A recent study found that “hangry” is a true emotional situation. Scientists in Europe found that being hungry may increase irritation and rage.
The “Hangry” expression has gained popularity
Over the past few years, the expression “hangry,” which combines the words “hungry” and “angry,” has gained a lot of popularity. However, researchers point out that this is the first investigation of how the phenomenon impacts someone’s mental state daily. The study findings have been published in the PLoS ONE journal.
Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) researchers indicated that besides hunger increasing irritability and anger levels, it also lowers one’s level of enjoyment. Around 64 adults were surveyed in Central Europe, who reported their hunger levels over the day for three weeks. Throughout the study, they also monitored their emotional health.
The respondents used a dedicated mobile application to record their emotions and hunger levels five times per day. According to the study’s authors, the app permitted researchers to collect this data as participants went about their daily lives in actual life conditions.
Hunger affects a person’s emotional state
According to the findings, when people are hungry, they become more irritable and angry and feel less pleasure. Furthermore, the research team indicated that the relationship was held even after considering each person’s specific characteristics, such as sex, age, body mass index, nutrition, and personality features.
The researchers indicated that an individual’s emotional well-being during the day varied by about a third due to hunger. For example, when an individual is seeking a snack, hunger causes a 38% decline in pleasure, a 37% difference in irritation, and a 34% difference in wrath.
Lead study author professor Viren Swami said, “Many of us are aware that being hungry can influence our emotions, but surprisingly little scientific research has focused on being ‘hangry.’ Ours is the first study to examine being ‘hangry’ outside of a lab. By following people in their day-to-day lives, we found that hunger was related to anger, irritability, and pleasure levels.”
