Does Creatine help cognition? (Grade B evidence)
Explore current source-reported research for this exact question. These records are separate from the synthesis below; they do not update its grade or establish a recommendation.
Creatine shows a Grade B benefit for cognition — moderate-certainty evidence in the recorded sources. Typical studied doses are 5 g/day.
Exact question reviewed
- Population
- not reported
- Intervention
- Creatine · 5 g/day
- Comparator
- not reported
- Outcome
- cognition
- Time horizon
- not reported
Bottom line. Creatine shows a Grade B benefit for cognition — moderate-certainty evidence in the recorded sources. Typical studied doses are 5 g/day. [1 SR/meta]
- Direction
- benefit
- Magnitude
- Meta-analysis of 16 RCTs (n≈492 adults): improved memory, attention, and processing speed; no significant effect on overall or executive function.
- Grade
- B
- Certainty
- moderate
- Clinical meaning
- small but potentially useful
- Who it applies to
- —
- Dose / form studied
- 5 g/day
- Safety
- not assessed
- The one limitation
- Claim-specific limitation details are not available in this public record.
Reviewed not reported · Evidence last changed · Open evidence record (version 0)
Grade B / moderate: probably helps, and new studies are unlikely to reverse this — but could shrink the effect size.
Who it works for
The studied population is not reported in this public record. Recorded studied dose: 5 g/day.
Evidence
| Study | Design | Role | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|
| The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. | peer-reviewed | not classified | PMID:39070254 |
Why this grade
Reasoning trace
The current record stores Grade B at moderate certainty and links 1 publishable source. A claim-specific domain-by-domain grading rationale is not available in this public record, so no reason for upgrading or downgrading is inferred here.
Audit and version
- Claim ID
- ec_creatine_cog
- Claim version
- not reported
- Governance
- legacy, not verified
- Clinician review
- Not yet reviewed by a licensed clinician
- Last evidence search
- not reported
- Last editorial review
- not verified
Dose & form
Studied intake: 5 g/day.
People say · Evidence shows
“Creatine only helps muscles, not the brain”
Evidence: Grade B — Meta-analysis of 16 RCTs (n≈492 adults): improved memory, attention, and processing speed; no significant effect on overall or executive function..
How it stacks up for cognition
- Creatine vs Caffeine for cognition — Caffeine Grade A
- Creatine vs Lion's Mane for cognition — Lion's Mane Grade C
- Creatine vs Ginkgo for cognition — Ginkgo Grade C
- Creatine vs L-Theanine for cognition — L-Theanine Grade C
- Creatine vs Iron for cognition — Iron Grade C
- Creatine vs Ashwagandha for cognition — Ashwagandha Grade C
- All interventions graded for cognition →
Grade history
- C → BNew RCTs on cognitive performance (notably under sleep deprivation) strengthened the grade. details →
Re-review cadence: every 12 months (Grade A/B) · methodology v1.
Frequently asked
How long does Creatine take to work for cognition?
This record does not report a studied onset time for Creatine and cognition. Do not assume a typical timeframe.
What dose was used in studies of Creatine for cognition?
The recorded studied dose for Creatine and cognition is 5 g/day. This is a source detail, not a dose recommendation.
Does Creatine work for cognition if I'm not deficient?
The studied population is not reported for Creatine and cognition, so whether baseline status changes the effect is not known from this record.
Creatine or the next-best alternative for cognition?
See the compare block above for the head-to-head with the most-cited alternative. Grade + certainty differences matter more than any single trial.
Related
What this is — and is not
- Evidence description
- Meta-analysis of 16 RCTs (n≈492 adults): improved memory, attention, and processing speed; no significant effect on overall or executive function.
- Substrate's interpretation
- The current reviewed record assigns Grade B at moderate certainty. A domain-by-domain rationale is shown only when recorded.
- Discuss with a clinician
- If you're on medication or have a condition that changes the calculus, bring the interaction & population blocks above to your pharmacist or prescriber before deciding.
- Individualized medical advice
- Not provided here or on any Substrate surface (API, agent tool, embed) — see YMYL policy.
Cite this page
Citation is encouraged. The proposed reuse license is CC-BY-4.0; status: pending-governance-ratification.
Plain-text citation
Substrate. Does Creatine help cognition? (Grade B). https://evidencebased.info/interventions/creatine/cognition. Updated 2026-05-02.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_onscreatinecognition,
author = {Substrate editorial},
title = {Does Creatine help cognition?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/creatine/cognition},
note = {Grade B, evidencebased.info}
}Found something wrong on this page? Report an error →
Current source-reported research
Membership uses admitted intervention and measured-outcome associations for this exact question. Different populations, preparations, comparators and timepoints remain separate. No pooling or update to the synthesis is asserted.