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We all know we should prioritize sleep and protect it as much as possible.
Yet, not every night is a good night, even if you do everything “right”, like creating a suitable sleep environment, not eating or drinking right before bed, getting natural sunlight in the morning, etc.
Bad nights happen, and it shows the next day when you’re struggling to concentrate, feel more emotionally reactive, or hungrier than usual.
Caffeine is helpful in this case because it can make you more alert and offset the effects of a bad night’s sleep to some extent. Just be careful with caffeine timing because its half-life is about 5-6 hours (meaning half of the caffeine you consume is still in your body after that time), so if you have it late, it could ruin the next night.
Apart from caffeine, another substance has recently gained scientific interest. This substance is originally associated with the fitness world, but we’re now learning about its beneficial effects on cognitive functions:
Creatine.
What is creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in your body, especially in your muscles and brain. It helps provide energy for your cells.
So, creatine is already in your body, even if you’ve never taken any supplements. It’s available as creatine monohydrate for external supplementation.
How a single dose of creatine helps the sleep-deprived brain function better
In a study, the researchers administered either a single dose of creatine monohydrate or a placebo (corn starch) to participants in the evening, and participants then had to stay awake overnight, so they were really sleep-deprived. At various times during the night, they completed different tasks, and their brains were scanned a few times as well.
Let’s take a look at what happened under creatine versus the placebo:
Fatigue levels: After receiving creatine, subjective fatigue (how tired participants felt) decreased by 8% on average. That’s not a huge number, but they felt a bit more alert compared to the placebo.
Cognitive measures: Participants completed 7 cognitive tests, including memory tests, language tasks, logic problems, and numeric tasks. Creatine improved scores on a word memory test and helped participants respond more quickly on 4 of the 7 cognitive tasks without sacrificing accuracy. Observed speed improvements in these tasks were up to 29%.
Brain changes: Creatine attenuated some of the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on brain metabolism, indicating reduced metabolic stress (for the nerds 🤓: After creatine intake, the phosphocreatine to inorganic phosphate ratio and the pH levels decreased less than after placebo, while ATP levels decreased more - signaling improved brain energy metabolism).
In short, a single dose of creatine mitigated several negative consequences of sleep deprivation. The effect lasted up to 9 hours after creatine administration, peaking at 4 hours.
How much is ‘a single dose’?
The study above employed a rather high dose of creatine monohydrate: 0.35 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. (Multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 0.35 to know how many grams of creatine this would mean for you.)
The same research group just published a new study employing a lower creatine dose of 0.2 grams/kg of bodyweight. In this study, the authors focused on cognitive tasks only (no brain scans were acquired).
The lower dose was also beneficial: it improved performance on 4 of the 7 tasks, with improvements of up to 12%. So the effects were less pronounced than with the higher dose, but they were still significant.
What the results mean
Under sleep deprivation, a single dose of creatine can help you perform better, potentially due to an improved energy metabolism in your brain.
However, you should not consider creatine a substitute for sleep. It can help you perform better in the short term, but it won’t make up for lost sleep. Sleep should still be one of your top priorities in life!
Also, the ‘high’ dose of creatine (0.35 g/kg) is not a typical dose for daily supplementation and is not recommended for long-term use.
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What else I’ve been up to:
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Best wishes,
Patricia (Dr. Patricia Schmidt) from creatorschmidt.com
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It’s not medical or mental health advice, and it doesn’t replace professional healthcare. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional with questions about a medical condition, medications, supplements, or before making any changes to your health routine.
