

Kelli Tornstrom is a nurse practitioner in Neurology in La Crosse, Wisconsin. If you have frequent headaches, consider slowly reducing your caffeine intake and consuming it in moderation. According to a 2020 study in the United States, coffee is the major source of caffeine intake in middle-aged adults, while soft drinks and tea are the major sources. Keep track of when your headaches occur and what seems to help or hinder them. Products containing caffeine include coffee, tea, soft drinks ('colas'), energy drinks, other beverages, chocolate, caffeine tablets, other oral products, and inhalation products. Theine also has a much less significant crash than caffeine, so you may want to try a cup of tea in the afternoon instead of a cup of coffee. Pay attention to how much caffeine you consume and how it affects you. Tea contains less caffeine than coffee (coffee has almost 2x the amount of caffeine) per cup, so the slower absorption of theine will result in better mental focus over a longer period of time. Withdrawal headaches can last for a couple of weeks because it takes the body a while to adjust to not having caffeine in its system.

This can then trigger what is known as a caffeine withdrawal headache. This causes an increase in blood flow around the brain and pressures surrounding nerves. And because caffeine narrows the blood vessels that surround the brain, when consumption is stopped, the blood vessels enlarge. When caffeine is consumed regularly, the body becomes dependent on its effects. Also, when caffeine is taken in combination with pain medicines, such as aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen, it increases the absorption and strength of the medication to provide faster relief. This brings on the headache.Ĭaffeine has vasoconstrictive properties, meaning that blood vessels narrow to restrict blood flow, thereby alleviating the pain. This increase blood flow pressures surrounding nerves, which send pain messages to the brain. Caffeine can provide relief for a headache.ĭuring a headache, blood vessels swell, tighten or go through other changes, causing an increase in blood flow around the brain. Many people ask whether caffeine can treat or trigger a headache.
