The Emerging Science of Being Hangry

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WWhen our stomach is empty, we may become grumpy or make fun of the people around us. We are hungry, we may cry, to excuse our misdeeds. But what really happens when this storm of hunger and anger hits?

The term hangry was probably first used in 1918 (in a letter by journalist and writer Arthur Ransome), but it has swept through popular culture in recent decades, from Snicker’s advertising to an Olympic snowboarder’s viral tweet.

Scientists are only starting to catch up. One thing they haven’t yet fully understood is how this close relationship between anger and hunger works in the brain: Do drops in blood glucose trigger mood changes through conscious or subconscious processes?

To answer this question, a team of German researchers recently tracked the interaction between glucose levels, feelings of hunger and mood in 90 healthy adults over a four-week period. The scientists had participants wear glucometers and asked them to regularly answer questions about hunger, satiety and mood via a smartphone app.

The results suggest that hunger is indeed real: the hungrier participants were, the worse their moods were.

Read more: »You are what your ancestors did not eat»

But surprisingly, the researchers found that hunger-related mood changes depended on conscious perception of the body’s internal state, not the unconscious. In other words, it all depends on how your brain interprets the signals coming from your gut.

Separately, they found that participants who were better able to read their own body signals, a sense known as interoception, seemed to experience fewer mood swings, but not a higher average mood. Differences in metabolic health, such as body mass index and insulin resistance, did not play a large role in this pattern. They published their results in eBioMedicine.

“When glucose levels fall, mood also deteriorates. But this effect only occurs because people are then hungrier,” co-author Kristin Kaduk, a postdoctoral researcher at the University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Tübingen, Germany, explained in a statement. “In other words, it is not the glucose level itself that raises or lowers mood, but rather the strength with which we consciously perceive this lack of energy.”

The researchers suggest the study may highlight a broader relationship between metabolic sensing, interoceptive accuracy and mood disorders. The human body of course needs food to survive. Glucose provides energy for essential processes, including mental health. And links between metabolic issues and mood disorders have often come up in research. Poor interoception has also been linked to higher body mass index.

“Many diseases such as depression or obesity are associated with impaired metabolic processes,” said study co-author Nils Kroemer, psychiatrist and research professor of medical psychology at the University of Bonn. “A better understanding of the relationship between body perception and mood can help improve long-term therapeutic approaches, for example through targeted interoception training or non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve, which connects organs to the brain and influences interoception.”

According to research, interoception is something you can improve through mindfulness, deep breathing, body scans, and efforts to link sensations to emotions. Maybe with a little consistent practice, you can avoid your next hunger episode.

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Main image: Blueastro / Shutterstock

• Kristen French

  Published on December 15, 2025

  Kristen French is an associate editor at Nautilus. She has worked in science journalism since 2013, reporting and writing articles and news for publications such as Wired, Backchannel, The Verge, And New York Review. She holds a master’s degree in science journalism from Columbia University.