Are you worried that taking creatine before bed will keep you awake? If creatine had caffeine, this would be a legitimate problem.
Creatine does not have caffeine as they are two different ingredients. Creatine is a protein that takes chronic use for performance enhancement, whereas caffeine is a stimulant that acutely enhances performance.
If you haven’t taken creatine before, you may be wondering how you will feel afterward. Is it like taking a pre-workout supplement or something more intense?
Table of Contents
Does Creatine Have Caffeine?
Creatine does not contain caffeine. Creatine is made from amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and does not contain anything outside of that. Many people may think creatine has caffeine because of the pre-workout supplements they take.
Often, pre-workouts will include caffeine and creatine hence the association between the two ingredients. However, they are vastly different.
Caffeine is a stimulant with many performance-enhancing benefits such as increasing strength, improving alertness and focus, and mental performance [1]. These effects are acute and last up to approximately 6 hours.
On the other hand, creatine is not a stimulant, so there is no acute performance-enhancing benefit. But when taken chronically, improvements in strength and power occur once the muscle is saturated with creatine.
There is also a myth that you can’t take creatine and caffeine together. Many authors have dismissed this as research has shown positive results when mixing creatine with coffee or tea [2].
Is Creatine A Stimulant?
Creatine is not a stimulant as it does not have any acute excitatory effects when taking it. It is simply a protein used to enhance the alactic energy system. By saturating the muscle with creatine, it binds with more phosphate molecules. These phosphate molecules enhance energy regeneration to improve strength and power and extend high-intensity activity.
Does Creatine Keep You Awake?
Creatine does not keep you awake as it is not a stimulant. You can take creatine any time of the day for this reason. No need to take it before or after working out. Just when you remember.
Does Creatine Give You Energy?
Creatine does not give you energy. It is like taking a small protein supplement each day. Instead, creatine taken every day will boost your performance in the gym.
How Should You Feel After Taking Creatine?
You won’t feel anything after taking creatine. There are no side effects when taking the recommended dose of 3-5 g, unlike beta-alanine, niacin, or caffeine. The first two ingredients will cause you to tingle and itch, and caffeine will have you feeling more alert. Creatine will do neither.
Summary
Creatine does not have caffeine, and caffeine does not have creatine. However, some pre-workout formulas will have both of these ingredients within their supplement. Creatine does not have any stimulatory effects, so you can take it any time of the day.
References
1. Astorino, T. A., & Roberson, D. W. (2010). Efficacy of acute caffeine ingestion for short-term high-intensity exercise performance: a systematic review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(1), 257-265.
2. Trexler, E. T., & Smith-Ryan, A. E. (2015). Creatine and caffeine: considerations for concurrent supplementation. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 25(6), 607-623.