The Most Overlooked Supplement in Women’s Health?
The science behind creatine’s role in female health, from adolescence to menopause.
Should More Women Be Taking Creatine?
When most people hear 'creatine,' they picture a male bodybuilder chugging a chalky shake before his third set of bicep curls. But in reality, creatine’s benefits are far more interesting—perhaps even more so for people you'd never associate with using it. Across every stage of life, women may stand to benefit from creatine supplementation not just for strength gains, but also for brain health, mood resilience, and metabolic support.
In my work with clients—especially women navigating strength training, mood fluctuations, or demanding cognitive loads—creatine often ends up being one of the most useful and underutilized tools. This is in no way a pitch; I don’t sell supplements. But I do think the research is compelling enough to pay attention to.
What Creatine Actually Does
Creatine is a compound your body naturally makes and stores in muscles and the brain. It helps regenerate ATP, your cells’ primary energy source, especially during short bursts of effort—like lifting weights, sprinting, or thinking hard on little sleep. Meat and fish contain creatine, but many women (especially those eating less animal protein) have lower baseline levels.
Why does that matter? Because lower starting stores may mean greater potential benefit from supplementation.
Adolescence: A Window for Performance and Mental Health Support
In adolescent girls, especially athletes, creatine supplementation improves strength, power, and sprint performance. One foundational trial in teen swimmers found faster sprint times after just a few weeks of supplementation.
But perhaps more notably, creatine may support mental health. During adolescence—a time of rapid brain development and rising rates of depression in young women—creatine seems to help restore energy balance in brain regions responsible for mood regulation. Some studies show it can speed up recovery from depressive episodes in teenage girls.
When I’m working with younger clients (or their parents), this dual impact—physical and psychological—makes creatine worth a conversation, especially for teen athletes or those struggling with fatigue or mood swings.
Premenopausal Women: Strength, Brain Fog, and the Menstrual Cycle
For women in their reproductive years, creatine consistently improves outcomes from resistance training. Those who supplement while lifting gain more strength and lean mass than those who train without it. Contrary to common fears, women don’t tend to experience the same water retention or bloating that some men report.
Creatine also appears to interact with hormonal fluctuations. During the luteal phase of the cycle—when progesterone rises and carb utilization drops—muscles rely more on creatine for energy. That’s often when women report feeling flat or tired in the gym. In my coaching work, I’ve seen that creatine may help blunt that drop, keeping performance and motivation more stable throughout the cycle.
Cognitively, creatine shines under pressure: sleep deprivation, stress, and high mental demand. For women juggling work, caregiving, and training, it’s one of the few supplements that supports both mind and body.
Menopause and Perimenopause: Holding Onto Strength and Function
Estrogen drops during menopause accelerate muscle loss and make strength harder to maintain. Creatine, especially when paired with strength training, slows this decline. Studies in postmenopausal women show improved strength, mobility, and day-to-day function.
Longer-term use might also help preserve bone density, though this benefit seems to emerge gradually. Mentally, creatine may offer subtle protection against brain fog, especially during poor sleep or high stress—two common experiences during this transition.
For many of my older clients, creatine becomes a foundational tool not for bulking, but for keeping up with life.
Pregnancy: Promising, But Still Early Days
Animal studies suggest creatine might protect both mother and baby during stressful events like labor or birth complications. It seems to improve outcomes related to oxygen deprivation in newborns, likely by buffering energy availability.
Human trials are still limited. There’s strong biological plausibility, but until we have more robust human data, I don’t typically recommend creatine during pregnancy without medical guidance. That said, I’m closely watching this space—because the potential is real.
How to Use It
Dose: 3–5 grams per day. No need to load. Just be consistent.
Type: Stick with creatine monohydrate—it’s the most well-studied, effective, and affordable form. Look for Creapure® on the label if you want the gold standard for purity and quality control.
Timing: Whenever you’ll remember. Post-workout is a slight bonus, but not essential.
Safety: Repeated studies show it’s safe for healthy individuals, including women. Hydration is always smart, but the kidney damage myth has been thoroughly debunked.
TL;DR – Should Women Take Creatine?
Creatine can safely and effectively support strength, cognition, and mood across life stages—from adolescence to menopause.
It may help buffer hormone-related performance dips and improve recovery under stress or sleep deprivation.
While research during pregnancy is still preliminary, other phases of life show strong support for supplementation.
It’s one of the few supplements I regularly recommend to clients, especially those training hard or feeling depleted.
The Takeaway
If you’re a woman training regularly, juggling a lot mentally, or just trying to maintain energy and strength over time—creatine is worth a look. It’s not magic but it is one of the best-supported, lowest-risk supplements out there.
References
Lyoo et al., Am J Psychiatry, 2012
Vandenberghe et al., J Appl Physiol, 1997
Smith-Ryan et al., Nutrients, 2021
Chilibeck et al., JBMR, 2023
Ellery et al., Placenta, 2016
Nguyen et al., Nutrition, 2020
McMorris et al., Psychopharmacology, 2007
Forbes & Candow, Nutrients, 2021
Sunderland et al., Neurosci Lett, 2011
Gualano et al., Amino Acids, 2012
What Else I’m Reading
“Quantifying the effect of afternoon moderate‑intensity exercise on sleep quality and quantity in healthy adult males using polysomnography”
Morrison et al. (2025, J Sci Med Sport)
This crossover trial had healthy men complete either 40 minutes of cycling at ~70% HRmax in the afternoon or remain sedentary, followed by full overnight sleep monitoring. The results showed that moderate afternoon exercise did not significantly impact overall sleep quality or quantity, though individual responses varied—some experienced slightly shorter total sleep time and delayed REM onset.
📌 Takeaway: Afternoon moderate-intensity workouts don’t generally impair sleep in healthy adults, but responses can differ person to person—so pay attention to how your own sleep reacts and adjust timing accordingly.
“Effect of Post-Exercise Sauna Bathing on the Endurance Performance of Competitive Runners” (Scoon et al., J Sci Med Sport, 2007)
In a crossover trial with male distance runners, 3 weeks of 30-minute sauna sessions after training boosted time-to-exhaustion by 32% (about a 1.9% improvement in a 5 km time trial) and increased plasma volume by ~7%, compared to training alone.
📌 Takeaway: If you’re an endurance athlete looking foran edge, adding regular post-training sauna sessions can improve blood volume and performance without adding training volume.
Late, but Not Early, Night Sleep Loss Compromises Neuroendocrine Appetite Regulation and the Desire for Food”Meyhöfer et al. (2023, Nutrients)
In this randomized crossover study of healthy young men, skipping sleep during the late part of the night—rather than early-night sleep deprivation—significantly increased morning ghrelin (the “hunger hormone”) and subjective appetite, while leptin remained unchanged.
📌 Takeaway: It’s not just how much you sleep that matters—it’s when you sleep. Missing the end-of-night sleep window may spike your hunger hormone and increase appetite, which could subtly affect eating behavior and metabolic health over time.
Before you go 💬
I started writing because I kept having conversations that didn’t quite fit into a session or an Instagram post. If you’re thinking through something—training, nutrition, mindset, whatever—or just want to share what’s been working for you, hit reply. I read everything, and I’m always open to talking through it.