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Creatine & Tiredness

Jun 14, 2011 | By Sarka-Jonae Miller
Creatine & Tiredness
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Creatine is a combination of important amino acids including methionine, glycine and arginine. Some foods contain creatine, but even the foods with the highest levels cannot compare to the amount in a teaspoon of a powdered creatine supplement. Bodybuilders use creatine to increase muscle size, but it also has a positive impact on reducing several types of fatigue.

Neuromuscular Fatigue

Neuromuscular fatigue is the ability of the central nervous system (CNS) to "talk" to the motor units within muscles. Lifting weights causes potassium to build up in the muscle fibers and also produces tears in the fibers, both of which interfere with CNS communication. The body then inhibits muscle contractions to prevent more damage, which produces symptoms of fatigue such as reduced speed and strength. A 1999 study in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" suggests that using creatine supplements delays neuromuscular fatigue. The delay may be due to higher levels of creatine in the blood. Creatine helps resynthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the body's immediate source of energy for all actions, including contracting muscles and even thinking.

Mental Fatigue

Creatine is not only found in muscles, it is also in the brain. A lack of creatine leads to underdevelopment in the brain, notes Dr. Joseph A. Debe in an article on his website. Creatine supplements positively affect brain development just as they increase muscle development, according to Dr. Debe, and taking as little as 5 g of creatine four times a day can increase the amount of brain creatine.

Additionally, participants in a study performed by the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the University of Tokyo experienced less mental fatigue when taking 8 g of creatine a day for five days. Participants using creatine showed an increase of cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin in the brain, which means that their brains were able to better utilize oxygen.

Metabolic Fatigue

Supplements that include creatine have a positive effect on metabolic fatigue as well. This type of fatigue is what happens during a workout when your body uses up its fuel resources -- including ATP/CP, glucose and stored glycogen -- and there is a subsequent build up of byproducts such as lactic acid, according to Bodybuilding.com. The byproducts from this metabolization of energy slows your body's ability to resynthesize creatine phosphate and to reduce blood PH levels. The effect on your body from the byproduct's interference is that the more you work out, the more fatigue you feel. Drinking a protein shake containing creatine after your workout helps your body recover more quickly from metabolic fatigue.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Creatine may benefit people with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a condition of severe fatigue or weariness that does not get better with rest and is not the cause of another condition. People with chronic fatigue syndrome suffer from general muscle weakness and fewer high energy compounds, such as ATP, than other people. Since taking creatine supplements raises the level of creatine and APT in the body, it may have a positive impact on chronic fatigue syndrome, suggests Will Brink in an article published on Bodybuildingforyou.com.

References

Article reviewed by Jeremy Lloyd Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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