Not my story, but interesting…I drink way more than 7 cups a day without problems…I’m hyper-evolved for this sort of thing…

If you’re drinking too much coffee, you might just be seeing dead people — at least according to the following study. This story has appeared in numerous websites, reporting on research work that links high intake of caffeine to hallucinations. The study suggests people who drink more than seven cups of coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate. According to researchers from the University of Durham, high caffeine users may even think they sense non-existent people. These findings are the result of 219 self-report questionnaires by college students. Of course, besides coffee, caffeine can be obtained from sources such as tea and energy drinks, etc. The study was based on the knowledge that the hormone cortisol, released in response to stressors, is understood to play a role in the development of psychotic experiences — and that caffeine intake increases cortisol release. When under stress the body releases cortisol, which is produced in greater quantities after consuming caffeine, possibly leading to hallucinations. Seeing things that were not there, hearing voices and sensing the presence of dead people were among the experiences reported by participants. The ability of caffeine to exacerbate the effects of stress may be behind the study’s findings, scientists believe. Those who had a high caffeine intake were three times more likely to have heard the voice of someone non-existent than “low” users who consumed less than one cup of instant coffee or its equivalent. “One interpretation may be that those students who were more prone to hallucinations used caffeine to help cope with their experiences,” said Dr Charles Fernyhough, one of the study’s co-authors.