Memory in healthy individuals
Meta-analysis of randomized trials reported a small overall improvement in memory, with a larger signal in the older-adult subgroup.
View public research ↗Public research overview
The science of creatine.
One small molecule with a long research history in cellular energy, muscle and performance — and a growing body of work exploring the brain, cognition and healthy aging.
Educational research summary only. This page does not diagnose, treat or promise that a CreaGo product will reproduce the outcome of any individual study. Study doses, populations and protocols vary.
Creatine 101
What is creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found predominantly in skeletal muscle, with smaller amounts present in other tissues including the brain. One of its best-known roles is in the phosphocreatine system, which helps cells regenerate ATP when energy demand rises.
ATPAvailable cellular energy.
ADPATP loses a phosphate as energy is used.
PCrPhosphocreatine can donate phosphate.
ATPATP is regenerated rapidly.
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Brain & cognitive research
The brain is energy-demanding tissue too. Research is exploring whether creatine availability can influence memory and other cognitive domains. The signal is promising in some areas, but the evidence is not universal.
0.29Standardized mean difference for memory in a 2023 meta-analysis of healthy individuals.
0.88Memory effect in the older-adult subgroup in that same analysis.
MixedLater reviews emphasize that not every cognitive domain or study shows a benefit.
Cognitive function in adults
A meta-analysis of 16 RCTs reported positive findings for some domains including memory, attention time and processing speed, while not every cognitive domain improved.
View public research ↗Cognition — contrasting evidence
A systematic review concluded that supplementation can increase brain creatine but cognitive outcomes across the literature remain equivocal.
View public research ↗02
Mental demand & metabolic stress
Some of the most interesting brain studies examine situations where energetic demand is unusually high, including sleep deprivation. These protocols often use doses very different from a normal daily serving, so the findings should not be translated directly into a product promise.
Creatine and brain health
A review of the emerging human literature on brain creatine, cognition and metabolic stress.
View public research ↗Sleep deprivation study
A controlled study using a very high acute dose during sleep deprivation reported changes in brain-energy measures and cognitive performance; the dose was far above a standard daily serving.
View public research ↗03
Healthy aging & daily function
Preserving strength and functional capacity matters beyond the gym. Creatine has been studied as an adjunct to resistance training in older adults, with encouraging results for some strength and lean-tissue outcomes and continued uncertainty around others.
Older adults + resistance training
Meta-analysis found additional gains in several muscle, strength and functional measures when creatine was paired with resistance training in older adults.
View public research ↗04
Muscle, strength & training adaptation
This remains one of creatine’s strongest research areas. Recent meta-analyses continue to report additional strength gains when supplementation is combined with resistance training, although effect sizes vary by exercise, population and study design.
+4.43 kgUpper-body strength difference reported in a 2024 meta-analysis of adults under 50.
+11.35 kgLower-body strength difference in the same meta-analysis.
69 studiesIncluded in a 2025 strength-and-power meta-analysis.
Strength + resistance training
In adults under 50, creatine plus resistance training produced greater upper- and lower-body strength gains than placebo plus training.
View public research ↗Strength & power outcomes
A 69-study meta-analysis found small but statistically significant gains in several strength and power outcomes, with effects varying by measure and subgroup.
View public research ↗05
High-intensity performance
Creatine’s longest performance track record is in short, repeated, high-intensity work. A repeated-sprint meta-analysis found an improvement in mean power, while peak power and fatigue measures did not significantly change.
Repeated sprint ability
Short-term supplementation improved mean power in repeated-sprint tests, while peak power and fatigue outcomes were not significantly different.
View public research ↗06
Safety
Creatine monohydrate has an unusually large research footprint. A 2026 structured review examined 684 randomized trials and found reported adverse effects were infrequent, with no consistent dose- or duration-related pattern suggesting clinically meaningful excess risk versus placebo.
684Randomized clinical trials included in the 2026 structured review.
12,800+Participant arms represented across creatine and placebo groups.
No patternNo consistent exposure-response signal for clinically meaningful side-effect risk.
Safety across randomized trials
A structured review of 684 randomized trials involving more than 12,800 participant arms found no consistent dose- or duration-related pattern of clinically meaningful side-effect risk versus placebo.
View public research ↗Research library
Read the public sources.
Memory in healthy individualsNutritional Reviews · 2023↗Cognitive function in adultsFrontiers in Nutrition · 2024↗Cognition — contrasting evidenceBehavioural Brain Research · 2024↗Creatine and brain healthNutrients · 2021↗Sleep deprivation studyScientific Reports · 2024↗Strength + resistance trainingNutrients · 2024↗Strength & power outcomesNutrients · 2025↗Repeated sprint abilityInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab · 2022↗Older adults + resistance trainingMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2014↗Safety across randomized trialsSports · 2026↗