The emotional state of ‘hangry’ is real according to a new study into the phenomenon.
Experts at the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the UK and Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Austria found that being hungry is commonly associated with feelings of anger and irritability.
Researchers from both institutions came to the conclusion after following the lives of 64 people from central Europe for the purposes of the study.
They asked them to record their levels of hunger and measures of emotional well-being five times a day over a three week period.
READ MORE: 7 of Scotland's best Chocolatiers and experiences for World Chocolate Day
READ MORE: Best and worst supermarket butter brands compared as Lurpak soars to £7.25
In addition to anger and irritability, their hunger was also linked to lower ratings in pleasure.
The study suggests that the effects were substantial, even after taking into account factors such as age and sex, body mass index, dietary behaviour, and individual personality traits.
It further found that the negative emotions – irritability, anger, and unpleasantness – are caused by both day-to-day fluctuations in hunger, as well as residual levels of hunger.
For those completely unaware of the term ‘hangry’, then it is simply a combination of the word ‘hunger’ and ‘angry’.
The findings from the study were published in the Plos One journal.
Lead author Viren Swami, professor of social psychology at the 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.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
