Creatine and the brain: what the research actually says
September 10, 2026

Creatine and the brain: what the research actually says

Creatine has a reputation as a gym supplement. That is where most of the research started, and it is where the strongest evidence still sits. Over the last twenty years a second line of research has grown alongside it, asking a simpler question: the brain uses a lot of energy, creatine helps cells recycle energy, so does topping it up change anything upstairs?

Here is a plain reading of that research, including the parts that are still open. If you would rather skip to the tub, it is Clean Creatine: 3g a serving, unflavoured, and it stirs into a glass of HIRO hydration in the morning.

Why anyone asked the question

Creatine is stored mainly in muscle, but the brain holds a share of it too. Its job in both places is the same: it helps regenerate ATP, the molecule cells spend when they do work. The brain is a heavy spender, using around a fifth of the body's energy at rest, so the idea that a bigger creatine reserve might help under load is reasonable. Whether it does is a question for trials, and there have now been a fair number.

What the trials found

Vegetarians and a short-term boost. One of the earliest well-known studies, from Rae and colleagues at the University of Sydney in 2003, gave 5g of creatine a day to vegetarian adults for six weeks and found improvements on working memory and a reasoning task compared with placebo. Vegetarians start with lower creatine stores because meat and fish are the main dietary sources, so this is the group you would expect to see the clearest effect in. Clean Creatine is vegan, which is partly why it exists.

Sleep deprivation and stress. Several studies have looked at creatine when the brain is under pressure rather than at rest. Results are mixed but lean positive, particularly for tasks that need sustained attention after a poor night. A 2024 study from Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany found a single large dose improved processing speed during a night without sleep.

Memory. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis in Nutrition Reviews pooled the randomised trials and concluded creatine improved memory measures, with the clearest signal in adults aged 66 to 76. A published letter later challenged the statistics in that paper, which is worth knowing: the effect looks real but smaller than the headline.

Healthy younger adults. This is where the evidence is weakest. A 2018 systematic review found short-term memory and reasoning improved in some trials, mostly in people under stress or with lower baseline stores, and little effect otherwise. A 2024 review in Behavioural Brain Research went further and argued the trials so far do not support a reliable cognitive effect in well-rested, well-fed adults. That is a fair criticism and we would rather you read it than pretend it does not exist.

Mood. A 2012 trial in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that adding creatine to a standard antidepressant sped up and strengthened the response in women with major depression. That is a clinical setting and a clinical population, so it does not translate into a claim for healthy people, but it is part of why the brain research keeps going.

What we can and cannot say

In the UK and EU, the authorised health claim for creatine is about the body: it increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise, at 3g a day. There is no authorised claim for cognition, memory or mood, and we will not make one on the tub or in our emails. What we can do is point you at the research and let you weigh it.

The practical version

Most trials used 3 to 5g a day of creatine monohydrate, taken daily, with effects (where they appeared) building over a few weeks rather than the same afternoon. Clean Creatine is 3g a serving; the tub gives you 60 servings at 3g or 36 at 5g if you want the higher end of the studied range. It is unflavoured and stirs into a glass of HIRO hydration without a fuss, which is why we sell them together as a Hydration + Creatine bundle.

Clean Creatine

Clean Creatine

60 servings at 3g, or 36 at 5g. Unflavoured. Vegan.

£21 · £17.85 on subscription

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If you already know you will take it daily, the Twin Pack and Triple Pack bring the price per tub down to £18 and £16.33.

Clean Creatine Twin Pack

Clean Creatine Twin Pack

Two tubs. Four months. £18 a tub.

£36 · £30.60 on subscription

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Clean Creatine Triple Pack

Clean Creatine Triple Pack

Three tubs. Six months. £16.33 a tub.

£49 · £41.65 on subscription

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Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied supplements there is, and the safety record in healthy adults is long. If you have kidney disease, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or take regular medication, ask your GP first.

Read the research

Written by Fadi Shuman