Is Creatine Better Than Coffee For Sleep Deprivation?

The Effect Of Creatine On The Sleep-Deprived Brain

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

The role of creatine for muscle metabolism is well established. It has been used by athletes for years to optimize their exercise. It is both safe and effective for this purpose.

However, it’s use for optimizing brain function is more controversial. Clinical studies on this topic are conflicting. The problem is 3-fold:

Creatine does not cross the blood-brain barrier easily. So, the brain takes up creatine less efficiently than muscle.

Some people don’t need extra brain creatine. They make all they need.

There appears to be significant individual differences in the uptake of creatine into the brain and/or the effectiveness of creatine at improving brain function.

The authors of the article I am going to review summed up the existing research on creatine and brain function by saying:

Most healthy adults do not need extra creatine for brain function. Studies on healthy, non-stressed adults have typically shown no benefit of creatine supplementation.

However, there are several conditions that decrease brain creatine levels and/or increase brain energy needs, which creates a need for higher brain creatine levels. These conditions are:

- Concussions and other forms of traumatic brain injury.

- Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

- Hypoxia (reduced oxygen flow to the brain) caused by atherosclerotic narrowing of the carotid arteries, asthma, and COPD.

- Depression.

- Sleep deprivation.

Under these conditions, uptake of creatine into the brain appears to be enhanced, and creatine supplementation appears to improve brain function.

The authors of this study focused on sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation differs from the other conditions listed above in that it is episodic rather than chronic. So, rather than using smaller doses daily, they tested the effect of a single, high dose administered during the sleep deprivation.

In a previous study they had shown that a very high dose of creatine was effective at increasing brain creatine levels by 5% and reducing the symptoms of sleep deprivation by 10-25%.

For this study (A Gordji-Nejad et al, Nutrients, 18: 192, 2026) they repeated their experiments using a lower dosage to determine whether the brain benefits of creatine during sleep deprivation are dose dependent.

What Is Creatine And What Does It Do?

I have discussed this topic at depth in an article from a previous issue of “Health Tips From the Professor”, so I will give the Cliff Notes version here.

Creatine is a storage form of cellular energy.

In muscle the best analogy would be a car battery. When we start the car, the battery provides the initial energy to get the engine going. Then, when we are cruising down the highway the kinetic energy generated by the turning of the driveshaft is stored in the battery, so it is fully charged the next time we need to start the car.

In our muscles, creatine is the “battery” that provides the initial energy to get our muscles going. And when we are at rest, we recharge our creatine “battery”, so we are ready the next time we need to spring into action.

In our brain, our creatine “battery” provides the extra energy our brain needs when it is under stress due to any of the conditions listed above – including sleep deprivation.

In our car, eventually the battery wears out and needs to be replaced. Here the analogy breaks down. Creatine is constantly being converted to creatinine and flushed out of the body, so we need a constant supply of new creatine to keep our cellular creatine “batteries” charged.

Our muscles can’t make creatine, so they rely on creatine made by other tissues in the body, diets high in animal protein, and/or creatine supplements. And because it is dependent on exogenous creatine sources, it is very efficient at taking up creatine from the bloodstream. That is why creatine supplements are so effective at improving muscle function.

Our brain normally makes all the creatine it needs, so it is inefficient at taking creatine from the bloodstream. However, when the brain is under stress due to traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases, hypoxia, and sleep deprivation, its need for creatine is increased, and the efficiency of creatine uptake appears to be enhanced. Under these conditions, creatine supplements do appear to improve brain function.

How Was This Study Done?

The authors recruited 29 healthy subjects age 20-40 (average = 29) for the study.

17 were female, 12 were male.
None of them reported sleep disorders, psychiatric or neurological conditions, or alcohol or drug abuse.
None of them smoked or took medication.

Consumption of caffeine and alcohol were prohibited for 48 hours prior to the study.

They were all well rested prior to the study. They were required to sleep for at least 7 hours every night for the previous two weeks and to record all sleep and awake times. The night before the study they were asked to go to bed by 11 PM and wake up at 7 AM.

The sleep-deprivation occurred over the next 21 hours. During this period the subjects were continuously observed to make sure they didn’t fall asleep. No exercise or cognitively stressful activity was allowed. The subjects were only allowed to drink water and eat non-protein snacks during the deprivation study.

The study was a double-blind, randomized clinical trial with a crossover design. In a crossover study each subject serves as their own control. In the first phase of the study each patient was given 0.09 g of creatine per pound of body weight or a placebo in a double-blind manner (neither the patient nor the investigators knew who got the creatine and who got the placebo). After two weeks at least 7 hours of sleep a night, the deprivation portion of the study was repeated except that what the subjects took was reversed (those who received creatine the first time received the placebo the second time and vice versa).

The subjects were given a battery of tests four times during sleep deprivation. At each occurrence the subjects completed self-assessments for sleepiness and fatigue. They then were given tests to measure the speed and accuracy of seven different measures of mental acuity. The design of the sleep deprivation portion of the study was as follows:

Sleep deprivation started at 7 AM.

Baseline assessment occurred at 6:30 PM (11.5 hours without sleep).

The subjects were given creatine or a placebo at 9 PM (14 hours without sleep).

Testing was repeated at 12 PM, 2 AM, and 4 AM (17, 19, and 21 hours without sleep).

The Effect Of Creatine On The Sleep-Deprived Brain

Safe and effective creatine intake is proportional to our body weight. That’s why the authors of this study reported creation dose as grams of creatine per pound of body weight. However, you are not used to seeing it expressed that way, so let me give you a table to help you understand what these numbers mean.

Creatine g/lb to grams per serving
g/lb	120 lb	140 lb	200 lb	Comments
0.045g/lb	5 gm	7 gm	9 gm	This is the daily intake range you see recommended most often.
0.09 g/lb	10 gm	14 gm	18 gm	The amount used in this study. It has been shown to be safe and effective for muscle gain.
0.16 g/lb	19 gm	25 gm	30 gm	The amount used in their previous study. Some athletes use this much, but it is not widely studied.

With that in mind, here are the results of the study.

Creatine supplementation at this dose was well tolerated. There were no reports of gastrointestinal distress or other adverse physical effects.

Creatine supplementation had no significant effect on self-reported sleepiness or fatigue.

Creatine improved several measures of cognitive performance during sleep deprivation by 6-12%.

- The cognitive benefits were most evident for logic, numerical ability, processing speed in language tasks, and psychomotor vigilance.

- - Psychomotor vigilance is how well an individual can maintain attention over time. It is assessed by measuring how long it takes subjects to respond to visual stimuli at random intervals. It is an important cognitive function for activities like driving a car.

Women and vegetarians benefitted more than men.

The authors concluded, “Our results show a dose of 0.09g/lb creatine is associated with reduced deterioration in cognitive performance during sleep deprivation. Although the effect is less pronounced than with a high dose of 0.16 g/lb, there is still an improvement of up to 12%…

The decrease in improvement compared to high dose shows that cerebral cellular creatine uptake and the improvement effect during sleep deprivation are dose-dependent.

As the administered dose of 0.09 g/lb is [known to be] safe, future studies could focus on adding additional components or making modifications to increase cellular uptake and enhance the effect. Furthermore, the findings of our study provide a basis for further research to determine the specific dosage for different population groups.”

Is Creatine Better Than Coffee For Sleep Deprivation?

Let’s return to the question I posed at the beginning of this article. You didn’t sleep a wink last night. Your brain is fuzzy. Should you reach for a cup of coffee? Or is creatine better than coffee for sleep deprivation?

There are two answers to this question.

The first answer is, “We don’t know”. Coffee has been around forever. Everyone “knows” it helps when we are sleep deprived. But it has never gone through the kind of rigorous testing that creatine was given in this study. And it has never been compared in head-to-head testing with creatine.

The cognitive benefits from creatine were modest, so it is likely that coffee is more effective – but we don’t know for sure.

The second answer is, “It depends”. There are many people who can’t or prefer not to drink coffee.

For some people coffee causes jitters, anxiety, and heart palpitations.

For others it causes gastrointestinal disturbances.

Some people prefer to avoid stimulants of any kind.

For many people coffee causes insomnia. And if you have had a sleepless night, the thing you want the most is restful sleep, not more insomnia.

And, if we are sleep deprived, it’s usually not just one cup of coffee. It’s several cups of coffee or one of those “monster drinks” with tons of caffeine. And regular consumption of these high-caffeine drinks is linked to all the issues listed above plus:

High blood pressure, cardiac events, severe headaches, and even kidney issues.

If you are someone with any of these concerns, it is useful to know that there is a non-stimulant alternative that can help you think more clearly when you are sleep deprived.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

Simply put, this study suggests that creatine may be an alternative to coffee and other caffeinated beverages when you are sleep deprived.

This study shows that a single dose of 10-20 grams of creatine, depending on your body weight, can give you a modest increase in mental clarity if taken while you are severely sleep deprived. While somewhat higher than the dosages most supplement companies recommend, this is well within the dose range that has been shown to be safe and effective for enhancing muscle function.

The authors of the study said that “Future studies could focus on adding additional components or making modifications to increase cellular uptake and enhance the effectiveness of creatine.

For muscle cells, insulin enhances the uptake of creatine. So, if creatine is taken with a meal that is high in carbohydrate, uptake may be increased by up to 60%. We don’t know whether insulin also increases creatine uptake in the brain, but until further research comes along it is worth a try.

Note: Studies also show that combining creatine with a shake that is high in both carbohydrate and protein after a workout optimizes both creatine uptake and muscle repair. In today’s world of low-carbohydrate protein shakes that is a paradigm shift!

In a previous study, the same authors showed that a single dose of 20-30 grams of creatine, depending on body weight, was even more effective at enhancing mental clarity during severe sleep deprivation. That is a dosage that has not been extensively tested.

Many athletes consume creatine dosages in that range with no apparent ill effects. However, athletes aren’t always the best examples of safe supplement use.

Whichever dose of creatine you choose, there are some cautions you should be aware of.

Creatinine, the breakdown product of creatine metabolism, puts some stress on the kidneys.

- While this is not a problem if your kidneys are healthy, you should consult with your health professional about taking creatine if you have any indications of impaired kidney function.

Adequate hydration (preferably with water) is important because creatine pulls water with it as it enters your muscle cells.

- This plumps up your muscles, which is great if you are a body builder.

- This dehydrates you, which can cause side effects like muscle cramps, headaches, nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.

- These side effects are usually transitory and can be avoided or reduced by adequate hydration. If symptoms continue despite adequate hydration, you should lower the dose or discontinue creatine supplementation.

The Bottom Line

A recent study looked at whether a creatine supplement could help prevent the loss of cognitive function associated with severe sleep deprivation. The study showed:

Creatine improved several measures of cognitive performance during sleep deprivation.

The cognitive benefits were most evident for logic, numerical ability, processing speed in language tasks, and psychomotor vigilance.

Women and vegetarians benefitted more than men.

The effect was dose dependent.

For more details about the study and what it means for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

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About The Author

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.

Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 54 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.