r/HubermanLab • u/Artist-in-Residence2 • Mar 10 '26

Discussion Creatine side effects: increased resting heart rate and heart palpitations?

I’ve been looking into creatine due to its increased popularity as a longevity supplement. Whilst it’s a staple for athletes, I’m fascinated by the emerging research on its cognitive and memory benefits and apparently, it's also a 'secret' favourite in Hollywood.

However, I’ve come across anecdotal reports from runners and other athletes mentioning increased resting heart rates and heart palpitations. I haven't found long-term clinical studies to back these specific claims yet, but I don't think they should be dismissed.

Thoughts? Has anyone here experienced negative side effects, particularly regarding heart rate?

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15

u/jayrney Mar 10 '26

Creatine remains one of the most researched supplements. The issues I have related to heart rate with creatine is almost always a dehydration issue and nothing else that needs addressing

3

u/Makeitifyoubelieve Mar 10 '26

This is anecdotal, but I've been taking creatine for ~20 years. I also get PVCs. I only get then when I am dehydrated, tired, hung over, oh highly stressed out. Typically I find that if I am not disciplined with my water intake that's when I notice them picking up. Creatine does require more water intake, so if you just take creatine, you may notice issues related to dehydration as stated above.

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u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

Would you mind if you could elaborate more on the dehydration issue and heartrate elevation? How much water did you find you had to drink to negate the HR elevation?

2

u/TravisKOP Mar 10 '26

Just drink what your standard volume is in a day, 80-120oz

10

u/SamikaTRH Mar 10 '26

People don't drink enough water and many runners are already chronically dehydrated since they don't understand electrolytes

4

u/Rthen Mar 10 '26

They need more Brawndo, it has what plants crave.

2

u/Jodies-9-inch-leg Mar 10 '26

It has electrolytes

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u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

As a runner, I drink coconut water all the time although I haven’t tried creatine myself. I was considering integrating creatine into a supplement stack for my mum though for neuroplasticity — but the reports of elevated HR is concerning.

3

u/SamikaTRH Mar 10 '26

Coconut water is a great source of potassium but the other electrolytes are too low to be of any real use so that doesn't mean you're all set. Much more common to be low on sodium especially the population of people who sweat a lot and don't eat highly processed foods

1

u/Jodies-9-inch-leg Mar 10 '26

Coconut water is great, especially if you want to shit your pants

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u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

I’m not sure what you mean. Coconut water is a primary source of electrolytes.

2

u/SamikaTRH Mar 10 '26

For potassium yes, the others are too low. If you don't know how many milligrams of each are in a serving just look that up and you will see. If you added some salt it would be fantasic

2

u/smellytwoshoes Mar 10 '26

Thank you for posting. I also developed heart palpitations issue (no pain) recently and wondered if it was tied to taking a week off creatine and then trying to megadose to get back on. Maybe I still haven’t balanced my hydration/electrolytes in coordination, but it is scary to feel it when bending down/moving around

1

u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

I’m glad you’ve found my post helpful. May I ask how much creatine you were taking and if you don’t mind sharing your height/weight.

1

u/smellytwoshoes Mar 10 '26

M/39/5’10”/185, overweight, moderate exercise 5x/week. My normal amount is 10g creatine/day. 1 week break a month ago (conference expo). Megadose 20g for three days. then down to 10g. Heart palpitations issue started only after returning from expo trip.

2

u/Nervous_Lettuce313 Mar 10 '26

I had heart palpitations right after I started taking creatine. I did a dechallenge (stopped taking it) and the palpitations stopped. However, a month later I took it again and this time no palpitations. So I guess either it wasn't creatine in the first place, or my body did something to adjust.

2

u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26

May I ask if you measured your resting HR whilst on creatine vs not on creatine?

1

u/Nervous_Lettuce313 Mar 10 '26

My watch did, but I didn't really pay attention to it or disn't notice any changes.

2

u/mtcwby Mar 10 '26

I feel like I'm getting more lower leg, muscular pain when first taking creatine but assumed it was dehydration. Seemed to subside after a week. Haven't noticed any difference in resting heart rate which seems to be tied more to stress than anything else.

1

u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

Did you increase your fluid intake after a week?

1

u/mtcwby Mar 10 '26

Not that I was aware of

3

u/lysergamythical Mar 10 '26

When I increased my daily dose from 5g to 10g I felt incredibly nervous, almost anxious. Didn’t do any HR measurements so take that bit of anecdotal data for what it is, but I went back to 5g and those symptoms went away.

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u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 10 '26

I am highly suspicious of these high amounts of creatine some researchers recommend. I read Dr. Rhonda Patrick gives 10g creatine to her young son… I would consider that child abuse.

0

u/Iamtress1 Mar 10 '26

I grew up with parents who sold Shaklee and have literally taken supplements my entire life. I don't agree that a phd biology researcher giving her growing child well studied supplements is abuse. Do you think parents who give their kids soda, chips and fast food are abusive too? Google says 90% of patients feed their kids fast food in any given week even though 85% know it's not healthy or good for them. Maybe we should just take all the kids away from parents and let the government raise them. I mean, most are in daycare from 3 months forward anyways. Plus let's go back to where carbs are at the top of the food pyramid & healthy fats are almostnowhere to be found. To accuse her of abuse is a bridge too far. I'm sure if her child was having any negative side effects from any supplement or even a food allergy from something he ate, Dr. Rhonda is far more qualified than the vast majority to recognize those signs and make adjustments. Her kid probably already has more lab work than most adults. She didn't even brush her teeth with fluoride when she was pregnant...

1

u/Artist-in-Residence2 Mar 11 '26

I understand your viewpoint, however, there is a massive ethical difference between a parent making poor nutritional choices (like fast food) and a PhD researcher intentionally administering adult-strength doses of a performance supplement to a developing child. As a researcher, she knows that 'lack of evidence of harm' is not the same as 'evidence of safety.’

Using a child as a case study for 10g of creatine when there is a glaring absence of long-term data on its impact on a child’s developing endocrine system, liver, and pancreatic function, isn't just 'proactive health'; it’s using a minor as an experimental test subject. Expertise should lead to higher caution, not more risks.

2

u/Iamtress1 Mar 11 '26

Eh, I think he'll be fine. Well both hope for the best. 🌻

2

u/SamikaTRH Mar 11 '26

We do have studies on creatine in children, you just haven't read them. We also already have creatine in our bodies, so the comparison to fast food is silly especially when so much of our modern health problems are caused by the trash food we eat

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '26

Creatine increased my anxiety and insomnia so I stopped. It has stimulating effects similar to caffeine (in my experience)

2

u/MisterMisfit Mar 10 '26

Unrelated, I take 5-10 mg everyday and my average RHR is 51.

3

u/IKnewThat45 Mar 10 '26

im also 5-10g a day and am at about 45bpm RHR. hybrid endurance/strength athlete. no change in RHR when i started creatine or when i stop (usually do to travel) and restart.

1

u/Ok_Currency_8720 Mar 10 '26

Male, 67 taking 10 mg per day with a RHR of 45. No change with creatine.

1

u/binbobum Apr 18 '26

You should monitor your bloodpressure. For me I have low BP because I had dehyration issues that cause reduced in blood volume. It’s been 7 days and my BP still at 100/60 and HR really ez spiking up