The Science Behind “Hangry”

When we don’t eat often enough it’s harder for our brain to control our aggressive impulses. Surprisingly,hangry isn’t just millennial slang. It’s actual science.

Feelings of hunger can easily shorten our temper’s fuse and thus the term hangry was born. Many people experience hanger (the combination of hungry and angry) when they’re long overdue for a meal.

“What’s interesting is hanger is actually a survival mechanism,” said Brenda Bustillos, M.S., R.D.N., L.D., a registered dietitian with the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health. “The amount of glucose available for the brain declines as more time passes between meals. Food is important because when glucose levels become too low, our brain triggers the release of stress hormones.”

Why exactly is glucose so important? Simply put, glucose is brain food. Think about it: When you’re hungry, you wouldn’t jump to work out – or stress your body in any way. Like our bodies, our brain also needs fuel. When your brain is “starving,” it makes simple tasks and small interactions with people more difficult than usual.

“Glucose is the number one fuel for the brain and it aids with concentration and our thinking abilities,” Bustillos said. “There is a definite linkage between lack of glucose—because of lack of food intake—and limited self-control responses.”

According to Bustillos, being hangry is the result of control and regulation mechanisms in our bodies gone awry. “When we’re unable to receive food, we experience a physiological response that creates frustration,” she said. “In a brain lacking glucose, it’s harder to control signs of anger. Acute bouts of hunger trigger the release of stress hormones which makes it harder to manage our anger and irritability.”

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