Well, This Probably Explains the Strange Behavior in Seattle

This is why I always try and limit myself to a only couple of cups of coffee in the morning.

Hearing voices when nobody is around or seeing things that aren't there? Too much caffeine could be to blame, British researchers reported on Wednesday.

Their study found that students who consumed more than the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to have had these kinds of hallucinations compared to people on a single daily cup.

"This is the first step toward looking at the wider factors associated with hallucinations," said Simon Jones, a psychologist at Durham University in Britain who led the study.

The findings are also the latest in mounting evidence indicating the amount of caffeine a person consumes may directly affect a person's health.

Recent studies have suggested caffeine may lower a woman's risk of ovarian cancer while others have found too much doubles the risk of miscarriage.

Currently, people treated for hallucinations receive drugs or counselling but Jones said his research aims to explore whether changing a person's diet could help.

"This is the first time to my knowledge caffeine and hallucinations have been looked at," Jones said in a telephone interview.