Caffeine Headaches - Myths or Facts?
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Defined Tag: Caffeine Headache.

Caffeine Headache - Fact or Fiction?

Caffeine (in coffee, tea, cola etc) is a well known stimulant. As such, it acts on the central human nervous system, and makes a person more alert. Caffeine has vasoconstricting properties, meaning that it makes blood vessels constrict, because of this, some feel that caffeine can be used as a migraine remedy.

However, lately, it has been questioned whether in fact the opposite my not be true. Some believe that it might actually contribute to what has been termed a caffeine headache.

Many coffee drinkers, for example, complain about headaches. It is often believed that caffeine withdrawal is the cause. However, new studies show that large consumption of caffeine is more like the cause of such headaches.

As a pick-me-up and when combined with sugar, caffeine can ‘raise’ a person, only to have him ‘crash’ later. This also often happens when caffeine and sugar are taken on an empty stomach, leading to wild swings in blood pressure levels. This sudden drop in blood sugar combined with the initial high burst of stimulation by the caffeine might well result in the dreaded caffeine headache.

To lessen the incidence of such headaches, experts suggest keeping a consistency in your caffeine consumption pattern. For example, many people experience a headache on the weekend, because they often ‘miss’ their usual weekday coffee because they are sleeping in. The solution is simple, sticking to your daily dose of caffeine at around the same time each day might help to counter the weekend headache.

Experts also suggest that we limit the amount of caffeine consumed to between 200 mg to 600 mg. Such a low dose might help keep the caffeine at a lower level in the body, thus reducing the risk of headache. Too much caffeine can also have a reverse effect on blood vessels- instead of constricting it, the blood vessels expand, resulting in another form of caffeine headache.

Caffeine headache might also be the result of dehydration caused by the diuretic property of caffeine on the body. Caffeine consumers should therefore be drink plenty of water besides coffee and tea.

Caffeine abstinence and caffeine maintenance are two suggested techniques for controlling caffeine headaches. In the first case, all products containing caffeine should be eliminated from the diet. But since this is not an easy thing to do, many prefer to revert to the other option. Caffeine maintenance implies keeping the level of caffeine in the body steady over the day. It encourages regular consumption of caffeine-containing products, or the ingestion of low doses of caffeine tablets.

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