Coffee may make you see ghosts

People who consumed the caffeine equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to think they'd heard a non-existent voice than people who consumed the equivalent of one cup, a study from the University of Durham quoted by the Press Association found.

The researchers behind the study said the hallucinations may be linked to higher production of the stress hormone cortisol, which is triggered by caffeine.

They told the Press Association that the research didn't prove caffeine caused hallucinations. An alternative explanation could be that people who are more prone to hallucinations consumed more caffeine than normal people.

- © Fairfax NZ News