Beyond Muscle: A Narrative Review of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation Effects on Cognition, Sleep, and Psychiatric Disorders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.70.74583Keywords
creatine monohydrate, cognitive function, sleep deprivation, nutritional psychiatry, creatine supplementation, major depressive disorderAbstract
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most widely consumed supplements worldwide. Beyond its role in skeletal muscle bioenergetics, creatine serves important functions in the central nervous system, acting as an energy buffer while exerting antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and neuromodulatory effects, raising the possibility of therapeutic relevance beyond exercise performance. This review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the effects of creatine monohydrate supplementation on cognitive functions, sleep, and psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. A narrative review was conducted based on a PubMed/MEDLINE search (13 April 2026), yielding 103 records. Following screening, 26 articles were selected, comprising randomized controlled trials, open-label studies, and preclinical investigations. Cognitive benefits were most pronounced under metabolic stress, such as sleep deprivation and hypoxia, with mixed evidence under resting conditions. In psychiatric populations, the strongest evidence is present for unipolar depression, where creatine supplementation administered as an adjunct to antidepressant pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy accelerated and potentiated clinical response. Preliminary data supported a possible benefit in bipolar depression, while a single trial in schizophrenia found no benefit. Biological sex emerged as a recurring but unresolved moderator of treatment response. Creatine supplementation shows the greatest therapeutic promise as an adjunctive strategy in unipolar depression. Cognitive effects appear context-dependent, emerging primarily under metabolic stress. Adequately powered randomized controlled trials with standardized outcome measures are needed to confirm these findings and extend the evidence base to other psychiatric conditions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Wiktor Szczuciński, Jakub Polczyk, Filip Maciej Ogorzałek, Krzysztof Drelich, Wojciech Deptuch, Paweł Krzysztof Moćko, Zofia Golińska, Maciej Tomasz Zając, Przemysław Rajzer, Julia Rurkowska
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