I started taking a scoop of the Creatine Hydrate from Costco every afternoon because why not. Wife had bought it and the bag was sitting right there.
I honestly don't know whether it made a difference. Sleep didn't get worse, no noticeable metabolic effects. Possibly the "perma tired muscles" I've been suffering from increasingly since about age 57 (I'm an active cyclist) have gotten a bit better, with <50% of days affected rather than >90% last year, but even that is subjective.
If "taking the stuff" means "more uptake" (does it?) and there are other beneficial effects, bring it on.
It sounds you have the hardest part of it underway - consistency.
There's lots of studies - if you can get over 20g per day it is noticeable to the brain and energy. Adding a few grams a week until you're up there I found it noticeable. 20-30g seems to be a noticeable range.
Supplements aren't always like a coffee spike, they build up and sustain quite well.
20g is a loading dose (typically for a week), then it's 3-5g daily for maintenance. But I've seen studies that 5g daily catches up to the 20g loading dose after about a month.
MarkusWandel · · focus · HN ↗
I honestly don't know whether it made a difference. Sleep didn't get worse, no noticeable metabolic effects. Possibly the "perma tired muscles" I've been suffering from increasingly since about age 57 (I'm an active cyclist) have gotten a bit better, with <50% of days affected rather than >90% last year, but even that is subjective.
If "taking the stuff" means "more uptake" (does it?) and there are other beneficial effects, bring it on.
j45 · · focus · HN ↗
It sounds you have the hardest part of it underway - consistency.
There's lots of studies - if you can get over 20g per day it is noticeable to the brain and energy. Adding a few grams a week until you're up there I found it noticeable. 20-30g seems to be a noticeable range.
Supplements aren't always like a coffee spike, they build up and sustain quite well.
Yajirobe · · focus · HN ↗
kenhwang · · focus · HN ↗
j45 · · focus · HN ↗
Dosing for gym exercise is different than dosing for excess creatine to reach the brain.
Well studied, checked with my doctor, including for TBI. Obviously everyone should check for themselves.
j45 · · focus · HN ↗
Cerebral Creatine levels seem to be a different thing.
Creatine and TBI:
<a href="https://health.mil/Reference-Center/Publications/2025/09/25/TBICoE-Information-Paper-on-Creatine-and-TBI" rel="nofollow">https://health.mil/Reference-Center/Publications/2025/09/25/...
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/
Creatine supplementation for naturally declining creatine levels:
<a href="https://jpbs.hapres.com/htmls/JPBS_1766_Detail.html" rel="nofollow">https://jpbs.hapres.com/htmls/JPBS_1766_Detail.html
<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10526554/" rel="nofollow">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10526554/