Caffeine: Common Workplace Hallucinogen

This isn't in the least bit surprising, but it's funny:

"Research suggests people who drink more than seven cups of instant coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate."

Frankly, if you aren't hallucinating after that many cups of office coffee, you probably have bigger problems than drinking too many cups of coffee...

"They studied 200 students who were asked about their typical intake of caffeine products.

Those who had a high caffeine intake were three times more likely to have the heard voice of someone non-existent than "low" users who consumed less than one cup of instant coffee or its equivalent.

Seeing things that were not there, hearing voices and sensing the presence of dead people were among the experiences reported. Researchers also found that people drinking as few as three cups of brewed coffee each day may experience mild hallucinations, such as hearing voices that aren't there."

This explains a lot about my average workday.  With the amount of coffee consumed by some people I've worked with, it's amazing they aren't speaking in tongues at least 60% of the time.  In all seriousness, many people are heavily dependent on it, which isn't a big problem, generally, but it falls into the category of behavior that probably has a negative impact on one's maximum life expectancy in some way or another, surely.

"Researchers believe the hallucinations stem from the caffeine, rather than the coffee. Besides coffee, caffeine can be obtained from sources such as tea, chocolate, "pep" pills and energy drinks."

Really, you think it might be the fairly powerful stimulant causing these effects?  Or is it the "coffee"?   What is this mysterious "coffee" in scientific terms?  Perhaps the aroma of the fresh brew is simply too intoxicating to handle. :)

Or perhaps this is a sensationalized repositioning of nothing more than the information found on a No-Doz(TM) warning label?  On wikipedia, a description:

"An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of about 300 milligrams, dependent on body weight and level of caffeine tolerance, can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication,[71] colloquially "caffeine jitters". The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants. It may include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[69] In cases of much larger overdoses mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations and psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.[72][73] "

At any rate, don't try this at home, folks.  There is nothing fun or interesting or amusing about the psychadelic effects that you might acquire from excessive caffeine consumption.  They would more aptly described as hellish and should be avoided at all costs.  There are significant cardiovascular risks when consuming such large doses of caffeine, as well.

[source: foxnews]