--- description: A lot of caffeine is bad for your health, according to a new study, and many people are drinking too much of it title: Caffeine Health Risks: People Consume Too Much, Study Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e40acd14f01cb12/6987eff10b72e317c26e2137/187326070-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Food & Beverage](/tag/food-beverage/) ## Food & Beverage Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Drinking 4 Coffees a Day Is Bad for You, Study Says ## Video: Should I Drink Red Wine? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Drink Red Wine?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JLVLyuEq.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-03-12. Cheers to your health! All five of our experts give red wine a purple-stained smile._  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2015 12:40 PM CUT  Black Coffee Black CoffeeGetty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2015 12:40 PM CUT A lot of caffeine is bad for your health, according to a new study, and many people are consuming too much of it. A new [report](http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/4102.pdf "undefined") by the European Food Safety Authority says that more than 400 mg of caffeine a day, or [about four cups of coffee](http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/corporate/doc/efsaexplainscaffeine150527.pdf "undefined"), is linked to heart problems, insomnia and panic attacks. This safe amount of caffeine is halved for pregnant women. Many countries recommend about this amount of caffeine intake, but the problem, according to BBC, is that people still have too much. An EFSA spokesperson [gave an example to BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32901134 "undefined"): “If you have a bar of dark chocolate at 11:00 and espresso with lunch, a tea at 16:00 and vodka-Red Bull in the evening – that’s a lot of caffeine over the day.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/"},"headline":"Drinking 4 Coffees a Day Is Bad for You, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-05-28T12:40:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:41:54.493Z","description":"Less than 400 mg of caffeine per day is safe","url":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/","keywords":["Food & Beverage","diet","Caffeine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e40acd14f01cb12/6987eff10b72e317c26e2137/187326070-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e40acd14f01cb12/6987eff10b72e317c26e2137/187326070-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"coffee-beans","caption":"coffee-beans","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-beverage/","name":"Food & Beverage"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/","name":"Drinking 4 Coffees a Day Is Bad for You, Study Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Drink Red Wine?","description":"Cheers to your health! All five of our experts give red wine a purple-stained smile.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/JLVLyuEq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-12T14:14:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JLVLyuEq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3899601/too-much-caffeine-health/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```