|
Why Your
Spouse
May Be
‘Hangry’
for a
Fight
By Alok
Patel,
MD
NEW
YORK, NY
- It may
be that
domestic
arguments
are an
unavoidable
part of
matrimony.
For some
couples,
however,
the
answer
lies not
with a
marriage
counselor,
but with
a visit
to the
kitchen.
Hunger
could be
the
sinister
culprit
behind
your
argument,
according
to a new
study
published
Monday
in the
Proceedings
of the
National
Academy
of
Sciences.
Researchers
in The
Ohio
State
University’s
department
of
communications
and
psychology
followed
107
couples,
married
for an
average
of 12
years,
and
found a
link
between
levels
of blood
sugar
and
feelings
of
aggression
against
a
spouse.
“We know
there is
a link
between
self-control
and
blood
sugar
levels,”
said
study
author
Dr. Brad
Bushman,
professor
of
communication
and
psychology
at Ohio
State
University.
“The
lower
your
blood
sugar,
the
lower
your
ability
to
control
your
aggression.
With an
overnight
accumulation
of 3.1
inches
of
snowfall
in
Detroit,
bringing
a
2013-14
seasonal
total of
94.8
inches
to date,
breaks
the old
record
of 93.6
inches
set in
the
1880-81
season.
“This is
the
first
time we
have
tested
this
theory
outside
of a
controlled
environment.
Married
couples
represent
as a
perfect
real-world
extension.”
To test
their
theories,
researchers
rolled
out some
unique
strategies
– using
voodoo
dolls
and a
computer
game.
Each
night,
couples
measured
their
aggression
toward
one
another
by
placing
needles,
up to
51, in
small
voodoo
dolls,
meant to
represent
their
spouse.
Later,
at the
end of
21-day
study,
couples
then
competed
against
one
another
in a
computer
game,
with the
victors
winning
the
opportunity
to
“blast”
their
partners
with
obnoxious
noises,
such as
fingernails
on a
chalkboard
or a
dentist’s
drill.
Both of
these
phases
of the
study
proved a
single
point:
When a
person’s
blood
sugar is
lower
than
normal,
they
were
more
likely
to act
aggressively.
It was
at these
times
that the
voodoo
dolls
got
stuck
the most
and
their
partners
were
subjected
to the
loudest
blasts
of
noise.
According
to
Bushman,
this
result
is
exactly
what
past
research
has
predicted.
When
your
blood
sugar is
lower
than its
set
baseline,
your
ability
to curb
negative
emotions
is
impaired.
So
universal
is the
phenomenon
that it
has even
entered
the
vernacular
as its
own
term: “hangry.”
This
type of
hunger-induced
anger
has
recently
been
popularized
in candy
bar
commercials
and
popular
sitcoms
as well.
Dr.
Nathan
DeWall,
professor
of
psychology
at the
University
of
Kentucky
and one
of the
study’s
researchers,
said the
study
demonstrates
how
self-control
requires
energy –
energy
that is
in short
supply
when we
are
famished.
“Self-control,
impulse
control
uses
energy,
both
mental
and
physical,”
DeWall
said.
“When we
deplete
that
energy,
we have
a higher
tendency
of doing
things
we
regret,
such as
hurting
our
loved
ones.”
Relationship
experts
not
involved
with the
study
said it
demonstrates
how
crucially
hunger
can
affect
our
emotions.
“Hunger
is one
of many
external
forces
that
play a
part in
frustration
and
temperament,”
said Dr.
Scott
Weltzer,
vice
chairman
of the
department
of
psychiatry
at
Montefiore
Medical
Center
and the
director
of its
Supporting
Healthy
Relationships
program.
He added
that
this
phenomenon
is often
even
more
evident
in close
relationships,
such as
those
between
married
couples.
“Marital
tension
is
analogous
to a
taught
rubber
band,
and
hunger
can be
the
force
that
causes
it to
snap,”
he said.
“We are
all less
inhibited
around
our
loved
ones and
more
likely
to lash
out at
home
than we
are in
the
workplace.”
Doctor’s
Take
Clearly
if your
marriage
is
defined
by
aggression,
a
chocolate
chip
cookie
is not
going to
solve
all of
your
problems.
But what
this
study
reinforces
is that
there
may be
something
to the
idea
that an
empty
stomach
can lead
to
occasional
marital
strife –
and that
maintaining
healthy
blood
sugar
levels
may
indeed
help us
curb our
aggression
toward
the ones
we love.
So
what’s
the best
way to
replenish
your
control
and
decrease
the odds
of a
quarrel?
Refined
carbohydrates
in
sugary
treats
may not
be the
answer;
such
foods
lead to
quick
sugar
spikes
and may
actually
worsen
your
chance
at
peace.
Rather,
options
such as
fruits
and
whole
grains
are a
healthier
way to
keep
blood
sugar
out of
the
“hangry”
zone.
Bushman’s
recommendation:
”If you
have a
sensitive
topic to
discuss,
it’s
best
done
over
dinner.” |