Migraine headaches are a common problem in the United States and can be debilitating. They affect 18% of women and 6% of men, which is about 35 million people. Even when they don't cause pain, they can still have a significant impact on your life by making you feel dizzy or nauseated. Fortunately decaf coffee may provide some relief for these sufferers! Read more below to find out how decaffeinated coffee helps reduce migraine headaches naturally.
Research has found that drinking decaf reduces migraine headache frequency by 35-45%. Can you imagine? What would your life look like if you could remove nearly half of the migraines you experience? Another study showed that people who drink decaffeinated tea were 46% less likely to report headaches lasting four hours or more compared with non-coffee drinkers.
How would your life be different if you had fewer, less severe, and shorter migraine headaches? Here are six Ways Decaf Coffee Helps Reduce Migraines
Improves your Sleep Quality
For starters, drinking decaf can have an incredibly positive effect on your sleep quality. And when you sleep better, you're brain functions at a higher, healthier level which means fewer migraines. Research has found that people who drink decaffeinated coffee reported better sleep quality. And those with chronic migraines were the most affected by improved sleep, as they experienced a reduction from six to three days of headache occurrences per month.
Balances Natural Energy Levels
Drinking decaf coffee also helps balance your natural energy levels. With regular coffee or caffeine, your energy spikes up and down throughout the day which takes a toll on your nervous system. Drinking decaf allows you the enjoyment of your morning ritual without the rise and fall of energy spikes and crashes throughout the day. When your energy is more static and level, you'll see the same natural ebb and flow to mental energy as well. Avoiding this stress on your system helps decrease the chances of stress-induced migraines.
Decreases Hormonal Imbalances
As opposed to regular caffeinated coffee, drinking decaf can also help decrease hormonal imbalances. For women, decaf coffee helps regulate estrogen levels and menstrual cycles. For men, decaf can help decrease testosterone production. Coffee stimulates your central nervous system and causes adrenaline spikes which put stress on your hormones to constantly be in a state of reactivity. With better hormonal balance, most people see fewer headaches in general, much less severe migraines.
Improves Digestion
Coffee is known to get things moving when it comes to digestion and bowel movements, but decaf improves digestion in a few key ways. Decaf provides a great source of natural magnesium which is essential for the production and function of enzymes - important enzymes that help promote healthy digestion. Decaf coffee also has less acidity than regular coffee, so it's gentler on stomachs that are typically sensitive to caffeine. It also contains fewer oils in its beans from processing or roasting because they have been processed naturally - without the use of chemicals - which makes them much easier on the gut. When all systems are working more properly - your stomach, brain, hormones, and more, you'll see tons of benefits.
Provides Antioxidants and Vitamins that Aid in Headache Prevention
Decaf coffee also provides antioxidants and vitamins that aid in preventing migraines and headaches. Coffee itself is known for these benefits but with the natural decaffeination process included, you get all of the benefits of high-quality coffee and none of the drawbacks from the caffeine.
Helps Regulate Cortisol
Drinking decaf coffee instead of regular coffee helps with your hormones in generals but specifically helps regular cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone in your body that can cause a headache when it's not regulated. Simply put, cortisol levels allow your body to react accordingly throughout the day based on fatigue. They vary through the day - being higher in the morning when you wake up and falling through the day as we become tired. This is the natural flow of things and when we drink too much caffeine, this causes uneven rhythms and spikes in our cortisol which causes issues with our receptors in letting us know when we're tired. By better regulating and keep your cortisol on a natural rhythm, your brain functions normally and at a very high level, avoiding migraines.
If headaches and migraines seem to be 'just a part of your life' you're wrong. They don't have to be and are not. We're not saying that switching to decaf is the only thing that's causing and prolonging any headaches or migraines you have but the overload of caffeine of your system over time could be one of many things that are certainly not helping.
Reducing your caffeine intake has many, many benefits but reducing things like migraines seems to be a huge benefit if you're a person who suffers from them.
