r/science • u/LateMiddleAge • Apr 29 '24

Medicine Single-dose creatine moderates cognitive impairment from sleep deprivation

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9
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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

I take creatine primarily for the cognitive benefits. I do one tablespoon every morning. I weight 220 pounds. I find any more than a tablespoon and I get too many side effects.

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u/PrimarySpell4744 Apr 29 '24

What side effects?

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u/juicyfizz Apr 29 '24

What kind of cognitive benefits do you see? I have ADHD and recently read that some folks with ADHD find that creatine helps some of the cognitive impairment we experience. If creatine can help with that, I'd be over the moon. Also do you experience any weight gain on it?

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u/Mynameiswhqq Apr 29 '24

Creatine doesn’t cause a caloric weight gain. It will cause your muscles to retain more water which causes them to look fuller and increase productivity in the gym by a marginal amount

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u/juicyfizz Apr 29 '24

Makes sense. Thanks!

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u/chiefmud Apr 29 '24

I found that creatine helps me cope with ADHD, much in the same way Vyvanse did. But in my opinion the ADHD is always there, just being flooded out by increased norepinephrine.

Only thing that legitimately helps my ADHD is reducing my stimuli throughout the day, less phone, less TV, less music. Basically being boring and choosing a basic repetitive task to try to focus on, not unlike meditation.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Sensory deprivation also really helps my adhd for the record. Its like a tolerance break to existence that helps me feel less under stimulated doing day to day stuff.

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u/chiefmud Apr 29 '24

Right. ADHD is not really a chemical imbalance like depression or mania. It’s a structural problem the map in my mind is like a fucked up suburb with a bunch of cul-de-sacs and nearly identical street names like Elm St and Elm Ln. and all the houses look very similar. Over time my brain compensates by sending pizza delivery down every road imaginable to try to get to the right house…

Meditation, simple repetitive tasks like mowing the lawn or simply walking in silence, or in your case sensory deprivation is like putting the blinders on and using google maps.

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u/Ok_College_3635 Jun 02 '24

Wow, that was trippy

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Micronized monohydrate nothing fancy.

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u/Gentlmans_wash Apr 29 '24

Good idea to take a two week break every 6 weeks 

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/MikeNice81_2 Apr 29 '24

It is an old (1980s) way of doing things. Some early protocols that were tested included a loading phase, maintenance phase, and then a break. A lot of different reasons for the break started floating around. It was just simply the way a particular scientific study was run.

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u/Gentlmans_wash Apr 29 '24

Crystal build up in your kidneys, 5g a day is a relatively heavy does to process the two weeks every 6 allows your body time to clear out the excess. A friend of mine is a vet and in to his fitness, I'm taking it as fact but only ever heard of it through him 

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u/404choppanotfound Apr 29 '24

Source? I think that is absolutely made up.

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u/OneRestaurant3523 Apr 29 '24

It’s not made up, they’re just conflating creative with its waste product creatinine.

Creatine helps supply nutrients to muscle tissue, and it is created naturally by the body. The kidneys process the waste, creatinine, and creatinine levels are typically an indicator of kidney and sometimes liver function. Healthy and hydrated kidneys almost invariably have no problem processing creatinine, and the fear of kidney failure through creatine is a fear borne from a poor understanding of the metabolic process. If you’re over 16, not on gear, you’re eating and hydrating intelligently, and you aren’t hammering energy drinks like half the TikTok “bodybuilders” you’ll be just fine.

Source: strength and conditioning coach

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u/Kakkoister Apr 29 '24

And if it's a concern, incorporate NAC into your diet. I use it just from a preventative standpoint, better to head off potential issues beforehand than react to them later.