Bedtime Supplementation: Can You Take Creatine Before Bed

There’s a lot of confusion regarding the right time to take a supplement regimen. A common question I’ve heard being asked is, “Can you take creatine before bed?”…

In general, there are no negative effects if you choose to take creatine before bed. Creatine before bed will not disrupt your sleep, and you will still receive muscle-building benefits, muscle recovery, and a boost in exercise performance from consuming creatine.

Unlike pre-workout or other supplements where timing is crucial, you benefit most from taking creatine consistently over time.

It’s more important to consume creatine on a daily basis in order to restore and saturate your muscle cells’ stores of creatine.

Below, I’ll go over tips on taking creatine before bed, the benefits of taking a creatine supplement, how much creatine monohydrate you should be consuming daily, and more…

Is It Bad To Take Creatine Before Bed

Now, you should understand that taking creatine before bed is completely safe. It’s not going to disrupt your sleep or cause sleep deprivation. You’ll also still be able to take advantage of all the creatine benefits this supplement offers.

But there are some arguments that it’s better to take creatine around 30 minutes before physical activity to ensure the creatine reserves in your muscles are completely topped off.

Personally, I think that consuming creatine consistently over a long period of time is what matters more than optimizing the timing of your creatine intake.

If you want to take creatine before workouts, I recommend you look at pre-workouts that already contain a 5g dose of creatine monohydrate.

This is the pre-workout I recommend, which also contains creatine supplementation. Check the price on Amazon Here.

Now, let’s talk about the benefits of taking creatine before bed or just taking creatine in general…

Benefits Of Taking Creatine Supplements Before Bed

Creatine supplements are one of the most studied supplements on the market. The most studied and recommended form of creatine supplementation is creatine monohydrate.

This form of creatine has been linked to studies where research suggests gains in lean muscle mass, better muscle recovery, better endurance, fewer muscle cramps, better muscle hydration, and so much more. (1)

This is great news for fitness enthusiasts or anyone looking to increase their athletic performance.

Now, let’s talk about each of these benefits in greater detail…

Helps Reduce Fatigue

One of the benefits of taking creatine before bed is it can help reduce the muscle fatigue you feel in the gym. And can actually help improve recovery from your intense workouts.

Gives You An Energy Boost In The Gym

Another benefit you may start to feel when you start taking creatine is more energy in the gym.

If you are doing very intense exercise or an intense workout routine, then taking creatine before bed can help you with endurance and boost performance in the gym.

Can Help With Building Lean Muscle Mass

Some people have reported that taking creatine can help with muscle growth and the building of muscle mass when used with a proper diet, training, and recovery routine.

Just remember taking creatine by itself will not give you these benefits. Most studies are done on individuals who are athletes sticking to proper nutrition and training programs.

Helps Your Muscles Stay Hydrated

You might hear that when you start the loading phase and increase your creatine uptake, you might start to put on some water weight gain.

This is completely true, and saturating your muscle tissue with creatine will pull and retain more water within your muscles.

This can lead to “potential weight gain” on the scale, but you’ll actually benefit from having hydrated muscles since they will be less prone to cramping and can perform better.

Helps Your Muscle Cells Recover From Workouts

There are also some reports that creatine supplements have been shown to improve recovery after intense workouts.

Can Help Improve Cognitive Function

Last but not least, some research suggests creatine helps with brain function and even memory.

Now, these are all the benefits that athletes have reported, I have experienced, and what research suggests from the National Library of Medicine.

But I do want to emphasize that this is all done in conjunction with a proper diet, taking creatine at a proper dosage, and getting enough sleep.

So, let’s talk about how to take creatine before bed in the right amounts if you truly want to take advantage of its benefits…

How Much Creatine Should You Take Before Bed

There are two trains of thought when it comes to taking creatine supplements…

One way is to do a loading phase for the first week in order to help with creatine absorption and completely saturate your muscles. After going through the loading phase, it’s recommended to take creatine daily in a smaller dose.

Most will recommend taking 20g of creatine daily for the first seven days. This 20g is usually broken into 4 different 5g servings taken throughout the day. Then, after the seventh day, you can just take 5gs of creatine daily as a maintenance dosage.

Another way is to skip the loading phase altogether and just start taking creatine daily at 5g.

The thought process is over time; you’ll be building the creatine stores in your muscles, but it may just take a longer time compared to using the method with a loading phase.

I say don’t overcomplicate this process. Just ensure you take your creatine supplement consistently.

Can You Take Creatine Before Bed On An Empty Stomach

Creatine is a form of amino acids. I personally take creatine on an empty stomach all the time. Some people even take creatine while intermittent fasting.

And if you are wondering, “Does creatine break a fast.” You can learn more about that topic in the post I’ve just linked to.

But if you do have a sensitive stomach and find yourself feeling nauseous or dealing with an upset stomach when taking creatine without any food. I suggest having something to eat when you are thinking about taking your creatine monohydrate.

This can help those with sensitive stomachs. You can try taking your creatine supplement with something with carbs or even mix it together with your protein shake to see if that does the trick.

Final Thoughts On Taking Creatine Supplements Before Bedtime

This concludes my post on taking creatine before bed.

Now, you should know that taking this supplement before going to bed is perfectly fine.

And it can actually help you turn it into a habit and routine, which is great because if you pay attention to this post…

Then you’ll know that the most important thing to gain all the benefits from creatine is to take it consistently.

This is more important than trying to optimize the timing of this supplement.

I hope this post was able to answer any question you had about taking creatine before bed.

I hope you take advantage of this supplement and its benefits, and I wish you the best on your fitness journey!