Professor Richard Lipton, MD, a neurologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (USA), has explained the long-standing debate over whether coffee relieves headaches or triggers them.
According to Live Science, the controversy comes from the fact that some people feel their headache miraculously eases after drinking coffee, while others experience a headache because of it.
Professor Lipton says both experiences are correct. Coffee is a nervous-system stimulant that constricts blood vessels and speeds up brain activity, so it can influence headaches in different ways.
First, caffeine’s ability to ease headaches—including migraines—is well documented. It is a key ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter headache medicines, such as Excedrin.
“Caffeine itself isn’t a painkiller, but when combined with pain relievers it makes them more effective,” Prof. Lipton explains.
The mechanism may involve how caffeine binds to adenosine receptors in the brain and spinal cord, blocking their action. Adenosine is linked to blood-vessel dilation—a process that can cause headaches—and plays a complex role in pain signaling. By blocking adenosine and constricting blood vessels, caffeine can help calm a headache.
However, the headache-relieving power of caffeine varies widely from person to person and often depends on one’s coffee habits. People who drink a lot of coffee regularly may find caffeine less effective for headache relief because their bodies have adapted to it.
On the other hand, coffee can also cause headaches in two situations: when someone consumes too much at once, or when a regular coffee drinker suddenly has far less than usual.
The first case—often called “caffeine intoxication”—occurs when you take in an excessive dose of this brain stimulant, though the exact mechanism isn’t fully clear.
The second is more like “withdrawal.” If you consume coffee daily, the body compensates by increasing adenosine levels. When caffeine intake suddenly drops or stops, your brain functions abnormally, blood vessels dilate, and a headache can develop.
Prof. Lipton concludes that caffeine is truly a “double-edged sword”: it can boost health, mood, and productivity, and sometimes ease headaches, but overuse and dependence can just as easily cause problems.