NUTRITION & SUPPLEMENTATION
Creatine has been a staple of gym bags and protein shakes for decades. But lately, it has been making headlines for something rather different: its effects on the brain. A viral TikTok video by fitness creator @trainbloom has reignited a conversation about high-dose creatine — specifically a single hit of roughly 25 grams — and its potential to sharpen thinking during sleep deprivation. The claims are striking. But how closely does the social media version match the actual science?
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by the body from amino acids, primarily in the liver and kidneys. It is also found in meat and fish. Its main role is to rapidly replenish adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — the molecule your cells use for quick bursts of energy. Around 95% of your body’s creatine is stored in muscle tissue. The remaining portion is concentrated in high-energy organs, including the brain.
The German Research: What It Found
The study at the heart of this conversation was published in Scientific Reports in 2024 by researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany (Gordji-Nejad et al., 2024). Fifteen healthy participants were kept awake for 21 hours. One group received a single high dose of creatine monohydrate — approximately 0.35g per kilogram of body weight, equating to around 24.5g for a 70kg adult — while the other received a placebo.
Brain scans confirmed that creatine helped sustain phosphocreatine and ATP levels during sleep deprivation. Participants who took creatine outperformed those on the placebo on tests of processing speed and short-term memory. The benefits appeared within three to four hours and lasted up to nine hours.
Key Insight: What the Study Did — and Did Not — Show
The TikTok video claims the creatine group performed “even better than if they were well-rested without creatine.” This is not what the published research states. What the study actually shows is that creatine partially reversed the cognitive decline caused by sleep deprivation — a genuinely meaningful finding, but a different one. The study also involved just 15 participants, making it too small to draw confident conclusions for the general population. A 2026 follow-up study in Nutrients (Gordji-Nejad et al., 2026) used 29 participants and a lower dose, confirming improvements in logic, vigilance and numerical processing, and noted that effects appear to be dose-dependent.
Why Sleep Deprivation Is the Key Variable
Under normal conditions, creatine crosses the blood-brain barrier very slowly. Sleep deprivation appears to induce cellular stress that temporarily increases the brain’s uptake of creatine. This is why the results are specific to sleep-deprived conditions. The current evidence does not clearly support the idea that a large single dose boosts cognitive function when you are well-rested.
Creatine Doses at a Glance
| Dose | Common Use | Evidence Base |
|---|---|---|
| 3–5g / day | Standard maintenance | Extensive; well-established for muscle performance and safety |
| 10g / day | Emerging brain health approach | Growing evidence; MRI studies suggest brain uptake increases at this level |
| ~25g single dose | Research/loading phase | Very limited; studied only in sleep-deprived conditions |
The 10g Per Day Question
While 25g is a research-setting dose with specific conditions attached, a more practical figure has gained both scientific and popular attention: 10g per day. Biomedical scientist Dr Rhonda Patrick, speaking on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett in 2025, explained her shift from the standard 5g to 10g daily. She cited MRI-based evidence showing that creatine concentrations in certain brain regions begin to rise noticeably once daily doses move above the standard 5g maintenance level.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition (Xu et al., 2024), covering 16 randomised controlled trials and nearly 500 participants, found statistically significant improvements in memory from creatine supplementation. However, the authors rated the certainty of this evidence as moderate, and evidence for processing speed, executive function and attention was rated as low. More high-powered trials are needed before firm guidance can be issued.
Side Effects at High Doses
At a single dose of around 25g, the most commonly reported side effects are gastrointestinal: bloating, cramping and diarrhoea. These are dose-dependent, meaning the higher the dose, the more likely they are to occur. For most healthy adults, standard doses of 3–5g per day have a strong safety record, with no credible evidence of kidney harm in people without pre-existing kidney conditions. Anyone with kidney disease, or who takes regular medication, should speak to their GP before supplementing.
What UK and EU Regulators Say
In November 2024, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship between creatine supplementation and improved cognitive function in the general population has not been established (EFSA, 2024). The UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee (UKNHCC) published its own scientific opinion in August 2024, reflecting the same cautious position (UKNHCC, 2024). This does not mean creatine has no effect on the brain. It means the evidence is not yet strong or consistent enough to support a formal health claim.
The Bottom Line
Creatine’s potential as a brain supplement is genuinely interesting science. The German research offers a real proof of concept for sleep-deprived conditions, and the growing evidence around 10g daily use is worth watching closely. But the viral story has run ahead of what the data currently supports. A single 25g dose is not a general cognitive booster — it is a research tool used under very specific conditions, with a small number of participants and uncomfortable side effects at that dose.
If you are thinking about increasing your creatine intake beyond the standard 3–5g, a conversation with your GP is the right starting point — particularly if you have any existing health conditions or take regular medication.
References
European Food Safety Authority Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (2024) ‘Creatine and improvement in cognitive function: Evaluation of a health claim pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006’, EFSA Journal, 22(11), e9100. Available at: https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9100 (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
Forschungszentrum Jülich (2024) Creatine improves cognitive performance during sleep deprivation [Press release]. Available at: https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/press-release/2024/creatine-improves-cognitive-performance-during-sleep-deprivation (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
Gordji-Nejad, A., Matusch, A., Kleedörfer, S. et al. (2024) ‘Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation’, Scientific Reports, 14, 4937. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9 (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
Gordji-Nejad, A. et al. (2026) ‘Single-dose creatine reduces sleep deprivation-induced deterioration in cognitive performance’, Nutrients, 18(8), 1192. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/8/1192 (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
Roschel, H., Gualano, B., Ostojic, S.M. and Rawson, E.S. (2021) ‘Creatine supplementation and brain health’, Nutrients, 13(2), 586. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7916590/ (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee (2024) UKNHCC scientific opinion: creatine supplementation and improved cognitive function. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uknhcc-scientific-opinion-creatine-supplementation-and-improved-cognitive-function (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
Xu, C., Bi, S., Zhang, W. and Luo, L. (2024) ‘The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1424972. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1424972/full (Accessed: 1 June 2026).
IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
The content provided in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional or your GP before starting any new supplement regimen, particularly if you manage pre-existing conditions or take prescription medication.
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