Being “hangry” really is a thing as British scientists have found that being hungry can increase irritability.
The first real-world clinical trial in to the phenomenon found being hungry can trigger negative emotions such as anger.
The new study, led by academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Austria, found that hunger is associated with lower levels of pleasure.
The research team recruited 64 adult participants who recorded their levels of hunger as well as a range of measures of emotional well-being over a 21-day period.
Participants were prompted to report their feelings and their levels of hunger on a smartphone app five times a day.
Study lead Prof Viren Swami, of ARU, 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 levels of anger, irritability, and pleasure.
“Although our study doesn’t present ways to mitigate negative hunger-induced emotions, research suggests that being able to label an emotion can help people to regulate it, such as by recognising that we feel angry simply because we are hungry.
“Therefore, greater awareness of being ‘hangry’ could reduce the likelihood that hunger results in negative emotions and behaviours in individuals.”
The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.
