Creatine for sleep deprivation? What's behind the white powder for improved focus?

White powder for sleep deprivation

Didn't get enough sleep? No problem, just have a can of Rush – the 200 mg of caffeine will surely get you back on track.

But if caffeine isn't your thing, we naturally have another solution. It also starts with "K" (at least in German spelling) and ends with "n". Hint: it's not cocaine. We're talking about...drumroll...creatine!

Yes, you read that right: The white powder not only gives your muscles more power, but (similar to the other white powder mentioned earlier) can also improve your mental performance after a sleepless night – and that's with just one dose!

A study published in 2024 by Gordji-Nejad and colleagues in the journal "Scientific Reports" investigated the effect of a single dose of creatine on cognitive performance during sleep deprivation. An interesting side note: The researchers, just like us at WEIDER, relied on the proven Creapure® raw material quality. With that, the results can only be good!

Fifteen female subjects were given a single dose of creatine or a placebo in the early evening and were subsequently not only forced to stay awake (for a total of 21 hours), but also had to complete a variety of cognitive tests at various measurement points (e.g. regarding logic and reaction time) and undergo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (for the non-invasive measurement of chemical changes in the brain).

The administered creatine was bioavailable, as demonstrated by an increased measured concentration of cerebral creatine. The authors suggest that the unexpectedly efficient uptake of creatine into neurons (nerve cells) is due to a combination of increased neuronal energy demand and a simultaneous increase in extracellular creatine availability (resulting from the single dose).

Creatine supplementation alleviated some of the negative chemical changes associated with sleep deprivation and counteracted the decrease in neuronal creatine concentration. Furthermore, creatine was able to halt the decline in cognitive performance associated with sleep deprivation (e.g., decreased vigilance (attention), impaired short-term memory).

While the peak of increased performance during sleep deprivation was reached four hours after creatine intake, the effect lasted for up to nine hours overall.

To make a long story short:

“These outcomes suggest that a high single dose of creatine can partially reverse metabolic alterations and fatigue-related cognitive deterioration. […] In conclusion, administering a high dose of creatine has been shown to reverse partially cellular stress-induced effects caused by sleep deprivation.”

The only slight drawback is that the amount needed to achieve this effect is admittedly very high at 0.35 g/kg of body weight. A 70 kg person would have to consume a full 24.5 g to benefit from creatine supplementation in cases of sleep deprivation. However, it's still cheaper and safer than other white powders. And on top of that, it's even legal!

Those who take creatine regularly, as we at WEIDER would strongly recommend, don't need to resort to such a megadose if they have a short night. Long-term, regular intake leads to increased creatine concentrations in the central nervous system, so why wait until you've had a really bad night's sleep? As they say, prevention is better than cure. Otherwise, the saying "more is better" definitely applies in this case – so if you had a less than restful night, just make sure your scoop is heaped the next morning.