Can coffee help people who stay up late to stay awake and relieve headaches? Nutritionist Chen Bojun: Overdosage may cause withdrawal headaches

People who stay up late have their brains still busy in the morning and feel dizzy. In order to stay awake, they immediately think of drinking a cup of coffee. Some people even have a cup of coffee when they have a headache, thinking it can relieve the headache. Many people think that drinking coffee not only refreshes the mind, but also seems to have a pain-relieving effect. Is this true? Chen Baijun, a nutritionist from the New Nutrition Food Generation team, reminds us that although the caffeine in coffee can relieve headaches, if you consume too much, the pain will get worse!

Caffeine is an interesting ingredient that can boost your mood and also help relieve pain. What’s going on? In fact, many of the painkillers we commonly use contain caffeine to enhance the analgesic effect of the drug.

Caffeine inhibits nerve conduction and helps relieve pain

Caffeine has a similar effect when we drink coffee instead of taking any medication. Chen Bojun, a nutritionist from the New Nutrition Food Generation team, said that the structure of caffeine is very similar to the brain's neurotransmitter "adenosine", which can prevent adenosine from fully exerting its function.

The function of adenosine is to relax the mood. Once this function is inhibited, we will feel better and more excited, and our sensitivity to pain will decrease. This is why drinking coffee can relieve headaches!

Drinking a lot of coffee every day can cause withdrawal headaches

However, caffeine can be said to be a double-edged sword. It contains polyphenols, chlorogenic acid and other ingredients. Moderate intake can be antioxidant, refreshing, and relieve headaches. However, if consumed in excess, it can cause insomnia, headaches, anxiety, restlessness, etc.

Caffeine can be said to be a double-edged sword. It contains polyphenols, chlorogenic acid and other ingredients. Moderate intake can be antioxidant, refreshing, and relieve headaches. However, if consumed too much, it will cause insomnia, headaches, anxiety, irritability, etc.

Moreover, if you are used to drinking a lot of coffee every day, if you suddenly don’t drink it for one day, you will feel tired all day, and it may even cause a headache! This is the so-called "caffeine withdrawal headache". The reason is that the normal large amount of caffeine intake causes the blood vessels in the brain to constrict and the blood pressure to rise. However, when the caffeine suddenly disappears, the blood vessels do not constrict, causing a large amount of blood to suddenly enter the brain, causing a headache and discomfort.

Nutritionist Chen Bojun reminds that although a moderate amount of coffee can relieve headaches, one must not rely too much on caffeine for pain relief, lest the intake increases and one day when one suddenly stops drinking it, the pain that was not there before turns into a headache.

Daily caffeine intake is limited, and pregnant women and children should avoid it

So, how much caffeine can you consume in a day? According to the recommendations of the European Food Science Expert Committee, daily caffeine intake should not exceed 300 mg. People with cardiovascular disease, arrhythmia, gastrointestinal disease, long-term insomnia, pregnant women and children are best to avoid or reduce caffeinated beverages.

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