Hangry? Don’t make any decisions just yet.
That’s right – it’s not just the grocery store you should avoid when you’re hungry.
Have you ever tried to discuss something with your partner in those minutes right before dinner’s ready, and ended up bickering? Or been traveling on a weird schedule and been utterly flummoxed by a simple setback, like a train delay, and found yourself unable to cope and decide what to do?
I am prone to those moments myself, so I wondered whether any research had been done on the topic.
What I found was that yes, it has, and research shows that hunger can have a real impact on decision-making. Here’s how much it’s affecting you, and what to do about it.
Is hanger real?
You might have wondered whether “hangry” is even a real phenomenon (although, maybe more so if you haven’t experienced it yourself!) It is, in fact. Without diving too deep into the biology of it, you can think of hanger as being tied to low blood sugar, which happens when you haven’t eaten in a while. When that happens, your body responds by releasing hormones including cortisol and adrenaline…aka, a stress hormone and the fight-or-flight responder. With those juices flowing through you, you’re more likely to be irritable, have less self-control, be more impulsive, and have higher levels of aggression…including toward your spouse. Yikes. No wonder those pre-dinner moments are so fraught.
A poll found that 75% of adults reported being hangry at least five times per week. The reasons most often associated include mealtime delays, a busy work schedule, not knowing what to cook, and having small children.
There are also biological reasons that some people, like myself, need to carry a stash of granola bars at all times, while others my even-keeled husband seem generally unperturbed by hanger. Hunger and cortisol affect everyone differently. Additionally, everyone has different appetites, and some people are better than others at noticing their hunger cues.
And like the train delay example above, it’s true that there are times you’ll be more likely to get hangry, such as stressful situations (that train delay) or times when you’re not in tune with your emotions.
How does being hungry (or hangry) affect decision making?
Hunger makes you worse at making decisions. A 2019 study found that when people were satiated, they were more likely to wait longer for a larger reward, while when hungry, they were more likely to opt for a smaller reward sooner.
And this didn’t just apply to food. In the study, similar (though smaller) effects were found for music and money rewards as well.
The most striking finding, to me, was a “double or nothing” reward impact. When people were full and were offered a reward now or a double reward in the future, they were willing to wait 35 days to double the reward. When hungry, they were only willing to wait 3 days. Whew.
Hunger can also compound the effects of decision fatigue, when you are unable to decide or make worse decisions after you’ve made many decisions in a day.
What about if you’re thirsty?
Hydration is important, too. One study showed that when individuals didn’t drink water for 12 hours, then came in to a lab to do some cognitive tests related to judgment and decision-making, people performed better if they were given a glass of water first. This held even if people didn’t feel subjectively thirsty, and it didn’t matter whether water impacted their mood. So, grab the trendy liquid delivery vessel of your choice, and drink up.
What to do
Okay, the answer is pretty obvious: eat something. Drink some water. There you go. But experts have given a few additional tips about how to stave off hanger and prevent it from affecting your choices.
- Choose nutritious snacks. Ensure you’re getting a balance of carbs, protein, and fat to stay full longest. Despite Snickers’ ad campaigns, choose something less sugary to avoid a crash.
- Don’t skip meals, and consider snacking more often. Of course there is a wealth of conflicting advice out there on this topic. Intermittent fasting proponents will disagree with this suggestion, and if you’re planning for weight loss, that may be your preference. My dental hygienist told me to stop snacking and sipping on drinks so often to preserve my tooth enamel. However, if you’re optimizing for avoiding hanger and making the best decisions, you should anticipate hunger and stay full with frequent snacks.
- Plan meals and snacks in advance. If possible, only make healthy choices accessible, or make them easiest. As I write this, I’m babysitting at a neighbor’s house and have no snacking options on me except the banana and almonds in my backpack – and unlike my house, I don’t know where they hide the chocolate here. You can also meal prep, make a meal plan, remove unhealthy options from your home or work, and/or put your chosen snacks in plain view while hiding away the ones you’re saving for later.
Do you get hangry? Has it ever caused you to make a questionable decision?
