Does creatine supplementation reduce brain fog?

Brain fog is not a recognised medical diagnosis, but encompasses complaints such as difficulty concentrating, mental sluggishness and fatigue. Creatine is most relevant in situations where the brain's energy supply is under pressure. In ME/CFS patients (people with chronic fatigue syndrome), creatine concentration in two brain regions rose measurably after six weeks of 16 grams per day. That same small pilot study (11 participants, no placebo group) also found less self-reported fatigue and faster reaction times.

Whether this also holds for others with brain fog is unclear. In young, healthy people without additional stress, creatine supplementation has no measurable effect on cognition. There are, however, positive indications in cases of sleep deprivation, mental exhaustion or oxygen deficiency (such as at high altitude). A systematic review of six small studies in healthy individuals found that creatine can improve short-term memory and reasoning ability, but the studies contradicted one another on attention, reaction time and mental fatigue.

Vegetarians and vegans are a clearer exception: they naturally have lower creatine stores, and multiple studies show greater cognitive improvements in them after supplementation than in meat eaters.

The difference between cognitive domains is also relevant: in one controlled study, creatine improved accuracy on a sustained concentration task by nearly 5 percent, but did not protect against the decline in visuomotor reaction time caused by fatigue. Creatine therefore does not address all aspects of a mental dip equally well.

Safety up to 20 grams per day in healthy individuals is well established. If you have kidney problems, discuss this with your doctor first.