Keep Hanger at Bay

It’s 3 pm on a Monday, your stomach is rumbling, your productivity has vanished, and you find yourself snapping at your colleague/friend/family member, then regretting it later. Sound familiar? This phenomenon is commonly known as hanger (hunger + anger): the short-tempered state we feel when we have not eaten enough to remain energised and stable. It is so common that it is rumoured to have been officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Sarah West, Head of Nutrition, explores the science behind hangers and shares her solutions to help you avoid them (a spot of Hanger Management, if you will).

What are the key causes of hanger?

Glucose (sugar) is the main energy source for your brain to function properly. When you haven’t eaten recently, your blood sugar levels start to drop, and you begin to feel hungry. This is all good when we respond to those signals and use them as a cue to break for lunch. However, busy, fast-paced lives (and, increasingly, adherence to restrictive/fasting diets) often cause us to ignore this signal and attempt to push through it.

From a mood perspective, this is a bit of a disaster, as nosediving blood sugar can lead to a decline in cognitive function. In this state, your brain essentially shifts into survival mode to seek food, and your brain stops producing mood-boosting serotonin. This means you might struggle with emotion regulation and impulse control and begin to take it out on those around you.

How can you beat ‘hanger’?

Solution 1: Avoid caffeine on an empty stomach

If you have coffee without food when you wake up, your body absorbs the caffeine much faster. This will intensify its effects, making you feel on edge. It can also interfere with blood sugar and cortisol levels. To stop this, make sure you have your morning caffeine with a balanced breakfast (or switch to decaf).

 Solution 2: Eat Regularly

Eating more regularly is the obvious solution if long gaps between meals are the culprit of your irritability. It may take a little planning, but having access to balanced meals and snacks every three to four hours can be the quickest and easiest way to handle hanger. Get to know your danger moments and plan accordingly: if you’re shaky in the morning, have breakfast within an hour of waking. 11 am and 4 pm can be common pinch points in the office, so factoring in a balanced snack can be key. And if you and your partner constantly bicker while preparing dinner, try sharing a light starter an hour beforehand (or batch cook some options to speedily reheat for dinner).

Solution 3: Reach for protein and healthy fats

Avoid satisfying your hanger with quick-fix foods like chocolate and crisps. These are digested very quickly and induce a sharp rise (then equally rapid fall) in blood sugar levels. This causes a relatively fast drop back down into the hanger danger zone soon after leaving it.

Think of your daily snacks as an opportunity to fuel and energise your body for longer. Choose snacks that balance wholegrain carbohydrates with protein and healthy fats. Think avocado on wholegrain seeded toast, yogurt sprinkled with oats or nuts, apple slices with peanut butter, vegetable sticks, and hummus, or a high-protein smoothie. Keep travel-friendly snacks on hand so you have them readily available at home and out and about.

Solution 4: Listen to your body’s cues

The key to hanger avoidance is to listen to your body and eat when hungry rather than after you become irritable or jittery. It also pays to be more mindful while eating: bolting down your lunch while scrolling on your phone distracts you from hunger/fullness cues and may cause you to overeat and become uncomfortably full when you need a light snack. Try to tune into those earlier signs of hunger (the obvious ones like a growling stomach) and any energy or focus dips rather than just eating on autopilot at mealtimes. If you notice yourself getting more irritable, take a break and consider the cause and what might help you properly address it.