Creatine & Depression: Here's How This Popular Supplement Impacts Mood

Molly Knudsen
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
By Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
February 05, 2025

Creatine is most known for helping gym-goers build muscle. While it's quite effective at doing so (heck, it helps people of all fitness levels get stronger), newer research shows that creatine is also an effective treatment for depression.

A new 2024 review summarizes all past human and animal studies of creatine's impact on the brain and makers of depression - on its own and as an addition to SSRIs (a type of antidepressant medication).

Here's what you need to know.

What is creatine?

Creatine is most known as a supplement, but it's also a compound the body makes naturally on its own and one that you get by eating certain animal proteins. 
About 95% of the body's creatine is found in muscle tissue, where it helps to produce cellular energy (ATP) quickly during times of high energy needs (like workouts).

But without supplements, most people have a pretty limited amount of creatine in their system at a time (especially those who don't eat animal proteins). 

Supplements became popular as research found the powder to effectively boost muscle creatine stores, meaning muscle could tap into a lot of extra energy during exercise to improve performance and help support lean muscle mass and strength over time.

Most of the remaining 5% of the body's creatine is found in the brain. And in the last 10 to 15 years, researchers have been particularly interested in seeing how creatine's capabilities extend to this organ.  

How creatine may help with depression 

Research on creatine's impact on the brain indicates that it supports cognition (and may counter unfavorable changes associated with depression) in multiple ways: 

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