Grr….
Apple. Steak. Hamburger. Chips. Strawberries. Grr… Mac n cheese, pizza, toast, cereal. Anything! Not only does your stomach growl when you're craving the deliciousness of food, but so do your emotions. An amalgam or combination of the words hungry and angry known as “Hangry” has been used to describe people who can't seem to control their anger when they are feeling hungry. This hunger stems from lack of glucose and low blood sugar in the body triggering your body to have different reactions to situations one would normally have. According to The Diabetes Journal brains has a serious dependence on glucose; Easy everyday tasks become hard when you're hungry as blood glucose levels drop. Side effects that may occur are difficulty to concentrate, or even make silly simple mistakes. It is also said speech can be affected as your words became slurred and mumbled. The angriness of people can to cause family fights and arguments between friends due to the emptiness of their stomach. Junior Neda Sohrabi said, “I get hangry all the time. When my friends randomly get mad at me I get offended because they're being mean for no reason. As soon as they eat and are nice again I put the pieces together especially because I can be mean to my friends when I am hangry and they take it.” According to Culture Cheat Sheet, Psychologist Brad Bushman did an experiment relating to low blood sugar and the effects it has on a married couple. Brushman studied 107 couples with a range of blood sugar levels and gave each individual a voodoo doll with 51 pins. The individual was supposed to poke pins into the voodoo doll depending on how angry they were with their spouse. In The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Bushman and his team discovered “the damage done to each doll and found that volunteers who had low levels of blood glucose stuck more pins in the voodoo dolls than those who had high levels of blood glucose." This drop in glucose levels does create tension between friends and family members. Hunger really does trigger anger and annoyance. Senior Anthony Campbell said, “When I am hangry I get into this mood where I have no idea why I’m angry and then all of sudden I eat and I am like ‘woah I was really hungry.’ When my friends get hangry I get so confused because it’s just a random argument and then once they eat it stops.” This anger is common when you haven't eaten for a long period of time and affects the social norms when you are not hungry. Amanda Sails, a writer for CNN and The Conversation, a journalist flair said, “Another thing that can become more difficult when you're hungry is behaving 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.” Sudden anger at people is unexpected in the moment but is usually understandable when your friend or family member has came to the conclusion you haven't eaten. Some even see it as a family gene that has been carried through the past family generations. Education and learning styles have also been affected as this sudden behavior sparks students to react differently to the material they are learning in school. Studies from the American Psychological Association have displayed the psychological effects of hunger on education. Hunger has affected students’ emotions and been seen to cause depression, anxiety and withdrawal, all of which are distractions to a child trying to focus on education and the material being taught in a class. Though in the moment it’s hard to find the cure to intense hunger, there are a variety of ways to avoid getting to the point of being hangry. If your diet is balanced and you eat throughout the course of the day the brain and emotions can be at their best states. Ella Carter and Phillip Watts authors of Independent lifestyle said, “Although you will be tempted, resist reaching for that bag of crisps or chocolate bar, as they will both make you ‘hangrier’ in the long run. Instead, opt for nutrient-rich, natural foods that are packed full of healthy calories. These foods, such as avocados and nuts, will keep hunger at bay much longer, and should stop you from feeling hangry. To avoid these rumbling stomachs it is important to make time during the day to eat to avoid biting someone's head off. Instead try a carrot. It is much tastier. |