Creatine and Mental Health: Risks and Benefits
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Can Creatine Cause Mental Health Side Effects?

Can Creatine Cause Mental Health Side Effects?
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Updated on August 14, 2025
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Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Talk to a healthcare professional about whether a supplement is the right fit for your individual health, and about any potential drug interactions or safety concerns.

Creatine is a compound that your pancreas, liver, and kidneys naturally produce, delivering around 95 percent of it to the skeletal muscles and the rest to the heart and brain. As a supplement, creatine is usually well-tolerated by healthy people and doesn’t increase the risk of mood disturbances.

People seeking a strength boost during workouts or those who don’t get enough creatine through their diet may choose to take creatine powders, tablets, liquids, gels, or energy bars. As a supplement, creatine is generally safe, although it may cause water-retention-related weight gain, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and excessive sweating in some people.

According to Amir Abdi Pour, MD, head of nephrology and associate professor of the department of medicine at Loma Linda University Health, mental health symptoms are not among creatine’s known adverse effects. “No clear or controlled data suggests that creatine supplements pose mental health risks such as mood swings, anxiety, or depression in people who do not have a diagnosed mental health condition,” advises Dr. Pour. “The available medical literature consistently demonstrates that healthy individuals tolerate creatine well, with no evidence of increased risk for mood disturbances, anxiety, or depressive symptoms.”

Does Creatine Cause Mood Swings?

No research links creatine to mood swings in healthy people taking recommended doses.

Matthew K. Taylor, PhD, RD, supports Pour’s statement. “There have been many clinical trials investigating creatine supplementation that show creatine is quite safe when used as directed,” he explains. “There is no evidence that mood swings are a side effect of taking creatine in healthy people.”

Can Creatine Cause Depression?

Far from causing depression or related health problems such as anxiety, creatine may actually support depression treatment, especially in combination with conventional treatments.

“Randomized controlled trials have shown that creatine, as an adjunct to standard treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, can accelerate and enhance antidepressant responses,” says Pour. “Research has also shown improvements in depressive symptom scores and favorable safety profiles.”

For example, researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that among more than 22,000 people who took creatine supplements, the risk of depression was lower than in those who didn’t take creatine, especially among females.

Creatine’s link to possible mental health benefits relates to the supplement’s ability to boost how the brain processes energy and protects nervous system cells.

 “Although much more evidence is necessary, creatine has been shown to support energy metabolism throughout the body, including the brain, which we believe might help with mental health,” Dr. Taylor says.
Theories around its effects on depression may also involve its ability to move from the blood to the brain, known as crossing the blood-brain barrier.

 Pour maintains that evidence supports creatine’s effects on depression, but less so for anxiety. “Creatine supplementation may help support or improve symptoms of depression in healthy individuals, but evidence for anxiety is less robust,” he advises. “Several clinical and epidemiological studies indicate that higher dietary creatine intake is associated with a lower risk of depression in adults, with the effect most pronounced in women and younger adults.”

Timothy Neal, ATC, chair of the writing groups of two of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association consensus statements on secondary school and collegiate athletes and psychological concerns, suggests that creatine can enhance levels of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin.

“Depression often relates to disruptions in brain energy. Specifically, the disruptions in neurotransmitter systems, particularly serotonin, are central to individuals living with depression,” explains Neal. “Largely in animal studies, creatine has helped in regenerating energy, which would potentially improve brain bioenergetics and help with depression relief. The mechanism by which creatine is helpful in depression is that it may positively influence serotonin-boosting pathways involved in mood regulation, especially when paired with exercise.”

Mental Health Risks of Creatine

“There is no evidence that taking creatine increases the risk of mental health symptoms in generally healthy people,” Taylor says. He suggests that when it comes to using creatine for mental health conditions, very few human studies have taken place, and those that have contain mostly tiny sample sizes. This makes it challenging to generalize their findings.

An older review highlighted a single study in which creatine led to more hypomanic or manic episodes. People with bipolar disorder may risk episodes of mania after taking creatine, so it is recommended that they speak with a doctor first.

 However, Taylor cautions that research linking creatine and bipolar disorder involves “a couple of very small studies.”

Pour maintains that adverse effects of creatine aren’t more likely in people with depression or anxiety. “Creatine supplementation does not carry mental health risks such as mood swings, anxiety, or worsening of depression in individuals with a diagnosed mental health condition, based on current clinical evidence,” he suggests. “Rates of adverse events, including those related to mood or anxiety, are comparable between creatine and placebo groups, and researchers haven’t observed signals for worsening depression or new-onset mood instability.”

“An individual should consult with a medical professional before creatine supplementation, be it for physical as well as mental health enhancements,” advises Neal. “The 2013 National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Performance Nutrition is a good resource that outlines what to consider before using creatine or other supplements.”

The Takeaway

  • While creatine supplementation is generally safe, those with bipolar disorder are advised to speak to a healthcare provider before use, due to a potentially increased risk of manic episodes.
  • Current clinical evidence suggests that creatine does not contribute to mood swings, anxiety, or depression in the general population.
  • Some clinical trials have shown that creatine may benefit mental health, particularly in supporting depressive symptoms, when used in combination with conventional treatments.
  • Exceeding the recommended amount could lead to adverse effects, such as gastrointestinal issues. Take creatine at the recommended dosages (typically 3 to 5 grams per day for healthy adults), and discuss your goals and any adverse effects with a healthcare professional.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Creatine. Cleveland Clinic. April 26, 2023.
  2. Bakian AV et al. Dietary Creatine Intake and Depression Risk Among U.S. Adults. Translational Psychiatry. February 3, 2020.
  3. Juneja K et al. Creatine Supplementation in Depression: A Review of Mechanisms, Efficacy, Clinical Outcomes, and Future Directions. Cureus. October 16, 2024.
  4. Roschel H et al. Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health. Nutrients. February 10, 2021.
  5. Buell JL et al. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Performance Nutrition. Journal of Athletic Training. January–February 2013.
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Lee S. Cohen, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor, From NewYork-Presbyterian

Lee S. Cohen, MD, is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, maintains a clinical practice focused on expert and complex diagnostics, and is considered an international expert in clinical psychopharmacology. He is also the director of the Clinical Neuroscience Center, involved in innovative development and discovery of new compounds for neuropsychiatric conditions and directly consults with multiple pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Dr. Cohen graduated from the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program at the CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York, an accelerated six-year BS/MD program. He then completed his MD at SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine.

He trained in pediatrics and adult psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He served for 20 years as the director of psychiatry at the Clinical Neuroscience Center at Mount Sinai West Hospital.

He is a senior reviewer for multiple journals, including the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, and the International Journal of Autism and Related Disabilities.

Cohen teaches and presents research domestically and internationally at meetings such as those of the American Psychiatric Association and at major universities around the country.

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Adam Felman

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Adam is a freelance writer and editor based in Sussex, England. He loves creating content that helps people and animals feel better. His credits include Medical News Today, Greatist, ZOE, MyLifeforce, and Rover, and he also spent a stint as senior updates editor for Screen Rant.

As a hearing aid user and hearing loss advocate, Adam greatly values content that illuminates invisible disabilities. (He's also a music producer and loves the opportunity to explore the junction at which hearing loss and music collide head-on.)

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