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IT’S EASY TO get completely addicted to coffee when you’re working long hours, with little sleep, staring at a computer screen all day. Sometimes you just need a little pick-me-up.
Delicious as it is, it is possible to drink too much coffee and reseach indicates that ingesting too much caffeine (500-600 mgs or 5 or more cups of coffee) can cause anything from restlessness to muscle tremors.
So keep all this in mind when you order your next double shot of espresso.
1. It can make you hear things.
According to a study by the University of Melborune, coffee is “the most commonly used psychoactive drug,” and drinking more than 5 cups a day can have you hearing things.
Researchers gave 92 subjects large amounts of coffee and then had them listen to white noise.
Professor Simon Crowe, of La Trobe University in Melbourne, told the Daily Mail: “We also told them that within the white noise there may be parts of the song White Christmas and if you hear it, press a button. We didn’t include White Christmas in the white noise but found that more people who were very stressed and had high levels of caffeine thought they heard the song. The combination of caffeine and stress affect the likelihood of an individual experiencing a psychosis-like symptom.”
2. It can damage your liver
According to studies by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, while moderate amounts of coffee can help the liver to detoxify the body, too much can have to opposite effect and hinder your liver’s function. This is especially true if you’re taking high doses of common over-the-counter pain medication.
3. It can raise your blood pressure
That’s according to a Carnegie Mellon study which also says that coffee can stimulate the heart and cause shallow breathing.
4. It can make you irritable
The shallow breathing caused by too much caffeine can stymie oxygen’s flow to the brain, which in turn harms the decision making process.
5. It can cause insomnia
This varies from person to person, depending on how well your body can process caffeine. Coffee has a 6 hour half life so it takes 24 hours to work its way through your system (on average).
That means coffee right before bed (like when you’ve been pulling an all-nighter) is no way to get good quality sleep. Studies show that it reduces valuable REM sleep time.
6. It’s addictive
According to research done by Johns Hopkins University, caffeine only gives you that focused energy because it gets you over caffeine withdrawals in the first place.
John Hopkins researchers found that caffeine-related performance improvement is nonexistent without caffeine withdrawal. In essence, coming off caffeine reduces your cognitive performance and has a negative impact on your mood. The only way to get back to normal is to drink caffeine, and when you do drink it, you feel like it’s taking you to new heights. In reality, the caffeine is just taking your performance back to normal for a short period.
7. It can make hard workers slack off
The University of British Columbia did a study in which it gave 40 rats amphetamines and caffeine. The amphetamines made lazy rats work harder and hard working rats more lazy.
The coffee, on the other hand, did nothing for the slackers. It didn’t do anything for the workers either.
8. It can increase your risk of osteoporosis
This is according to research by the Oregon State University. To combat this, make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D and calcium when you’re drinking coffee.
9. Withdrawal can give you a headache
Withdrawal is about 12-24 hours after your last cup, according to the American Heart Association.
10. Withdrawal can also make you depressed
You can add anxiety, fatigue and drowsiness to those symptoms.
- Linette Lopez with additional reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
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R.I.P.
When Bowies creative output started to suffer in the 80′s, Prince came in and filled that void magnificently. I always viewed Prince in similar terms to Bowie in the way they challenged the mainstream constantly with their music and image. One crumb of comfort can be taken from his premature demise and that is the thousands of unreleased material he wrote over the years and which fans can look foward to hearing in the future.
On probably his worst album ‘Never Let Me Down’, Bowie sang the line : “The Little Red Corvette has passed me by” …
‘Least greatest’ album I think is more appropriate :)
What is the obsession with celebrities when they pass away?We should be mourning scientists,Doctors,professors and not musicians.A note in a newspaper is worthy,but countless stories one after the other is not on.We are taught to worship these people now and obsess.Sad day man passess away,hey over it.it Sums up society today,willfully ignorant and brainwashed by tv and radio.
You didnt have to pay attention to the article’s on him you know, you have a choice here Lee.
Says Lee Oswald
Yes but you know I have to give my 2 cents here…if I don’t highlight the pure ignorance and lack of common sense who else will?
What’s up Elma?
Musicians of this magnitutde are mourned simply because music means so very much to people; we grow with it, it grows with us, it relieves our stress, it gives us emotional release and it has very positive influences on our energy, body and brain. Prince was a musical genius, many people are upset, obviously not you Lee but thats okay. Maybe you’ve never heard music before
The reason for this is that more people would find Purple Rain to be more emotional and uplifting than Panck’s Constant.
Says the lad called after a dead Assassin????
I think if you did a wee bit of research you would realise I was not an assassin.I had a poor shot ,I could not off pulled of the assassination due to this fact.But you believe the Warren commission,which in itself was flawed from the day it was set up.
Back and to the left, back and to the left.
I sense a slight bit of sarcasm there Elma…The fact is shots could not be done in the time scale suggested.
I’m actually with you on this one tbh.
Thank you Elma,I’m not saying I was not involved.But I certainly did not act alone.I never got the call…
Is this worthy of a separate news story?
Maybe not, but the people who own the website think so, and it’s a free world.
Using your thumbs as a guide, it would appear about 80% thinkn yes it is.
“One day of seven we’ll die”
Gotta get those clicks
Goodnight sweet Prince
RTE government and cronie buddies would not represent the independent freedom loving Prince. They might like his music but they certainly wouldn’t be down with his stances on position on certain things. Might I suggest that PrimeTime do a piece on Chemtrails a subject which Prince was vocal about ???
Maybe they could have played ” something in the water does not compute”…
I agree Mr mango…but as you can see from all the red thumbs you are gettingn most people like to be spoon Fed from the likes of rte news.They hold comfort in their Irish independent,rte news and mor ing Ireland lol.Over educated but lack independent thought and the will to question authority.
Mass media educated sheeple, fleeced of free thought, and totally oblivious to the wool being pulled down over their eyes.
Good work RTE. good work
Thats cool,Prime Time taking a leaf outta Newsnight’s book with a lighter credits and a nice music tribute. Too many rte shows are too stiff and serious
Prince, like most of us like minded, would spit on Rte and it’s lie through omission policies. Prime time is a gate keeper like the war on drugs. They proclaim to be tackling the problem when they really are helping guide the outrage which is the brainwashed masses goto first emotion in reaction to the corruption of their overlords. But even Prince’s soul can’t replace the ones Rte & it’s minions already sold to the devil.!
Surprised anyone in RTE has enough soul to appreciate Prince. Disturbing to realise I have something in common with the government droids in Donnybrook
I wonder did David McCullogh manage to stay awake to hear the tune?
They should have faded the music in rather than just blasting it straight out. It’s a nice sentiment all the same.
Pity RTE is shite for the vast majority of the time.
Last weekthe bodies of two more young males were fished out of Galway Bay and Leo the Loo Head has decided he can afford to tske €14m from mental health.There are plenty more tragedies closer to home Prime Time could theme song, maybe “Suicide is Painless”.but of course it’s not, neither is is victimless.
Prince was a fan of Dick Gregory. He had strong opinions about society and politics and would not have been a fan of state owned and government controlled propaganda tv.
And I’m sure he would appreciate you hijacking the fact they played his music to commemorate his death as an excuse to have a rant. Not.
have your say