A multinational research team comprising scientists from the United States, Iran, Canada, and Qatar explored how a combination of creatine nitrate and caffeine affects both physical performance and cognitive function. The study findings appeared in the scientific journal Nutrients.
In the world of sports nutrition, caffeine and creatine are popular supplements used to boost performance. Caffeine acts as a stimulant of the central nervous system, while creatine helps replenish adenosine triphosphate energy in muscle cells, supporting short bursts of high-intensity effort.
Although both supplements have well-documented benefits when used separately, the effects of taking them together have not been studied as extensively.
The experiment took place at the Human Performance Laboratory, located at Jacksonville State University in the United States. The study recruited twelve healthy male volunteers aged between eighteen and forty.
Participants received five grams of creatine nitrate alongside four hundred milligrams of caffeine roughly forty-five minutes before engaging in resistance training.
To gauge physical performance, researchers measured how many repetitions could be completed to failure during bench press and leg press exercises, as well as the total weight lifted across the sets.
Cognitive function was evaluated through the Stroop Word Color Test, which assesses attention, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility. Additional assessments included a visual analog scale to rate work readiness and several questionnaires about sleep quality, caffeine tolerance, and any side effects experienced by the participants.
Contrary to the researchers expectations, the combination did not yield meaningful improvements in physical performance. The number of repetitions and the total volume lifted in bench press and leg press remained essentially unchanged across the different test conditions.
In contrast, the crossover ingestion of creatine nitrate with caffeine produced a noticeable improvement in cognitive performance on the Stroop color test. The enhancement exceeded what was achieved by caffeine alone, suggesting an additive or synergistic effect on certain cognitive processing tasks.
Effect size analyses indicated medium to large impacts on cognitive measures, implying a substantial influence on processing speed and executive functions under the combined intervention.
Earlier research has suggested that creatine may offer neuroprotective benefits or help mitigate cognitive decline associated with sleep deprivation. The current study contributes to this body of work by highlighting that combining creatine nitrate with caffeine might influence brain function in ways that go beyond physical performance alone.
Overall, the findings indicate a clear divergence between physical and cognitive responses to the combined supplement. While muscle endurance and power did not show marked gains, certain cognitive parameters benefited from the pairing. These results may be of interest to athletes and professionals who rely on rapid information processing, strategic decision making, and high mental workload during demanding activities. Further research with larger samples and varied dosing regimens could help clarify the boundaries of these effects and identify any long-term implications for both energy metabolism and brain health. The study underscores the importance of considering both physical and cognitive outcomes when evaluating the potential benefits of supplement combinations in sports contexts. [citation]