The Science of Being ‘Hangry’ — And Easy Tips to Avoid It

Chances are, you know someone—or are yourself someone—who gets hangry. An amalgam of hungry and angry, hanger is when people get grumpy and short-tempered when they’re overdue for a feed. And there are three scientific reasons for it:

Blood-glucose levels drops
Everything you eat gets digested into simple sugars (such as glucose), amino acids and free fatty acids. These nutrients pass into your bloodstream and are then 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 perceives it as a life-threatening situation. When this happens, simple things can become difficult. 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. It also becomes more difficult to behave within socially acceptable norms, such as not snapping at people. 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.

Stress hormones released
When blood-glucose levels drop to a certain threshold, your brain sends instructions to several organs in your body to release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream.

Two of these main glucose counter-regulatory hormones are: adrenaline and cortisol, which are both 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.

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In fact, adrenaline is one of the major hormones released into your bloodstream with the “fight or flight” response to a sudden scare, such as when you see, hear or even think something that threatens your safety. Just as you might easily shout out in anger at someone during the “fight or flight” response, the flood of adrenaline you get during the glucose counter-regulatory response can promote a similar response.

You could be genetically predisposed
Hunger and anger are 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 behaviors by acting on a variety of receptors in the brain, including the Y1 receptor.

Besides acting in the brain to control hunger, neuropeptide Y and the Y1 receptor also regulate anger or aggression. In keeping with this, people with high levels of neuropeptide Y in their cerebrospinal fluid also tend to show high levels of impulse aggression.

The best way to avoid being hangry is to eat nutrient-rich foods before you get too hungry. While junk food like chocolate and potato chips are quick and enticing when you’re in the throes of hanger, they generally induce large rises in blood-glucose levels that come crashing down fast—and can leave you feeling hangrier. So think nutrient-rich, natural foods that help satisfy hunger for as long as possible. And a great—and civilized—way of handling hanger is to suggest that difficult situations be dealt with after food, not before!

Curated Article from cnn.com