While creatine is known for its role in muscle growth, studies show it can also impact mental health. So if you are wondering: “Can creatine cause anxiety?” you may have a legitimate reason for asking this question.
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Creatine is one of the widely most used supplements across the globe. The reasons which add to its extreme popularity are its safety and wide availability. Creatine is safe to consume in most cases, but it may cause unexpected problems like anxiety and nausea if you take too much of it.
Creatine is produced by our body to maintain the proper functioning of the body, and both its overdose and deficiency can have a negative effect on our body.
Let’s get deeper into this matter and discuss how and what effects creatine can have on your mental health. We will be answering questions like, “Can creatine cause anxiety” or “what are the negative effects of creatine.” Keep reading to find the answers to these questions.
Does Creatine Make Anxiety Worse?
Creatine can make your anxiety worse if you have been taking an overdose of it.
Our body produces around 2 to 3 grams of creatine every day, which aids in normal muscular functioning and growth. Creatine has a significant effect on our muscles, but it can also impact our brain and mental condition.
Creatine can make your anxiety worse if you have been taking an overdose of it. If you have been taking a proper amount and guidance while taking creatine, then there is hardly any reason for you to worry.
Creatine is also used to treat mental health problems, and it has both good and harmful effects on your brain. Studies have shown that creatine can also be beneficial for mental health as an antioxidant and a neuromodulator. It is beneficial in PTSD and depression.
If you have been observing unnatural changes in your mood after going on a creatine diet, it is better to take professional advice before continuing it.
Is Creatine Good for Anxiety?
Yes, it is being used as complementary medicine for depression and anxiety-related disorders.
In many medical studies, creatine has been used for depression treatment. The decrease in the creatine level can cause several problems in our brain, which can be easily tackled by maintaining a specific level of creatine supply.
Creatine increases the supply of energy in our body, which goes to our brain. It can help make our brain more active and can therefore help improve our mood.
Creatine is used as a CAM to treat anxiety. However, if you have been suffering from anxiety or any other mental disorder, it is better to take professional medical advice before taking creatine.
Although it is helpful in most cases, it may cause numerous problems if taken in an excessive and unguided fashion.
Can Creatine Make You Feel Weird?
Normally no, but it could be happening due to dehydration or excess dosage.
Creatine increases water retention in our body, and if a certain level of water balance is not maintained, you can also feel dehydrated. Dehydration in our body can also make us feel weird, like dizziness, weakness, and fatigue. You must keep drinking water to maintain the water balance in your body and consume creatine in a controlled fashion.
Professional athletes and bodybuilders who take creatine regularly maintain a certain amount of creatine supplementation and follow their regimen. An overdose on even a single day can upset your digestive system and can make you feel weird or nauseous. So the weird feeling that some people may feel after taking creatine can be due to improper digestion and overdosage.
What can be the Adverse Effects of Creatine?
Creatine is purported to have adverse effects on our bodies (though there is little scientific evidence to support the same), both mentally and physically. Although it is one of the safest supplements, we should not take an overdose or take it randomly.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that prolonged exposure to overdosage of creatine can cause some significant issues in our body like long-term kidney problems, liver problems, or some major mental problems. Let’s discuss its negative effect on our bodies and in our minds in detail:
Health problems caused due to creatine:
- Depression,
- Anxiety,
- Restlessness,
- Mania
It is also possible that if you maintain an overdose of creatine for a long time, it can cause some long-term mental disorders, like emotional irregularities and personality disorders.
The harmful effect of creatine on our body:
The majority of problems associated with our body caused due to creatine are due to dehydration. Creatine absorbs water from our muscles to increase water retention, but this process consumes a lot of water and reduces its amount in our body.
Bloating is one of the other major problems associated with creatine, and If taken improperly, it can cause unwanted bloating of the face and body. Most of them feel they take creatine but don’t increase their water consumption which hurts them.
The other major problems that can (purportedly) be caused due to creatine in our body are:
- Kidney damage,
- Kidney Stones,
- Liver Damage,
- Dehydration,
- Bloating, and
- Digestive problems
Does Creatine Affect Sleep?
Taking creatine in an orderly fashion and a limited amount has an almost negligible effect on your sleeping schedule. The overdosage of creatine can cause an extra supply of adenosine triphosphate(ATP) in your body, making you feel more energetic and active and reducing your sleeping time. We must maintain a proper sleeping schedule because most healing of our body happens during our Sleep.
A Few Final Words
Creatine should be taken under proper guidance, and we should not overdo it to see faster results in our bodies. There are a lot of consequences of consuming creatine in our bodies, and we should avoid doing that.
Get professional guidance before starting a creatine supplement. If you have already been suffering from any medical or physical health problem, then it is better to consult your physician before starting taking creatine.
Thank you for going through this article, and we hope that we have answered all your queries. If there are some left, please do address them to us through the comments section.
We have written about other problems that creatine causes such as anger, bloating and thirst. Please read about them and stay safe!