Why You Get Hangry
Haven’t eaten anything for a few hours? Chances are you’ll get ‘hangry’: a combination of being hungry and angry. It’s a familiar phenomenon in the FavorFlav editorial office.
The carbohydrates, proteins and fats in your food are converted by your body into sugar, amino acids and fatty acids. All these nutrients provide the organs in your body with energy.
The longer ago you ate, the fewer of these substances flow through your blood. And if the glucose level in your blood gets low enough, your brain will perceive this as a life-threatening situation.
Something else that becomes a challenge? Behaving in a socially acceptable manner.
Survival mechanism
Being hangry is therefore a survival mechanism that people and animals once really benefited from. But nowadays, in prosperous parts of the world, that only applies to animals.
Difficulty focusing
When you get hangry, it becomes harder to focus and you’re more likely to make small mistakes at work. Or you may find that you can no longer express yourself properly. Something else that becomes a challenge? Behaving in a socially acceptable manner.
Socially acceptable
You can often still manage to act normally around colleagues, but with the people closest to you, such as your partner and family, it’s a different story.
The only thing you can do about it? Eat before you get really hungry and make sure you only start complicated tasks after you’ve eaten.
Also read:
- Why you always finish that bag of chips
- This is why you need ice cream after a breakup
- Dry January: does it actually make sense?
