Can Coffee Cause Headaches?

Your morning cup of coffee comes with several benefits, from an often much-needed energy boost to reduced diabetes risks, but can Coffee cause headaches?

It’s a question worth dedicating an entire article to, which is what we’re about to do. Please keep reading to find out whether Coffee can give you a headache and. If so, how to get rid of a headache caused by Coffee consumption.

Regardless of the conclusions we make, the chances are you’ll still want to brew a cuppa. And when it comes to buying the beans for that cuppa, you’d do well to choose us.

Since our establishment in 1982, our family-run business has packed its products - not forgetting some 1,000 types of Loose Tea - fresh to order.

What is a Headache?

Allow us to start at the beginning: What is a headache? This is a common condition characterised as pain in the head and face. It can be throbbing, constant, sharp or dull, depending on its severity, and might last anywhere from thirty minutes to a fortnight.

Triggers include, but are not limited to, stress, muscle pain and anxiety. Over-the-counter medication tends to be the first port of call for treating headaches.

One thing you should be aware of, however, is that headaches differ from migraines. Symptoms associated with the latter can, at times, be more varied. Causing nausea and/or vomiting, sensitivity to light and/or sound, and seeing spots or flashing lights.

There is even the risk of temporary vision loss. But the question nevertheless remains: Can Coffee cause headaches and migraines?

Can Coffee Cause Headaches?

Does Coffee give you headaches? It depends on your drinking habits. If you have Coffee frequently, the body becomes dependent on the effects of caffeine. This stimulant, which exists in at least sixty plants, is the reason you’re able to start the day the right way.

The issue, though, is that it likewise narrows the blood vessels surrounding the brain so that when consumption is stopped, the vessels enlarge.

Say you decide to cut fresh coffee out of your diet all of a sudden. You might find that doing so increases blood flow around the brain, in turn pressuring nerves and, ultimately, triggering what is known as a caffeine withdrawal headache.

These kinds of headaches might last as long as a couple of weeks due to the time it takes for the body to adjust to caffeine’s absence.

Does Coffee Help Headaches Under Any Circumstances?

There is a bright side if you’re wondering, “Is Coffee good for headaches?” The catch is that it’ll require you to drink it consistently - oh, what a shame, right?

It turns out that caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties, meaning that it influences blood vessels to narrow and, as a result, restrict blood flow. This then has the potential to alleviate the pain caused by a headache or migraine.

The bottom line is that Coffee can cause headaches only when you’ve had it for a long time before abruptly giving it up. It is a shock to the system, a way of telling your brain “something is changing” without giving it much warning.

The strange reality is that NOT giving it up could have the opposite effect, whereby it prevents headaches from manifesting in the first place.

Summary to Can Coffee Cause Headaches

It’s an odd world we live in when going cold turkey with your Coffee consumption could do more harm than good. But it’s true. Should you still be keen to cut down your caffeine intake, your best bet is to do so slowly, slowly, before switching to Decaf Coffee. Whatever you decide, you can count on The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, the home of some 70 types of fresh Coffee.

Author: Richard Smith

Partner at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company

Richard Smith is a Tea expert, entrepreneur, and owner of The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Part of a family of renowned Tea planters dating back four generations, he was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where he spent his childhood between Tea Estates in Assam and Darjeeling.

In the late 1970s, having accumulated years of knowledge in the industry, Mr Smith and his mother, Janet Smith, moved to Kent, South East England, to establish a Tea business in the village of Pluckley. Their early days of packing Tea Bags by hand from chests of 10,000 prompted the creation of the company’s flagship infusion known as Pluckley Tea. It remains our most popular product today.

Mr Smith, who studied economics at London Polytechnic, has since specialised in over 1,000 types of Loose Leaf Tea - in addition to around 70 varieties of Roast Coffee - from around the world. These are now available at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, where everything is still packed by hand and fresh to order, not only to honour tradition but to ensure the utmost quality and consistency.