Caffeine, a substance found in chocolate, tea, coffee and colas, can affect your body in a number of ways. The stimulant can keep you awake -- whether you want it to or not -- upset your stomach, increase night sweats and make you feel jittery. Caffeine and headaches are also closely linked.
Migraine Trigger
Caffeine can be a migraine trigger for many people who experience this type of headache. The irony of this fact is that several over-the-counter headache medications contain caffeine as an active ingredient. According to physicians Robert E. Shapiro of the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Robert Cowan of the California-based Keeler Migraine Center, your migraine can increase if you consume caffeine through pain medication or beverages more than three times a week.
Headache Cure
You may be one of the lucky people for whom caffeine can take the edge off your headache pain. The National Headache Foundation reports that people who use acetaminophen or aspirin along with caffeine to relieve a tension headache experience 40 percent more success than those who only take caffeine-free pain medications. Take a headache medication containing caffeine or drink caffeinated coffee, tea or soda as soon as you experience symptoms for quick results. Generally, you should begin to feel relief within a half-hour of administering caffeine to your headache. If you do not routinely drink beverages with caffeine, you are more likely to reap the benefits of using the substance as a headache cure.
Withdrawal Headaches
Caffeine and headaches are linked in yet another way -- as the side effect of caffeine withdrawal. Your body can become dependent on caffeine, although the American Psychiatric Association does not classify this dependency as an addiction, such as to drugs or alcohol. Nevertheless, if your body is used to receiving caffeine daily and you stop the habit cold turkey, you can experience withdrawal. More blood flows to your brain during caffeine withdrawal, which can account for the pain you may experience during this time.
Dosage Facts
According to the National Headache Foundation, you would need to consume at least 200 mg of caffeine over two weeks to become dependent on the substance. However, Shapiro and Cowan report that half that amount, or 100 mg of caffeine, over the course of a week can trigger migraines more frequently than if you do not use caffeine. To use caffeine effectively as a headache reliever, most people need to take a minimum of 130 mg of caffeine with medication.
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