Sound familiar? Besides a drop in blood-glucose concentrations, another reason people can become hangry is the glucose counter-regulatory response. Let me explain. When blood-glucose levels drop to a certain threshold, your brain sends instructions to several organs in your body to synthesise and release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. The four main glucose counter-regulatory hormones are: growth hormone from the pituitary gland situated deep in the brain; glucagon from the pancreas; and adrenaline, which is sometimes called epinephrine, and cortisol, which are both from the adrenal glands.
These latter two glucose counter-regulatory hormones are stress hormones that are released into your bloodstream in all sorts of stressful situations, not just when you experience the physical stress of low blood-glucose levels.
Another reason hunger is linked to anger is that both are controlled by common genes. The product of one such gene is neuropeptide Y , a natural brain chemical released into the brain when you are hungry. It stimulates voracious feeding behaviours by acting on a variety of receptors in the brain, including one called the Y1 receptor.
Besides acting in the brain to control hunger , neuropeptide Y and the Y1 receptor also regulate anger or aggression. Participants were then asked to fill out questionnaires on their emotions and their perception of the quality of the experiment.
The researchers found that hungry individuals reported greater unpleasant emotions like feeling stressed and hateful when they were not explicitly focused on their own emotions. These individuals also thought that the researcher conducting the experiment was more judgmental or harsh. Participants who spent time thinking about their emotions, even when hungry, did not report these shifts in emotions or social perceptions.
This research emphasizes the mind-body connection, according to MacCormack. Although this study focused on hunger, MacCormack believes these results may extend to other bodily states that induce negative emotion, such as fatigue or inflammation, but that further research needs to be done to confirm this. Explore further. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page.
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Once at the lab, they were asked to write a story about emotions, or to write a story about an average day that was meant to be unemotional. Then the subjects did a visual perception task in which they looked at circles on a computer. However, the visual perception task was programmed to appear as if the computer crashed at the end. Once again, context proved important for hanger.
People who had written stories about emotions, and thus had more emotional self-awareness in the moment, had a steadier keel. The finding suggests hungry people who pay attention to their feelings, or are aware of them in the moment, may be able to reduce the chances of becoming hangry.
MacCormack noted emotional self-awareness can be a personality trait, as some people are simply more in touch with their feelings than others. However, she points out that becoming self-aware, or mindful, which is improved through meditation , can also be learned to an extent. In addition to avoiding fake computer crashes, we can de-fang hanger by making smarter nutritional choices.
Cording suggests foods with a lot of carbohydrates, which produces the highest amount of blood sugar or blood glucose, should be eaten with protein or fat in order to slow digestion and leave people feeling satiated. Breakfast is a particularly tricky meal to navigate because our bodies have usually been without food for eight or more hours, and we may crave the sugary fullness of carbs. But Cording advises treading carefully during morning meals.
Or has someone snapped angrily at you when they were hungry? But where does hanger come from? And why is it that only some people seem to get hangry? The answer lies in some of the processes that happen inside your body when it needs food.
The carbohydrates, proteins and fats in everything you eat are digested into simple sugars such as glucose , amino acids and free fatty acids. These nutrients pass into your bloodstream from where they are distributed to your organs and tissues and used for energy. As time passes after your last meal, the amount of these nutrients circulating in your bloodstream starts to drop.
If your blood-glucose levels fall far enough, your brain will perceive it as a life-threatening situation. You see, unlike most other organs and tissues in your body which can use a variety of nutrients to keep functioning, your brain is critically dependent on glucose to do its job. You may find it hard to concentrate, for instance, or you may make silly mistakes. Or you might have noticed that your words become muddled or slurred. So while you may be able to conjure up enough brain power to avoid being grumpy with important colleagues, you may let your guard down and inadvertently snap at the people you are most relaxed with or care most about , such as partners and friends.
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