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@ lowcarbdoctor
2023-09-19 11:52:48While I am a fully licensed physician in Kansas, this communication does not constitute personal medical advice or establish a physician-patient relationship. See your own physician to discuss your particular diagnosis and treatment
As a physician, if you are not guarded, it is very easy to be influenced by information, develop a framework of thinking, then develop an entrenched dogma without considering the details deeply. This risk is especially pervasive in medical training. You are developing a foundation of knowledge that you call upon to make decisions. In training, you have limited time to investigate the veracity of this dogma, as concepts are thrown at you quickly (steep learning curve). Unfortunately, as you complete training and enter a phase of your life when you have a busy medical practice, your time is again limited. In order to learn and question, you have to cut into your family time or recreation time to allow yourself to expand your thinking. These time limitations are ever-present. My hat goes off to fellow physicians that have taken the time to truly question and learn. This long-winded introduction leads me to my thoughts about creatine. As a physician in training, I was taught that creatine was dangerous, something body-builders use, and something that will cause kidney injury and medical problems. In recent years, I took another look at creatine and I have included some of my observations below. One of, what I consider the pillars of optimal health, sleep, can be greatly affected by the use of creatine. Since poor sleep is a risk factor for chronic disease, and sleeping problems are pervasive in our society, I would like to have treatment options to improve sleep for my patients. I would also desire to reduce the effects of poor sleep when it occurs. Of course, exercise is one of my pillars of health, and as you will note, creatine improves athletic performance also.
Creatine
Creatine is an amino acid found in the muscles and brain. Sources of creatine: Red meat, poultry, seafood, and supplements. Common supplement dosage 1 to 3 g daily. Effects of creatine: Increasing muscle mass and improving strength by increasing the amount of phosphocreatine in muscles which is necessary for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
Creatine and sleep
Creatine supplementation has a similar effect as caffeine in improvement of athletic performance. Creatine supplementation may reduce the amount of sleep needed to feel rested. Creatine supplementation may improve thinking after a poor night's sleep.
Refresher on sleep
Circadian rhythm is driven by light exposure, movement, food timing, and caffeine intake. Extracellular adenosine accumulates in the brain, as the day goes on, by the breakdown of ATP to adenosine monophosphate. Adenosine activates GABA neural pathways which inhibits wake-promoting neurons in the brain. Incidentally, caffeine can prevent you from getting sleepy by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain. Creatine can increase ATP stores and counteract the breakdown of ATP into adenosine, resulting in increasing energy production. After poor sleep, you often feel foggy and your concentration is generally impaired. Creatine can improve your response to poor sleep, in a sense, allow you to function well with not enough sleep. When a patient tells me that they get by with 4 hours of sleep, I do my best to help them get more. Creatine can serve as a support while I am trying to correct their sleep problem. Shift-workers have special challenges with proper sleep and may do well to supplement with creatine.
I hope this information helps you and your loved ones!
Jason Williams, D.O.