Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Loading on Sleep Metrics, Physical Performance, Cognitive Function, and Recovery in Physically Active Men: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.

Plain-language summary

This study looked at whether a short, high-dose creatine (a compound stored in muscle that helps regenerate quick energy for short, hard efforts) routine improves sleep, performance, thinking, and recovery in active men. Fourteen men took 20 grams of creatine monohydrate a day, or a placebo, for 7 days while keeping their usual training, with sleep and recovery tracked by a wrist motion sensor and questionnaires. Creatine improved how good their sleep felt, cut soreness, and sharpened thinking and high-intensity output, though it did not move objective sleep or recovery readings.

Key findings

• Creatine monohydrate improved subjective sleep quality during the loading phase.
• Creatine enhanced cognitive performance on the digit cancellation test.
• Creatine increased total distance in the 5m shuttle run test, indicating better high-intensity performance.
• Creatine reduced muscle soreness scores but did not affect objective sleep metrics or recovery markers beyond 72 hours.