If you consume caffeine on the regular, you might experience a headache when you don't get your daily fix. And it seems like the only way you can deal with the headache is by chugging a cup of coffee. But have you ever wondered why this happens on than the fact that you might be a little too dependent on caffeine? And how can you get rid of a caffeine headache?
"Caffeine narrows our blood vessels and therefore reduces blood flow to our tissues, including our brain," explains Tamar Samuels, MS, RDN, NBC-HWC, a registered dietitian, a national board–certified health and wellness coach, and co-founder of Culina Health. "When we decrease our caffeine intake after a period of regular caffeine consumption, our blood vessels dilate or expand, which is a common trigger for headaches.
Additionally, regular caffeine consumption increases the number of receptors in our brain that decrease pain known as adenosine receptors. Therefore, when we decrease caffeine consumption, we can experience more headaches as a result of fewer adenosine receptors in our brain."