The Dark Side of Caffeine: Can Heavy Consumption Lead to Auditory Hallucinations?

After all the recent touting of the health benefits of coffee, now comes the downside to drinking down large amounts of the ever-popular substance containing the wonder drug we know as caffeine. If you’re a heavy coffee drinker and under high stress, you may just find yourself hearing phantom noises.

Researchers from La Trobe University in Australia have found that drinking five cups of coffee or more daily can cause autitory hallucinations. The details of the new study can be found in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

According to professor Simon Crowe, of the University’s School of Psychological Sciences, “High caffeine levels in association with high levels of stressful life events interacted to produce higher levels of ‘hallucination’ in non-clinical participants, indication that further caution needs to be exercised with the use of this overtly ‘safe’ drug.”

Crowe’s team subjected 92 individuals to either a low stress or high stress situation, and coupled this with a low or high caffeine intake. All of the study participants then listened to white noise, which constant fuzzy sound that that contains all frequencies within the range of human hearing.

During their exposure to the white noise, the study subjects were asked to report each time they heard the song “White Christmas,” by Bing Crosby. Although the song in question was never actually played, study participants reported hearing it. In fact, those who were placed in a high stress condition, as well as those who consumed high caffeine levels, were found to be more likely to report hearing the song.

Regarding the results, professor Crowe noted, “There is a link between high levels of stress and psychosis, and caffeine was found to correlate with hallucination proneness. The combination of caffeine and stress affect the likelihood of an individual experiencing a psychosis-like symptom.” Only recently has caffeine been discovered to increase the risk for auditory hallucinations.

Crowe also pointed out that the study helped to explain how stress can promote signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, a mental disorder that characterized by a break down of thought processes and emotional responsiveness that commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations.

He stated, “The results also support both the diathesis-stress model and the continuum theory of schizophrenia in that stress plays a role in the symptoms of schizophrenia and that everyone, to some degree, can experience these symptoms. This was demonstrated by a significant effect of stress on the occurrence of hallucinatory experiences, or hearing the song. It is apparent that the health risks of excessive caffeine use must be addressed and caution should be raised with regards to the exacerbating use of this stimulant.”

In their report, the researchers described caffeine as being “the most commonly used psychoactive drug.” This is not surprising since caffeine not only wards off drowsiness, but also helps to restore alertness. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic to promote the development of urine. And, because caffiene is both legal and unregulated, millions of individual freely partake of the murky liquid. However, in light of the new research, gulping down a little less of what’s good to the last drop just might be a mentally healthy move.