Woke up in the morning with a headache? It’s nothing to worry about. Just set up the coffee and it’ll be gone like last night’s dream. But, no sooner that mid-day, the pain is coming back. Do you go for another cup? But, is it coffee that is causing it? Well, let’s get to know why does coffee make my head hurt?
How Coffee Helps
Caffeine is an ingredient commonly found in a lot of popular pain relief medication because, It can make them as much as 40% more effective. It also helps reduce inflammation.
Aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen work faster and better and keep the pain away for longer when combined with caffeine.
A rare condition called hypnic headaches responds well to caffeine; commonly observed in older people to wake them in the middle of the night with severe pain.
How Caffeine can hurt
The same nature in coffee that makes it an effective pain-relief can end up causing headaches also.
The easiest way to explain it is that caffeine narrows the blood vessels that surround your brain, when you stop taking it they expand again, and that can cause pain.
Too much Caffeine can be recognized as a form of addictive behavior. It makes sense if you notice what happens with too much medication.
If you’re accustomed with taking too much of any kind of pain reliever or take it too often, you’ll notice that the pain comes back worse than before when the medicine is starting to wear off.
How much caffeine is in different sources
Beverage
- 8-ounce cup of coffee
- 1-ounce espresso
- 8-ounce cup of decaf coffee
- 8-ounce cup of black tea
- 8-ounce cup of green tea
Caffeine in milligrams (mg)
- 95–165
- 47–64
- 2–5
- 25–48
- 25–29
Caffeine Withdrawal symptoms
- fatigue
- sleepiness
- low energy
- monotonous mood
- difficulty concentrating
Besides, there are some cautions to consider if you plan on consuming caffeine while you’re breastfeeding. More than 200 mg of caffeine a day could have unintended consequences for your baby; they might difficulty falling asleep.
Make an appointment with your doctor if your headaches are accompanied by nausea, weakness, fever, double vision or confusion.
What Should You Do
- If you get migraines or if you find yourself having headaches frequently,
- Pay attention to how much of Coffee you drink regularly
- Notice how the caffeine affects you
- Cut down on caffeine or avoid it completely
- Best to do that gradually if giving up is hard
- Quitting suddenly can take up to entire week to get past the withdrawal symptoms.
- Sleep, and drink plenty of water.
- Pressing on certain pressure points may help relieve headaches by easing muscle tension. See pressure points or acu-points.
The Bottom Line Is
Coffees are a good way to boost your alertness and help you fight drowsiness. But, too much of any good thing can end up being something completely opposite. So, consider limiting your daily consumption to 300 mg a day which is around 3 cups of small, regular roasted coffee.
It that is too low for you, you are not going the right direction. The better way of life is to figure out how to naturally increase your energy levels and vitality without caffeine.
