Caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant, affects your body in many ways. Some people claim that caffeine triggers migraine headaches, but some say caffeine helps relieve migraine headache pain. Although no medical documentation exists to explain a caffeine craving during a migraine, it may be your body's way of asking for what it needs.
Cause of Pain
Migraine headaches often occur in response to a trigger such as alcohol, bright lights, certain foods or loud noises. The exact cause of your headache may remain unknown, but doctors do understand what occurs in the head to cause the pain of the headache. A change in the electrical activity in the brain causes an increase in the production of the chemical serotonin. The excess serotonin causes the blood vessels to constrict, or narrow, which reduces the blood flow to the brain. The excess serotonin seeps into the surrounding tissues, and when the blood vessels dilate, or enlarge, the lack of serotonin irritates the nerves and causes pain.
Caffeine as a Pain Reducer
Your brain also produces a chemical substance known as adenosine. Blood vessels contain adenosine receptors that bind the adenosine, which acts to slow nerve cell activity and dilate blood vessels. Caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors, blocks the binding of adenosine and keeps the blood vessels constricted. Since the migraine pain occurs when blood vessels dilate, caffeine might reduce the migraine pain by keeping the vessels constricted. That could explain a craving for caffeine as the body's way of telling you how to relieve its pain.
Caffeine Sources
When in the grips of migraine pain, which can least from four to 72 hours, and a craving for caffeine hit, you can reach for several foods and beverages. Coffee and tea contain caffeine. Each 8-oz. cup of coffee contains between 95 and 200 mg of caffeine, depending on the type of coffee. An 8-oz. cup of black tea contains between 40 and 120 mg of caffeine. Chocolate also contains caffeine, with 9 mg per 1.5-oz. bar of milk chocolate. In the case of your migraine pain, however, it might be better to choose a pain reliever that also contains caffeine.
Caffeine in Medications
Many over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers contain caffeine as one of the ingredients. Caffeine increases your body's ability to absorb analgesics like acetaminophen and aspirin. The National Headache Foundation says that caffeine also enhances the effect of analgesic medications. Your craving for caffeine, however, may also lead to an overuse of caffeine and pain relievers that contain caffeine. This can lead to the onset of rebound headaches, which only go away after reducing your medication use.
References
- American Headache Society: Caffeine and Migraine; R. Shapiro and R. Cowan
- Foundation for Better Health Care: Headache
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Migraine Headache; Stephen Ehrlich; September 2009
- American Pain Foundation: Headaches and Caffeine
- National Headache Foundation: Caffeine and Headache
- Mayo Clinic: Caffeine Content of Foods; October 2009
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