Creatine and Menopause Brain Fog: Can Creatine Help Cognition?

Brain fog is one of the most talked-about cognitive experiences during perimenopause and menopause.
You might find yourself forgetting why you walked into a room, struggling to find the right word or finding it harder to concentrate.
Because creatine plays an important role in cellular energy production – including in the brain - researchers are asking whether supplementation could support cognition.
The answer so far is interesting but inconclusive.

Why would creatine affect the brain?

The brain has a high energy demand.
Creatine and phosphocreatine form part of the system that helps regenerate ATP, supporting cellular energy availability.
This has led to research into creatine and cognitive performance in several populations.
However, results have not been consistently positive.
A large double-blind crossover trial involving 123 healthy adults found, at most, a small cognitive benefit after six weeks of creatine. Working memory showed a borderline improvement, while several other cognitive measures did not show clear effects.

What about women during menopause?

This is where the research gets particularly important.
A recent randomised controlled trial specifically investigated creatine in perimenopausal and menopausal women.
The study included 36 apparently healthy women with a mean age of around 50. Participants received different doses and forms of creatine or placebo over eight weeks.
The researchers reported improvements in reaction time and brain creatine levels compared with placebo, but the study was small and short, so the results are early.
These findings are encouraging, but they should be interpreted cautiously.
It means we shouldn't simply take evidence from athletes, young adults or men and assume that the same effects will occur during menopause.

So can creatine help brain fog?

At present, there isn't enough menopause-specific evidence to say that it does.
That doesn't mean it cannot.
The 2025 review of creatine in women's health describes cognitive and mood effects as an emerging area of research and calls for more targeted studies, particularly during perimenopause.
There are also reasons to continue investigating the question.
Hormonal changes during menopause may alter creatine metabolism and potentially influence how creatine is transported and used by tissues.
But this remains an area for research rather than a proven explanation for brain fog.

What about vegetarians and vegans?

Diet could be relevant.
Creatine is found predominantly in animal foods, particularly meat and fish. People who eat little or no animal food can therefore have lower dietary creatine intake.
In a study of young women, creatine supplementation produced a greater improvement in word recall among vegetarians than omnivores.
Benton & Donohoe research
But this study was conducted in young women, not women experiencing menopause.
It's therefore a useful clue, not direct evidence that creatine treats menopause brain fog.

Sleep matters too

Brain fog rarely exists in isolation.
If you're waking repeatedly because of night sweats, struggling with insomnia or simply not getting enough restorative sleep, concentration can suffer.
There is some evidence from non-menopausal populations that creatine may reduce certain cognitive effects of sleep deprivation.
For example, research has investigated creatine after prolonged wakefulness and reported improvements in some measures of working memory and reaction time.

Again, this does not mean creatine fixes menopause-related sleep problems.
It simply provides another reason researchers are interested in the creatine-brain connection.

What should you do about menopause brain fog?

Don't underestimate the basics.
Brain health during menopause is influenced by sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress and general health.
Resistance exercise is particularly interesting because it potentially supports both physical and cognitive health while helping maintain muscle.
If brain fog is severe, worsening or accompanied by other concerning symptoms, talk to your healthcare professional.

The bottom line

Creatine is not currently proven to treat menopause brain fog.
A small menopause-specific trial reported improvements in reaction time and brain creatine levels compared with placebo, while research in other populations remains mixed.
But because creatine is central to cellular energy metabolism and may interact with exercise, sleep and diet, it remains an interesting area of women's-health research.
For now, the most accurate message is not "creatine cures brain fog".
It is:
Creatine and cognition are promising areas of research - but menopause-specific evidence is still catching up.