“CoQ10 supplements reduce fatigue.”
CoQ10 lowers tiredness only a little on average, mostly in people with certain illnesses, and it is not a reliable fix for everyday tiredness.
CoQ10 is not a general energy fix. The small effect seen so far is mostly in people with specific illnesses, and it may be smaller than the pooled numbers suggest.
If you are tired most days, a checkup is a better first step than a supplement. If you still want to try CoQ10, ask a pharmacist to check it against your other medicines.
Safety note: CoQ10 may interact with the blood thinner warfarin and with insulin, and it may not be compatible with some cancer treatments. No serious side effects have been reported; mild trouble sleeping or an upset stomach can occur.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you take warfarin or insulin, you are being treated for cancer, or you have been tired for weeks without a clear reason.
Pooled trials show a small drop in fatigue scores, mostly in people with illnesses, while the result in healthy people was not clearly different from placebo. Confidence is limited because the trials were small, used different products and fatigue scales, and showed signs that unfavorable studies may be missing.
CoQ10 lowers tiredness only a little on average, mostly in people with certain illnesses, and it is not a reliable fix for everyday tiredness. A 2022 review of 13 small trials found a small average drop in fatigue scores, mostly in people with conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart failure or multiple sclerosis. In the three trials of healthy people, the result was not clearly different from placebo.
The 2022 review pooled 1,126 people and found a small-to-moderate average effect on fatigue scores. The benefit was clear only for products containing CoQ10 alone, and it was larger with higher daily doses and longer use. A statistical test suggested that small studies with unfavorable results may be missing from the published record, which can make the pooled effect look bigger than it is. A 2026 review in people with depression had only two fatigue trials, and their results were too inconsistent to show a clear benefit.
- Tsai IC, Hsu CW, Chang CH, Tseng PT, Chang KV. Effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 supplementation for reducing fatigue: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2022;13:883251. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.883251. PMID: 36091835. PMCID: PMC9449413
- Magalhães PLM, da Silva AMP, Maximiano MLB, et al. Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on depressive symptoms and fatigue: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2026;46(1):93-100. DOI: 10.1097/jcp.0000000000002112. PMID: 41294251
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Coenzyme Q10. Last updated January 2019