I have taken to adding creatine to my coffee, and after about a month, it has become a staple in my morning routine before seeing patients.
Box checked: for me, it is worth pursuing.
Here’s why.
Anecdote: barking puppy at 3 AM
Just this last week, one of our Yorkie pups (the boy) began barking at the wind and the rain.
Eventually, he and his sister settled down on the sofa behind my knees until the alarm went off for an 8 a.m. call.
Total sleep of laughable quality: 3–4 hours.
Coffee and creatine, and on with the day.
Med school and practice
You learn through medical training how to power through on little or no sleep. You must stay sharp to make judgment calls about people’s lives; medical training teaches you how to do this.
4 hours was a godsend—medical residents sometimes get zero—and performance was maintained:
- All weapons still firing: history, test review, synthesizing next step options from multiple info streams
- Staying on track with appointment times (as much as possible in primary care)
- Not losing my cool with anyone
- Able to exercise and handle home duties
But if you think and write, 4 hours of sleep with Yorkies looks like this:
- Posting on social media: just the basics, long threads a struggle
- Insights still happening, but almost zero
- Sitting down to write: lots of staring at the blinking cursor
- Advancing personal and professional goals: Sorry, what?
And this is with 5 grams of creatine monohydrate in my morning coffee.
Creatine helps the brain
Creatine has been used as a supplement for weight training for decades and is arguably the most studied supplement for performance enhancement. Many athletes use it to lift heavier weights and run longer and faster; I started using it because of its potential effects on brain function, memory, and, most importantly, energy levels.
That I could perform professionally as a doctor and not goof up, bark at staff (ha), or have to prop up my eyelids… I won’t claim creatine made all the difference.
But to me, paying attention, it noticeably helped.
Instead of feeling like ghosts were hanging on my limbs all day, I felt like my tank was about 80% full.
And yes, this carries over into better brain function, mood, and creativity.
But sleep helps more
The next day, I clocked 7 hours of sleep.
And the thinking and writing looked like this:
- Immediately seeing numerous connections between topics
- Longer thread posts easy again
- Deep dive topics noted for future exploration
- Advancing goals back on the priorities list
Necessary vs. sufficient
You’ll see me touch upon this contrasting idea a lot: some things you need as key ingredients for health and fitness, some things will be enough by themselves, and there are important differences between them when it comes to adopting them in real life.
Creatine monohydrate, 5 grams in a not-too-hot beverage, is neither necessary nor sufficient. But I’ve noticed a definite improvement in my energy levels using it—no more slogging through a jacuzzi of molasses. If fatigue makes cowards of us all, I’ll take the assist in everything that fatigue would otherwise impair.
Sleep is both necessary and arguably sufficient. For me, creatine is no substitute for sleep when synthesizing insights and connections, and staying consistent with improvement habits.
If I were a basic worker bee, nose to the grindstone, don’t look up, when we want your opinion we’ll tell it to you, I’d need neither creatine nor sleep.
Since I have plans to actualize, BJJ to improve, and people to help, I’ll be optimizing both.
Next time: what creatine does in more detail, and its safety profile (pretty darn safe).
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