It's true. Portland really has a coffee culture, and once you live here a while you understand the desire....no, the NEED for coffee. On a dreary grey morning, stopping to buy a latte at one of the 9 coffeeshops that line my way to work is a well-loved ritual. I don't do it every day. I've tried to limit myself to once or twice a week due to the "latte factor" (the sum of money spent in the course of a year on unnecessary consumables). On the days that I don't walk into school with a steaming cup of comfort in my hand, I'm likely to drink a cup of school brew that my secretary, Helen, lovingly makes for herself and me.
All that being said, I noticed two weeks ago that I had woken up with a headache every day for 7 days in a row and had intermittent morning headaches for the previous month or two. What is the cause? I asked myself. Is it stress? hormones? or....coffee? Since there is not much that I can do to change the first two options, I decided to try to go a month without coffee to see if it decreased my headaches.
I crave coffee. I am not a morning person and never have been. I thought when I became an "adult" that maybe my circadian rhythms would change and I would be a happy person in the morning hours. Not so. I NEED coffee. The little boost that one cup of caffeine gives me (never more, because I get jittery) is what makes me a semi-functional, mostly-kind-and-patient teacher.
I made it 11 days. Today I broke down and headed to the Busy Corner with Nate for a bowl full of smooth, caffeinated love. It was worth any headache that I might wake up with tomorrow.
3 comments:
Hmm, I also find I get morning headaches, but only when I don't drink coffee. I'm just curious, were the headaches better for that 11 days? Are you prone to having headaches? Are these similar to your prior headaches? Sorry if I sound too doctorly. . .I have a very narrow focus right now.
No headaches for the 11 days coffee-free days. I am not normally overly prone to having headaches. These are similar to previous headaches--more tension/stress headaches than anything else. I did have a headache with accompanying nausea (migraine? or did I have a virus?) once in the last month. I'm not hugely concerned yet, but I'm going to start logging my headaches and looking for a pattern. I'll be consulting with you, my favorite doctor, if I find one :)
I like the headache log. If they continue, I definately think you should chat with your doctor. New persistant headaches in people without a history of headaches warrant a check up in my mind.
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