Hangry: Link between hunger and emotions is real, say scientists

When you are feeling a bit peckish does it affect the way you behave?

If you miss out on your breaktime snack or come home from school with a rumbling tummy, does it make you a bit grumpy or bad tempered?

Well, it turns out that scientists say being 'hangry' is a real thing.

In a study exploring how emotions can be affected by hunger, psychologists found that the more hungry people felt, the more angry they got!

Let us know if this affects you and how by taking part in our vote and leaving us a comment below.

If you can't see this vote, click here.

Hangry, a mashup of 'hungry' and 'angry', is used in everyday language but the idea hasn't ever been tested by scientists in the real world.

Writing in the journal Plos One, the team from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the UK and the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Austria, found that hunger is associated with greater levels of anger and irritability, as well as lower levels of pleasure.

Sixty-four adults from central Europe took part in the project - they recorded their levels of hunger and various measures of emotional wellbeing over a 21-day period.

Participants reported their feelings and their levels of hunger on a smartphone app five times a day as they went about their normal lives.

The experts said the results showed that hunger is associated with stronger grumpy emotions and the effects were substantial, even after taking into account differences between the individuals' lives.

Lead author of the study Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "Many of us are aware that being hungry can influence our emotions, but surprisingly little scientific research has focused on being 'hangry'."

He added that although the research doesn't help in lessening the grumpiness, knowing it's real could help people manage the "negative emotions and behaviours" better.

Or you could quickly grab a snack to cheer yourself up!