3 Cups of Coffee Increases Hallucinations

PearsSoap writes "The Telegraph and other sources are pointing out a study on 200 students which has found that a high caffeine intake can cause visual and auditory hallucinations, and can make people think that others are 'out to get them.' The abstract (and full version if you have access) is available. 'The volunteers were questioned about their caffeine intake from products including coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate bars and caffeine tablets.'"

Comments

60 cups

[pak9rabid]

I remember reading somewhere that 60 cups of coffee would supposedly yield the same level of hallucinations as 1 dose of LSD....I don't know about anyone else, but I think 60 cups of coffee would mess me up a lot more than 1 dose of LSD...

Re:60 cups

[internewt]

You know what would have really sorted you out? A big fat fucking spliff, or a hit from the bong </Cypress Hill>.

If I drink tea (I've never liked coffee) after about 10pm, there is no way I will fall asleep until gone midnight - the caffeine gives me enough of a kick to stop me dropping off. But if I am stoned then I can guzzle as much caffeine as I like and sleep ain't a problem.

The weed would have helped settle your stomach too.

But THC ain't patentable, so it stays illegal.
And corn makes growers a lot of money, even though hemp is a better source for biofuel.
And the wood-pulp based paper industry is happy with its methods, even though canvas lasts hundreds of years and doesn't go yellow.
And who needs natural fibres when they're making money from artificial fibres made from oil.

No surprises

[DrLang21]

Who is actually surprised that consuming large amounts of a brain stimulant can cause hallucinations and paranoia? It should be no shocker that when you are over stimulated, your brain starts finding new outlets.

Wow, bad reporting or bad science?

[mcgrew]

"Triples your risk" - well, what are the risks WITHOUT coffee? I drink coffee all day long, yet I haven't had a hallucination since 1982 (the last time I did acid).

lack of sleep will case hallucinations.

And exactly what do they mean by "hallucinations?" Water swilrling down a drain may make you think you heard a female voice; "floaters" in your eyeballs (you'll get 'em when you're older) can make you momentarily think you saw something that wasn't there. I wouldn't count those as hallucinations.

Previous studies have shown that too much caffeine can lead to heart palpitations, insomnia [DUH! it's a stimulant] and even affect a woman's chances of becoming pregnant. [Coffee -- the new birth control!]

"The new study also showed that people who had a high caffeine intake were not more likely to think that others were out to get them, a so-called "persecution complex".

That one little word omitted (that I bolded that WAS in TFA but not in the summary) changes the meaning completely, doesn't it? Taco, you need to cut down on the Jolt! get some sleep, dude!

Re:Wow, bad reporting or bad science?

[Xelios]

I find the article itself is pretty indicative of a lot of these correlation based studies. The whole article talks about caffeine being linked to hallucinations, then at the very end, the researcher says something along the lines of "Oh, by the way, people who are more stressed for other reasons are likely to drink more coffee, and I guess that stress could be what's causing the hallucinations."

Well super. So in the end, what exactly has this study proven that we didn't already know?

Forgive the attitude, this stuff is just starting to grate my nerves. I think I need a cup of coffee.

Yet to experience them.

[Creepy Crawler]

And I bought a jar of Caffeine off of Unitednucler.com for 10$.

ACS/reagent grade, so great to use... I use mine with DMSO if I want the caf without bitterness. In my job, if I take a .5g hit, I feel it after about 10 minutes where I consistently get more lively and awake.

Just watch for the downs after about 6 hours after first hit. You'll get hit with extreme tiredness and apathy... You wont be close enough to a bed.

*I dont work for UnitedNuclear.com : Im just a happy purchaser.

Re:Yet to experience them.

[Anonymous Coward]

ACS/reagent grade, so great to use... I use mine with DMSO if I want the caf without bitterness.

Remember kids, just because it's legal, doesn't mean you're not a fucked-up addict. Seriously, absorbing caffeine through your skin?

Correlation

[Idiomatick]

Why must we tag EVERYTHING correlationisnotcausation. Does /. suddenly have a patent disregard for statistics in it entirety? Seriously, what is the alternative here? People about to have a hallucination have a sudden caffeine urge before their episode? Looking at the study from both sides is good. Ignoring statistics entirely is cowardly. I see too many people ignoring them because they are offensive (religion correlates with violent crime, homocide, stds, abortion). And i mean blanket ignoring, not trying to deduce anything from the stats. I never used to think of /.ers as the types to plug their ears and go lalalala. But this meme is childish.

RTFA

[PinkyDead]

...200 students...

They clearly just haven't built up adequate resistance yet.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:South Park

[mhall119]

I got fr1st p0st!

course I have had twenty nine cups of coffee, and my screen looks like a bad knockoff Picaso painting.

Keep drinking until it looks like a Dali.

Re:South Park

[chill]

Dude, if you think you got first post and it was a REPLY to another post, then that isn't coffee you're drinking. :-)

Hallucinated Chicken or Caffinated Egg Dilemma

[ViennaSt]

This study CORRELATES high intake of caffeine to auditory/visual hallucinations--and ASSUMES caffeine came first. What if people who are already prone to having these hallucinations tend to consume more caffeine?

Another correlation of this nature is that people with schizophrenia are ~75% likely to smoke and others with mental illness are prone to this trend as well. Source Here.

Also, this study was held at a university, and their test subjects are freshmen/sophomore level psych majors looking to get extra credit in their 300 level class. These students are already stressed about exams, relationships, money, and the fact they will probably have to work at Starbucks when they graduate because they got a Pysch degree--so to suggest that the sample is not bias in that way (and is indeed not anymore stressed than the regular adult population) is unscientific.