Your Brain Really Does Miss Your Daily Coffee—Here's How To Deal With It, According To A Neurologist

For many of us, coffee or matcha is part of our daily routine. There's the morning drink, the mid-afternoon pick-me-up, and maybe another cup when you're trying to get through the rest of the workday. After a while, your body can get used to having caffeine on a regular basis. 🫣

Take that caffeine away suddenly, and you may notice more than just feeling sleepy. A headache can show up along with tiredness, brain fog, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and even nausea. These are all possible signs of caffeine withdrawal, which can happen even when you're not consuming particularly large amounts of caffeine.

So what's actually going on when you skip your usual drink? And how much caffeine does it take for withdrawal symptoms to kick in?

We spoke with Dr. Miriam Catherine B. Dantes, FPNA, an adult neurologist specializing in Headache Medicine at The Medical City Ortigas and the Lung Center of the Philippines. She breaks down why caffeine withdrawal happens, what those headaches are all about, and how to cut back on caffeine without making yourself feel completely miserable.

Your brain gets pretty used to your regular caffeine fix. One of the reasons has to do with adenosine, a chemical that naturally builds up in your brain throughout the day and makes you feel sleepy and relaxed.

Caffeine basically gets in the way of adenosine, which is why coffee can make you feel more awake. When you drink caffeine regularly, your brain adjusts to having it around. When you skip your mid-afternoon iced latte, the adenosine can hit a little harder than your brain is used to. That can leave you feeling sleepy, tired, irritable, and v unfocused.

Your blood vessels also play a role. According to Mayo Clinic, caffeine can make some blood vessels in the brain narrower. When you stop having caffeine, those vessels can widen and increase blood flow, which may be part of what causes that dull or throbbing withdrawal headache.

So, nope, the headache isn't just your body begging for a trip to the café. 👀 Your brain and blood vessels have gotten used to your regular caffeine intake, and they need some time to adjust when you suddenly cut it out.

You don't have to be drinking several cups of coffee a day for caffeine withdrawal to happen.

According to Dr. Dantes, daily or almost-daily caffeine consumption can be enough for the body to become accustomed to caffeine. Withdrawal symptoms may occur in people who consume around 100 to 200 mg of caffeine (one to two cups) per day, while people consuming around 300 to 400 mg per day may be more likely to experience noticeable withdrawal when they suddenly stop.

There's no specific amount that guarantees you'll experience withdrawal, though. It depends on how much caffeine you consume, how regularly you drink it, and your individual sensitivity.

According to Dr. Dantes, caffeine-withdrawal headaches usually begin 12 to 24 hours after you reduce or stop your caffeine intake. They're often at their worst after one to two days and typically go away within two to nine days, although some people may experience symptoms for longer.

The headache can feel dull or throbbing and may become worse with physical activity. Other symptoms can include:

• Tiredness or sleepiness

• Difficulty concentrating or brain fog

• Irritability

• Nausea

• Reduced alertness

The good news is that repeated caffeine withdrawal generally doesn't cause lasting harm. The symptoms are temporary and improve once your body adjusts to having less caffeine.

Here's where caffeine gets a little tricky: it can help some headaches and make others worse—kind of like your fave situationship. Dr. Dantes says she sees patients who use caffeine to help with migraine attacks, while others find that caffeine actually triggers or worsens theirs.

So, there's no hard and fast rule that caffeine is either good or bad for headaches. It really depends on the person, how much caffeine they're having, and how their body responds to it.

The headache will usually go away on its own within a few days, but that doesn't mean you have to just sit there and suffer through it.

Dr. Dantes recommends a few things that can help:

• Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated can help when you have a headache.

• Get enough sleep and rest. Your body is adjusting to less caffeine, so give yourself some downtime.

• Eat regular meals. Going too long without eating can make a headache feel worse.

• Try a cold or warm compress. Use whichever feels better for you.

• Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Paracetamol can help with the pain.

• Cut back gradually. Tapering your caffeine intake is one of the best ways to avoid making withdrawal symptoms worse.

Good news: You don't have to go from your usual coffee or matcha to zero caffeine overnight. In fact, Dr. Dantes recommends gradually cutting back instead of suddenly going cold turkey.

Start by figuring out how much caffeine you're actually having in a day. Then, try reducing it by around 10 to 25 percent every few days.

That could mean making your usual coffee a little smaller, dropping one cup from your day, or swapping some of your regular coffee or tea for decaf or a lower-caffeine option.

There's no need to rush it, either. When the withdrawal symptoms start getting uncomfortable, stay at your current intake for a few more days before cutting back again. The idea is to give your body time to adjust instead of shocking it with a sudden caffeine ban.

A headache that starts within a day or so of skipping your usual caffeine and gets better as your body adjusts can fit the usual pattern of caffeine withdrawal.

Still, don't assume every headache after a coffee-free day is just withdrawal. Dr. Dantes says to get medical attention for a headache that's sudden and extremely severe, feels different from your usual headaches, or comes with symptoms such as weakness, numbness, or fever.

You should also get checked if your headaches are happening frequently, are getting worse, or aren't going away within the expected timeframe.