If you regularly depend upon caffeine for the energy to get through the day, going even a day without it can result in a throbbing headache, sluggishness and irritability. In other words, you experience caffeine withdrawal. To most people, the headache is the most troubling symptom because of the severe pain that can keep you from going about your day, but it is unavoidable. It's your body's response to the lack of stimulant, and it can be a complicated process.
Caffeine Dependence
Most people don't realize how much caffeine they consume in a day. Coffee and soda are obvious culprits, but tea, chocolate and even over-the-counter pain relievers contain caffeine. People tolerate caffeine differently, so there's no set amount that qualifies as a dependence--if you absolutely must have caffeine every day, you will likely suffer withdrawal if you quit. In fact, even consuming 100mg of caffeine daily--about the amount in a 6-oz. cup of regular coffee--can lead to withdrawal.
Caffeine and Your Body
Within an hour of consuming caffeine, the caffeine levels in your blood peak. It triggers the release of stomach acid and urine production, stimulates your central nervous system and respiratory system and increases your heart rate. Your blood becomes slightly thicker with triglycerides--this leads to a temporary increase in blood pressure. The stomach acid is responsible for the heartburn, the CNS stimulation is responsible for the jitters, but it's caffeine's effects on your blood and circulatory system that may be responsible for the withdrawal headache.
Withdrawal
When you use caffeine daily for a period of time, your body grows to expect this stimulation. When one day that stimulation doesn't happen, your body is unprepared. When you drink coffee, your blood becomes thicker--to continue to pump it throughout your body at the usual speed, your veins constrict. Imagine the difference between your garden hose and a fire hose hooked up to your garden tap: when the size of the pump--your heart--is constant, the smaller hose produces a stronger flow than the big hose. The same thing happens with the blood vessels in your head. When you skip your caffeine dose, those blood vessels open wide, resulting in a headache.
What to Do
When caffeine-withdrawal headache strikes, take an over-the-counter pain reliever that contains a small amount of caffeine. These are usually labeled as "migraine relief." If you are trying to eliminate caffeine from your life completely, obviously, choose one without caffeine. Some people find relief by placing an ice pack on the back of their neck to stimulate the contraction of the blood vessels, but the relief is only temporary. If nothing provides relief, just wait it out. It will hurt, but it won't last forever. Your body will gradually adjust to the absence of caffeine. Another option is to slowly taper your caffeine intake over time to avoid such severe symptoms of withdrawal.
References
- Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center; Information About Caffeine Dependence; July 2003
- "Psychopharmacology"; A Critical Review of Caffeine Withdrawal; Juliano LM, Griffiths RR; October 2004
- "Psychopharmacology"; Caffeine Withdrawal, Acute Effects, Tolerance, and Absence of Net Beneficial Effects of Chronic Administration: Cerebral Blood FLow Velocity, Quantitative EEG and Subjective Effects; Stacey Sigmon, et al.; July 2009
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