers can work out longer and harder, and see results faster.
Creatine monohydrate benefits go beyond exercise, boosting energy levels for everyday activities, and alleviating fatigue. A small 2023 study found it even improves the fatigue and “brain fog” of long COVID.
Creatine benefits in later life
For older people, creatine appears to offer dividends for both mind and body. We lose muscle as we age—on average, 0.9 percent each year after 60 for men, 0.7 percent for women, according to a 2012 review in Frontiers in Physiology. Creatine may offset this. Meta-analyses of studies of older adults, reported in the journal Nutrients in 2021, found that those adding the supplement to a resistance exercise regimen gained an average 1.2 kilograms more muscle than those who added placebo.
Stronger muscles and more energy make the ordinary activities of daily living—getting dressed, buying groceries, cleaning the house—easier and more pleasant. The CDC reported in 2024 that more than 25 percent of elders suffer falls each year, with often serious consequences. Stronger muscles mean fewer falls.
Thinking needs energy, and there is evidence that creatine can alleviate or attenuate some of the cognitive decline that typically accompanies aging. NHANES data from 2001 to 2002 indicate that people who consume more than 1 g/daily perform better on tests of memory and thinking ability than those who have less. Whether creatine to supplement dietary intake will slow cognitive decline is unproven, but some 15 studies suggest that it does.
Sleep can be a problem for anyone, but generally worsens with age. Creatine may not help you sleep, but it has been shown to lessen the impact of a poor night’s sleep on mind and mood, according to data cited in the 2017 position paper on creatine supplementation of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Taking supplements for creatine benefits
Studies have found optimal creatine monohydrate benefits with 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight: 5 to 10 grams daily. There don’t appear to be any significant creatine side effects in healthy people. Some report weight gain, but this reflects water retention and new muscle, not fat.
