Coffee (or caffeine) is probably the most notable drink or recourse you can get to stay awake. People who have to extend their working hours or simply want to be awake most of the time consume coffee to keep their eyes open.

However, health risks have been associated with too much caffeine. It is logical in the sense that you may be abusing your body in a sense. Further, it seems that too much caffeine can lead to hallucinations as found by this study from Durham University.

Researchers found that “high caffeine users”, those who had more than the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day, were three times more likely to have had hallucinations than those who had less than the equivalent of one cup.

Those who have three cups of brewed coffee a day could be at the same risk, they warn, because of the drink’s higher caffeine content.

On average the volunteers had the equivalent of three cups of instant coffee a day, which could still cause an increased risk, according to the study.

The researchers believe that caffeine could heighten the effect that stress has on the body, triggering the hallucinations.

(Source) Telegraph

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For sure most of you drink coffee. Though you may not be the coffee drinking addict, it remains that some people would be offered in coffee stores like Starbucks “Regular” or “Decaf”? Especially if you are visiting them in the night, normally we have this belief that decaf will not bother us that much when it comes to sleeping when we get home. Or does it?

Coffee is still coffee. While drinking decaf is supposed to have lower caffeine content, an element that is supposed to keep us awake, it seems that it doesn’t matter. For one, being awake would depend not only on what we consume but also in our overall state.

For example, if we have had a rigorous day and our bodies are really about to collapse on us, you can be assured that not even coffee can keep us awake. We may end up telling ourselves that we would take a nap but sooner than you know it, you may be surprised to find that you have slept practically the regular sleeping hours one is expected to get.

The fact of the matter here is that whatever type of coffee, regardless if it is decaf or not, may not necessarily have a factor. It can keep you awake, but if your body is not up to it rest assured you will give in to sleep.

According to Tom Round, vice president of the product’s maker, Silver Lake Research, 25 of the 100 decaf samples the biotech firm tested during the research phase had too-high caffeine levels.

Not great news for decaf drinkers. But then again, recent research has linked caffeine consumption to a host of health benefits, such as improved cognitive function and sharper aerobic capacity. And a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine linked coffee consumption to a longer life span.

(Source) Sun Times

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