Ingesting caffeine can cause headaches, and withdrawal from caffeine can cause your head to throb as well. You might even develop migraines from caffeine withdrawal, including weekend migraine attacks that occur from drinking coffee later in the morning than normal. A Johns Hopkins Medicine study that reviewed over 170 years of caffeine withdrawal research found that 50 percent of people developed headaches from caffeine withdrawal.
Definition
Caffeine withdrawal was officially named a disorder in 2004, notes Johns Hopkins, adding that it only takes 1 cup of coffee daily for people to experience withdrawal symptoms like a headache. The National Headache Foundation, however, explains that in order to have an actual caffeine withdrawal headache, you need to ingest over 200 mg of caffeine a day for two weeks or more. Either way, most Americans drink 227 mg a day, which equals 2 to 3 cups of coffee.
Amount
Although 1 cup of coffee seems to cause withdrawal symptoms, the more caffeine you have, the worse your symptoms will be, says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins Medicine. People have different thresholds. Basically, withdrawal symptoms come when you have a normal dose of caffeine and then take in less than that, says Griffiths.
Research
A study published in May 1997 in the journal "Cephalalgia" was conducted to show the effects of caffeine withdrawal on 20 volunteers. After being off caffeine for 24 hours, 10 of the participants developed headaches that went away one hour after having caffeine again. Researchers actually noticed a difference in the brain, as the cerebral blood flow velocities of the participants were higher during withdrawal and were reduced when they had caffeine again.
Considerations
A caffeine withdrawal headache occurs when you try to stop your caffeine intake too quickly. Although these symptoms will most likely go away in a few days and are generally mild, you can try to avoid them by gradually reducing your intake, advises MayoClinic.com. To do this, look at your caffeine intake from places besides the obvious coffee, tea and soda. This includes chocolate and medication. Reduce your intake of all caffeine by one to two sources each day; for instance, begin by cutting out one serving of chocolate, having smaller cups of coffee or cutting out coffee late in the day.
References
- "Cephalalgia"; Influence of Caffeine and Caffeine Withdrawal on Headache and Cerebral Blood Flow Velocities; E.G. Couturier, et al.; May 1997
- Johns Hopkins Medicine; Caffeine Withdrawal Recognized as a Disorder; Trent Stockton; September 2004
- National Headache Foundation: Caffeine and Headache
- MayoClinic.com: Caffeine: How Much Is Too Much?
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