Drinking more than seven cups of coffee a day can give you hallucinations

Drinking cup after cup of coffee dramatically increases the risk of hallucinating, research shows.

Healthy young men and women who had more than seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to hear or see things that were not there than those who limited their intake to less than a cup.

It is thought that caffeine boosts levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.



Confirming the link could lead to new treatments for those who suffer severe hallucinations, including schizophrenics, some victims of child abuse and the recently bereaved.

The Durham University researchers asked 219 students to document their caffeine intake, working on the principle that a cup of instant coffee contains 45mg of caffeine.

Coffee brewed at home contains more than twice as much, while that from cafes such as Starbucks can have almost 190mg of caffeine.

The volunteers were also asked how often they suffered hallucinations.



The high caffeine users were three times as likely to have had problems as those who rarely drank coffee.

Large amounts of caffeine also made people more likely to think they could sense the presence of ghosts, the journal Personality and Individual Differences reports.

The British Coffee Association said that a moderate intake of four to five cups a day has been shown to be safe for the general population and may confer health benefits.

The Food Standard Agency recommends that pregnant women limit themselves to 200mg of caffeine a day.