Drinking Coffee Can Help Reduce Headaches? This Is A Doctor's Explanation

Illustration of women drinking coffee (Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio)

JAKARTA - Coffee is not only a drink that can generate energy and overcome sleepiness. Coffee can also be used as a headache reliever.

This is because the caffeine content in coffee has a natural analgesic effect. This analgesic can increase the work of major pain relievers (such as paracetamol or ibuprofen), to increase their effectiveness.

Caffeine helps relieve pain through several mechanisms, including taking adenosine receptors and having a vasokonstriction effect, which can help relieve headaches and increase the absorption of other drugs.

"Cafein is co-analgesic, meaning it can strengthen the effects of pain relievers," said general practitioner and expert from the National Migraine Center in England, Dr. Katy Munro, quoted from Female First, on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

However, caffeine is most effective for tense headaches and migraines. Caffeine is ineffective at overcoming other types of headaches such as cluster headaches.

In addition, to get coffee products, it should not be excessive in consumption. It is better to limit daily caffeine intake to around 200 to 300 mg (about 2-3 cups of coffee).

If there is too much caffeine intake, it can trigger a caffeine-overuse headache, namely headaches due to excessive caffeine consumption. This condition will even worsen the symptoms of existing headaches.

Not only that, it should also be remembered that managing caffeine consumption is only part of a more comprehensive headache management strategy. It is also important to recognize other triggers such as activities, diet, sleep quality, weather, and for women menstrual cycles.

"Try to note things that may trigger headaches, but don't be too complicated. Just score from 1 to 10 to describe how much it affects your day," concluded Doctor Katy.