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- Tuesday Sync Stack: Creatine & Cognitive Load 🧠
Tuesday Sync Stack: Creatine & Cognitive Load 🧠
Your Daily Foundation for Peak Mental Performance
Jaylene + Aaron Patelzick
September 02, 2025
In partnership with
Most people think creatine is just for gym bros building muscle. But what if we told you it's actually one of the most powerful tools for protecting your brain during demanding weeks? Today we're diving into the research that's changing how we think about cognitive performance—and why your father-in-law might benefit just as much as a 25-year-old athlete.
What's Inside
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Creatine isn't just about muscles—it's a brain resilience tool that protects performance when sleep, stress, and travel push your system to the edge. While most couples reach for another cup of coffee during demanding weeks, the real game-changer might be in your supplement cabinet.
🧠 The Science Behind Your Sharpest Self
Recent research reveals something remarkable: a single high dose of creatine (0.35 g/kg) during sleep deprivation improved word memory, reaction speed, and protected brain energy.
What does this mean for you?
A 187 lb person (84.82 kg) could take roughly 29.7 grams of creatine for acute cognitive support.
Aaron has personally tested 25 grams daily (diluted into his morning coffee) and noticed improved cognitive performance during heavier mental loads.
Daily doses of 5–10 grams help regenerate ATP production—the energy currency within your cells' mitochondria.
The 2024 breakthrough: Under sleep deprivation, creatine prevented brain acidity drops, improved working memory by +10%, and sped up logic/numeric tasks by 16–24%.
Why This Matters Even More as We Age
The research reveals something crucial: by 2050, we'll have 1.6 billion people over 65, with cognitive decline becoming increasingly common. The hallmark issues? Decision-making deficits, working memory problems, concentration issues, and slower reaction times—exactly what creatine supplementation addresses.
The Aging Brain Reality: Your brain uses 20% of your body's energy despite being only 2% of your body weight. As we age, brain creatine stores naturally decrease while energy demands remain constant. This creates a perfect storm: reduced mitochondrial function, less efficient ATP synthesis, and structural brain deterioration.
The Research Results:
11% increase in brain creatine levels after 8 weeks of supplementation in 73-year-olds with Alzheimer's
Improved working memory and long-term memory in healthy older adults after just 7 days
Neuroprotective effects: Anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and cell-protective properties
Why Start Now: The research emphasizes that chronological age alone shouldn't determine supplementation needs—but waiting until cognitive decline begins may be too late. Starting creatine supplementation earlier builds brain energy reserves before decline begins, protects against the inevitable age-related decrease in brain creatine, and maintains the energy availability crucial for cognitive performance.
🏃 Move (5 min): Train Your Cognitive Reaction Speed
Why this matters: The psychomotor vigilance task is a test of behavioral alertness and sustained attention—the same mental skills creatine research has shown to improve. While we don't have studies specifically combining creatine with reaction time training, both target similar cognitive pathways: creatine supports brain energy metabolism while vigilance training strengthens neural connections for faster, more efficient responses.
Partner Vigilance Challenges:
Tennis Ball Drop Challenge:
Partner holds tennis ball at shoulder height
Without warning, they drop it
React and catch as fast as possible before it bounces twice
Swap roles and keep score
Racquet Reaction Drill:
Partner stands across with racquet and ball
They toss or tap the ball toward you at unpredictable times
Your task: catch or return as quickly as possible
This type of training creates new neural pathways, making relevant connections stronger—exactly what you need when life demands split-second decisions and sustained mental performance.
🍽️ Fuel (5 min): Your Brain Performance Protocol
The Brain Fuel Combo: Coffee + Creatine + Collagen
Why this trio works:
Coffee (Caffeine): Enhances alertness, focus, and reaction time by blocking adenosine receptors that cause drowsiness.
Creatine: Higher doses bypass muscle saturation and feed the brain directly, supporting ATP production for sustained cognitive energy. Momentous Creatine is one that we use on a daily basis, and highly recommend it. Use code HIVE for up to 35% off your first order.
Collagen: Beyond hair and skin benefits, collagen provides structural integrity to brain tissues and the blood-brain barrier, aids neuronal communication through amino acids, and contains glycine—a neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation, better sleep, and reduced anxiety. Here is our favorite collagen atm.
Dosing Strategy:
Baseline daily: 5–10g
Heavy brain load/sleep debt/travel: up to 20g
Timing: Peak effects hit ~4 hours after ingestion, lasting 6–9 hours
Today's experiment: Notice when you're mentally dragging—would creatine be a smarter swap (or partner) to your caffeine routine? Try it with Ryze's adaptogenic mushroom coffee for an even smoother cognitive boost.
💭 Reflection Prompt for Couples
Individual reflection: How do you currently "fuel your brain" when it's stretched thin—caffeine, naps, supplements?
Partner discussion: If you had an extra 10% memory and 20% faster processing speed during your hardest weeks, what difference would it make in your relationship? How would that support both of your goals?
🔄 This Week's Sync
Creatine has been a game-changer in our daily routine, supporting not just our individual cognitive performance but our ability to show up fully for each other during demanding seasons. When your brain is firing on all cylinders, every aspect of your partnership benefits—from decision-making to emotional availability.
Try it together: Start with 5-10g daily and notice how your mental clarity and energy shift. Your future selves (and your relationship) will thank you.
Until Friday, keep fueling those beautiful brains of yours (and maybe surprise your partner with some cognitive superpowers).
Sharper together,
— Jaylene + Aaron
P.S…Two quick asks before you go.
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