Caffeine and headaches have been related to one another for a long time. Many people said the caffeine contained in coffee can cure the headache to some extent, while the others said otherwise.

But, which one is the truth? Well, in today’s article we will give you the truth about caffeine and headaches to give you a better understanding about the relationship between these two.

Let’s get into it!

Caffeine Cure Headaches? Is It True?

Caffeine and Headaches: Is Caffeine Cure or Causes Headaches?

In some cases, caffeine may ease headaches. A review done in 2014 showed that 20 different studies with a total of 4262 participants found that coffee and caffeine can slightly cure headaches.

However, the improvement was small and deemed “statistically insignificant”.

By 2017, another review was done to see the efficacy of analgesics when it comes to treating headaches.

The reviews included more studies than the previous review, and found that caffeine may significantly boost the efficacy of OTC (over-the-counter) headache treatments.

Those studies are more focused on the relationship between caffeine and headaches, with tension headaches and migraine specifically, there’s no other scientific evidence that caffeine doesn’t reduce other kinds of headaches.

To summarize it all, it seems that caffeine may reduce the pain from headaches, or at least increase the strength of your pain medication.

How Caffeine Improve Headache Treatments

Headaches commonly caused by a dilated blood vessel. With that being said, the vasoconstrictive properties that caffeine has can narrow blood vessels thus restricting blood flow.

As the blood vessel is narrowing, the caffeine can prevent the dilation of blood vessels and in turn prevent headaches.

It is speculated that there are many more days that caffeine works to reduce headache pain, although those aren’t fully understood yet.

Also Read: “7 Most Expensive Coffees in the World“

Can Caffeine Cause Headaches?

Headaches or dizziness as an after-effect of drinking any caffeinated drinks such as coffee, and can be caused by several factors. One of them is the side effects of caffeine.

Caffeine is a substance that can trigger headaches in some people, especially if they consume large amounts of coffee or if the body is sensitive to caffeine.

However, this can also happen because you have unconsciously developed caffeine dependence when drinking coffee frequently. Here’s the full explanation.

1. Caffeine Dependence

As you drink coffee daily, your body will adjust to the caffeine content in coffee or any other caffeinated beverage overtime.

But, when you suddenly stop consuming coffee, your body will experience sudden changes. And this can trigger symptoms of headache or dizziness.

And as the Mayo Clinic Health System stated, this condition is caused by the effect of caffeine that can narrow the blood vessels surrounding the brain.

With that being said, when caffeine is not available, the blood vessels will be diluted that can cause a headache to appear.

2. Dehydration

In addition, dehydration can also be a factor in causing headaches after drinking coffee.

Caffeine can have a diuretic effect, which means it can increase urine production and cause the body to lose fluid.

The lack of fluid in the body can lead to dehydration, which in turn can cause headaches or dizziness after drinking coffee.

3. Sensitive to Caffeine

Some people are naturally sensitive to caffeine. As a result, coffee consumption can trigger several symptoms, such as restlessness, diarrhea, and headaches.

In addition, increasing age can also cause a person to become sensitive to caffeine. This happens because the body takes longer to process the caffeine compounds from coffee.

4. Allergy

Although rare, some people have an allergy to caffeine. This caffeine allergy can cause quite dangerous symptoms, as it can lead to headaches, skin rashes, breathing problems, nausea and diarrhea.

So there you have it! The explanation about caffeine and headaches that we’ve summarized just for you!

There are several health benefits of coffee that you could enjoy by drinking a safe amount of high-quality coffee.

But how do you determine a high quality coffee? Well, in Indonesia, there are several standards that regulate coffee. It is to ensure that the coffee that is sold and distributed in Indonesia meets Indonesian standards.

The standard about coffee is stated in the SNI which stands for Standar Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National Standard).

The said standard aims to regulate, and give the standard for many if not all of the products and/or services that are sold, distributed and provided in Indonesia.

The SNI standard for coffee is stated in: