Are You Hangry?

Most of us will recognise the feeling of anger that accompanies going hungry for too long, but what can we do about it?

- Rebecca Douglas

Picture your usual group gathering of family or friends – you’re all out to dinner and start off chatting nicely. If it’s a late dinner or your meals take a while to arrive, the mood changes. As time wears on, everyone’s patience wears out. You turn into snapping turtles, dredging up old grievances and picking on each other. You’re not usually so unpleasant, you’re all just mighty, mighty hangry (hungry + angry).

If you’ve been known to snap at loved ones, growl at waitstaff and practically gnaw innocent bystanders’ arms off, you’ll be pleased to know your hangriness is not all in your imagination and you’re not alone. The phenomenon is all too real.

FEED THE GHRELIN

Several scientific studies have examined how aggression rises as our blood glucose levels drop since our last meal. One such study suggests judges pass heavier sentences the longer they’ve gone without food. In another examining married couples, people stuck more pins in a voodoo doll representing their partner as they became hangrier (yikes!).