Science says: being ‘hangry’ is real
When I suddenly become bloodthirsty and snap at everyone, it often turns out that there is a very clear reason behind it: hunger. Do you also become a completely different person because of that? Sometimes I can be absolutely convinced that I have fallen into a deep depression, but after eating a meal, it turns out that there is actually nothing wrong. My boyfriend often calls out at such moments (because he is usually the victim of my hungry moods): ‘Are you hangry again?’ You can imagine that this makes me even angrier.
Okay, for those who don't know the term ‘hangry’: the word is a combination of ‘angry’ and ‘hungry’, meaning getting very irritated due to hunger. I have no idea who came up with this, but I think it's brilliantly conceived. The big question is, of course: does being ‘hangry’ really exist or is it just another word for being dramatic?
What turns out? Being ‘hangry’ is definitely not being dramatic and even stronger: the phenomenon has even been scientifically explained. That there is a connection between appetite and emotions has already been shown in previous studies, but recently researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge discovered that as a human, you really experience less pleasure when you are hungry. The hungrier you are, the angrier you feel.
For this study, 64 people (from Germany and Austria, among others) were asked to fill out a short survey about their emotions and feelings of hunger via an app for three weeks, five times a day. The outcome? There was a clear correlation between people's hunger levels and their feelings of irritability and anger. Additionally, they felt less pleasure when they were hungry. I can completely relate to this.
One of the researchers explains this result as follows: ‘It is likely that when you are hungry, you interpret negative contextual signals more negatively. Think of heat or being bumped into by people in a crowded place.’ In other words: when you are hungry, you can handle less.
According to psychologist Deanne Jade from the National Centre for Eating Disorder, all of this has to do with our hormones. Because when blood sugar levels are low (in hunger mode), hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released, triggering the ‘fight or flight response’ in people and increasing stress levels. As a result, we feel nervous and become overly focused on ‘annoying’ things like heat or crowds, which we then start to get irritated by more quickly.
Conclusion of this story: being hangry is real. So make sure you always have some food with you, I can't make the solution any easier for you.
Source: NewScientist
