The reason why we are irritable when we are hungry is unclear, however low blood sugar may play a role by increasing impulsivity and hostility.

I invite everyone who has never been frustrated or furious to cast the first stone once they learn that hunger is the root cause. The feeling is so widespread that it has spawned an own meme festival, and the English word “hangry” was created to describe it by combining the terms “hungry” (hungry, in free translation) and “mad” (which can mean angry). Scientists from the United Kingdom and Austria conducted a new research that confirmed the link between hunger and unpleasant feelings.

Sixty-four people between the ages of 18 and 60 were enlisted by the crew. They were given five separate, short surveys to complete over the course of three weeks, each one focusing on how they felt emotionally when hungry. A smartphone app was used for this purpose. Questions focused on whether or whether you were now hungry, irritable, or angry. Also disclosed were the subjects’ present mood and degree of consciousness.

Respondents provided demographic information such as their age, nationality, relationship status, weight, height, and level of education prior to taking the questionnaires. There has been a lot of laboratory study on the link between hunger and emotion, but this is the first time that people’s reactions to the emotion of hunger have been evaluated.

The findings, published in Plos One, demonstrated a correlation between hunger and increased anger and irritability as well as diminished sensations of pleasure. Researchers found that hunger accounted for 37% of the variation in participants’ irritability, 34% of the variation in participants’ anger, and 38% of the variation in participants’ enjoyment. Both the physical sensation of hunger and the desire to eat have been linked to these unpleasant feelings, as has been shown by the aforementioned research.

While the exact mechanism by which hunger brings on such unpleasant emotions remains unknown, experts have put forward a few possibilities. One is the evidence that shows how low blood sugar may lead to a rise in aggressive behavior, impulsivity, and other negative emotions. Another theory holds that being hungry makes individuals more sensitive to unpleasant sensations in their environment, such as heat or crowds.

Although the study did not provide new remedies, social psychologist and study leader Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University claims that just being able to perceive and describe emotion is already helpful. In any case, if individuals realize that their anger is due to hunger, the answer is obvious: they should eat something quickly to calm down.