Does creatine have positive effect on mental health?

Introduction

Creatine, a compound commonly used to enhance athletic performance, has been investigated for its potential benefits on mental health. This synthesis examines the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function, mood, and mental fatigue, drawing from multiple research studies.

Key Insights

Cognitive Function Improvement:
- Creatine supplementation may improve cognitive processing, particularly in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, such as stress, sleep deprivation, and aging .
- Short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning may be enhanced by creatine, although its effects on other cognitive domains are less clear.
Mood and Mental Health:
- Creatine has shown potential as an adjunct treatment for depression, with some studies indicating it can function similarly to antidepressant drugs and improve mood states .
- In individuals with treatment-resistant depression, creatine supplementation led to significant improvements in depression and anxiety scores, although it may induce mania in bipolar patients.
Mental Fatigue Reduction:
- Creatine supplementation can reduce mental fatigue and improve cognitive performance in tasks requiring sustained mental effort .
- It has been shown to counteract the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive and psychomotor performance.
Neuroprotective Effects:
- Creatine may offer neuroprotective benefits, potentially aiding in recovery from brain injuries and protecting against neurodegenerative diseases, although more research is needed in this area .

Conclusion

Creatine supplementation appears to have several positive effects on mental health, including improvements in cognitive function, mood, and mental fatigue. It shows promise as an adjunct treatment for depression and may offer neuroprotective benefits. However, further research is needed to fully understand its impact on various cognitive domains and its potential therapeutic applications in mental health disorders.

Does creatine have positive effect on mental health?

Summary

Consensus Meter

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

A Potential Role for Creatine in Drug Abuse?

Creatine supplementation may have protective effects on the brain and function similarly to antidepressant drugs, potentially playing a role in drug abuse models.

Can Creatine Combat the Mental Fatigue-associated Decrease in Visuomotor Skills?

Creatine supplementation improves physical performance and cognitive functioning, but does not combat mental fatigue-induced impairments in short sport-specific psychomotor or cognitive tasks.

Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health

Creatine supplementation shows potential in improving cognitive processing and brain health, particularly in conditions with brain creatine deficits.

Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation

Creatine supplementation reduces mental fatigue and increases oxygen utilization in the brain, potentially improving performance in high-intensity tasks.

Effect of creatine supplementation and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol

Creatine supplementation can improve mood and cognitive performance during 24-hour sleep deprivation with mild exercise.

Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Oral creatine supplementation may improve short-term memory and intelligence in healthy individuals, but its effect on other cognitive domains remains unclear.

Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health

Creatine supplementation shows potential in increasing brain creatine content and attenuating symptoms of concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, and depression, but its effect on neurodegenerative diseases remains unclear.

Creatine metabolism and psychiatric disorders: Does creatine supplementation have therapeutic value?

Creatine supplementation shows promise as a safe and effective adjunct for treating brain-related disorders, and its potential role in psychiatric disorders warrants further research.

Creatine monohydrate in resistant depression: a preliminary study.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation may improve unipolar depression but may precipitate a manic switch in bipolar depression.

Maternal Creatine Supplementation Positively Affects Male Rat Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity in Adult Offspring

Prenatal creatine supplementation in male rats positively affects adult offspring's hippocampal synaptic plasticity, potentially improving memory formation.

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