A Hungry Man is an Angry Man: Yes! There is a science to it.

Weird title for a science blog, right? It turns out there are many things in our world we might not be paying attention to that can influence our behaviors and decision-making. We experience it every day, but we just don't consciously accept it to make it a part of our lifestyle.

What's that?

HANGRY!
Hunger + Anger = Hangry

Or

HANGER!
Hunger + Anger = Hanger - No, not the one you use for your jacket!

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We've all been there before: You are super angry at someone and tell yourself, "I'm gonna deal with that guy." After having some snacks, you start to have another feeling that tells you, "What's the point?"

Bam! And that's a classical example of how hunger can control your emotions.

What makes this interesting is that's your body's way of motivating and encouraging you to go refill the tank. If we never felt hungry, people would just be moving about their daily activities and just drop to the ground. It's part of the body's system of keeping you alive by alerting you to feed it with the necessary nutrients and energy for survival. This is from an evolutionary standpoint.

What's the Science behind this, pal?

Alright, so hunger is associated with a decrease in glucose levels, and glucose, as we know, is the primary source of energy for our brain. A reduction in glucose means a reduction in power supply to your brain, and that might cause it to behave a little cranky. This leads to irritability and a more negative emotional state.

Get the link?

Now remember we spoke about stress in the previous post? Yep! Hunger can also bring stress.

How?
Hunger can and will trigger the release of cortisol and adrenaline hormones. Now remember we said yesterday that as cortisol levels increase, our feelings of stress and frustration also increase. This is what would manifest as anger when someone decides to mess with you in the slightest way.

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Let's take a short break and watch this video below 👇

https://youtube.com/shorts/h8bnb7DiBPQ?si=I4oW8jV8ZwheNFc0

NO, the world is not coming to an end, just get a piece of bread as Chris Rock said. You should feel better after.

Yeah, that's Chris Rock, my favorite comedian saying some deep stuff! You might think it's a joke because of how he says it, but trust me, it's more scientific than it is a joke.

You see, the hypothalamus is the portion of your brain that controls hunger. Whenever we eat, a hormone called serotonin and dopamine, responsible for giving us pleasure is triggered. This will then temporarily boost our mood for us to feel good.

Think about this?

When you eat, it takes time for digestion to take place for energy to be distributed. Why is it that the moment the food lands in your stomach you feel okay, knowing that digestion will complete in sometimes hours later depending on the kind of food you ate?

Ever wondered about that?

The reason is this: when you eat, your stomach expands. This then sends a signal to the hypothalamus that food has arrived, then the hormones (serotonin and dopamine) are released to make you feel good.

I sometimes during a fast deceive my brain by drinking loads of water to push my stomach out, I feel better for a while and start pissing it all out.

Silly Me!!!

Now being hungry does not just affect our emotional states, it also influences our decision-making, especially on our impulsive behavior.

Research in many different science fields has shown the relationship between hunger and our decision-making. I will put some links down below at the references in case you are already fascinated by this discussion.

As we said earlier on, a reduction in glucose levels which is a source of energy to the brain will affect the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making. This will result in stuff like decreased attention span and less self-control. That's why you should never make a decision when you are hungry because you are not in the best of brain power and abilities. Like Chris said in the video, "You will end up saying some dumb shit".

What makes this very serious is the fact that you can't tell when hunger is influencing your decisions; you just think it's you. It messes with your emotions until you get something to eat, then you realize it.

So in short, Please get something to eat and on time each and every day. It will help you to be more productive and less ventful. Some people just think you have a bad character; it could be just that they meet you in your "HANGRY" moments.

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Okay, so I'm currently in a fast, so pardon me if I didn't blog this out right, but I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this? I will catch you tomorrow.

Reference and links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5483000/#:~:text=The%20hypothalamus%20is%20one%20of,Myers%20and%20Olson%2C%202012

https://nerdfighteria.info/v/MOtrHV-vTn8/

https://www.verywellhealth.com/hangry-7499808

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-being-hangry-really-a-thing-or-just-an-excuse

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22572-serotonin

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22187-cortisol

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23038-adrenaline