Can i take pain pills over time? All at once/gradually?

Hi, I was wondering if it was OK/Better/Worse/Safe to take drugs (specifically pain medicine) at the effective dose all at once, or distribute the pills over the course of a couple hours?

As a reference, I usually take 2-3 pills of Ibuprofen 200mg for pain/headaches/etc. I'm wondering if it's OK to take one pill at a time every 30 mins to an hour, or if that's dangerous? (Provided, of course, that the total dose doesn't exceed my usual.)