{"id":16070,"date":"2022-08-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=16070"},"modified":"2022-08-22T11:36:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T09:36:00","slug":"feeling-hangry-is-real-and-theres-science-to-prove-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/08\/15\/feeling-hangry-is-real-and-theres-science-to-prove-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling \u2018hangry\u2019 is real, and there\u2019s science to prove it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FEELING \u2018HANGRY\u2019 IS REAL, AND THERE\u2019S SCIENCE TO PROVE IT<\/h2>\n\n

Scientists tracking people\u2019s food intake and emotions have shown that being hungry really can make us angry <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s a common phenomenon: go too long without eating, and you start to feel a little… irritated, to put it politely. Things that might not have bothered you on a full stomach now elicit clenching fists and a pulsing vein on your forehead. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
There are dire consequences when dinner takes too long to arrive <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Until now, feeling \u2018hangry\u2019 \u2013 angry because you\u2019re hungry \u2013 has been described in a general, colloquial sense, rather than a scientific one. But when one social psychologist was told they were hangry, they decided to investigate the emotion in more detail (presumably after having a snack). <\/p>\n\n

\u201c[The research] came about partly because my wife is often saying that I\u2019m hangry, but I didn\u2019t think being hangry was real,\u201d said Prof Viren Swami, the study\u2019s lead author at Anglia Ruskin University. \u201cBut mainly because I\u2019m interested in the impact of hunger and eating on human emotions and behaviours.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Swami and colleagues are the first to study the feeling of hanger specifically, but previous research in lab settings has pointed to links between hunger and mood. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn some non-human species, food deprivation has been shown to increase motivations to engage in aggression to gain food resources,\u201d said Swami. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn humans, hunger has been examined in relation to mood and behavioural difficulties, especially in children, but results have been mixed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

For the new study, 64 adults from central Europe were asked to record their emotions and their hunger levels at several points throughout their day. Over a three-week period, the researchers found that fluctuations in anger, irritability and unpleasantness were strongly linked with hunger. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn some non-human species, food deprivation increases motivation to engage in aggression\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

In fact, hunger was responsible for 34 per cent of the variation in feelings of anger for participants. For feelings of irritability, hunger was 37 per cent responsible.<\/p>\n\n

The exact reason why hunger makes us irritable is still unknown. <\/p>\n\n

A number of suggestions have been made \u2013 it could be linked to low blood glucose levels, which have been shown in previous experiments to increase impulsiveness and aggression. Or perhaps the lack of food could affect a person\u2019s self-control and regulation, which some say triggers negative emotions like anger. But the current study focused on finding the link, not the reason for it being there. <\/p>\n\n

As for those who get hangry, Swami said greater awareness of the feeling itself could reduce the likelihood that hunger results in negative emotions and behaviours in individuals. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cAlthough our study doesn\u2019t present ways to mitigate negative hunger-induced emotions, research suggests that being able to label an emotion can help people to regulate it, such as by recognising that we feel angry simply because we are hungry,\u201d said Swami. <\/p>\n\n

IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FEELING \u2018HANGRY\u2019 IS REAL, AND THERE\u2019S SCIENCE TO PROVE IT Scientists tracking people\u2019s food intake and emotions have shown that being hungry really can make us angry It\u2019s a common phenomenon: go too long without eating, and you start to feel a little… irritated, to put it politely. Things that might not have bothered you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"23","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"23","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_23-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_23-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_external_id":"August-2022-23-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"August-2022-23-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000089657||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000089657||","purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue381","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue381","purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue381","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue381","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0f422ad1-c939-476d-9f82-a410052ad4c3","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-08-15T15:38:29Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"27dd43c7-ce73-49d3-ae10-0928f900aa9b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-08-22T09:36:06Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABw==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AJ91Dx85zSdOuEAko-QCqmw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[25],"tags":[15],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175.jpg",1268,1595,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175-238x300.jpg",238,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175-768x966.jpg",768,966,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175-814x1024.jpg",800,1006,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175-1221x1536.jpg",1221,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/08\/9a3858f5-368e-49d4-9815-341dcd9d3175.jpg",1268,1595,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"FEELING \u2018HANGRY\u2019 IS REAL, AND THERE\u2019S SCIENCE TO PROVE IT Scientists tracking people\u2019s food intake and emotions have shown that being hungry really can make us angry It\u2019s a common phenomenon: go too long without eating, and you start to feel a little… irritated, to put it politely. 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