{"id":8361,"date":"2023-06-06T12:49:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T09:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunger.gr\/borei-i-peina-na-sas-kanei-na-niothete-agchos\/"},"modified":"2023-07-21T15:39:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T12:39:33","slug":"can-hunger-make-you-feel-anxious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunger.gr\/en\/can-hunger-make-you-feel-anxious\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Hunger Make You Feel Anxious?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If hunger and anxiety had a relationship status, it would probably be \u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d Hunger can trigger anxiety; anxiety can both erase hunger and trigger the desire to eat. And there are physical and psychological elements to both hunger and anxiety.<\/p>\n

To understand why some people get anxious when they\u2019re hungry, read on.<\/p>\n

Why being hungry may make you feel anxious<\/h4>\n

To understand the relationship between hunger and anxiety, it helps to know how two different kinds of hunger operate. Physical hunger happens when your body needs food to keep producing energy. This kind of hunger is stimulated by your body\u2019s biological processes, such as digestion and metabolism, and by hormonal processes, such as the release of\u00a0cortisol\u00a0and\u00a0ghrelin, both of which can affect appetite.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re physically hungry, you may notice an uncomfortable feeling some\u00a0researchers \u00a0call \u201cempty hollow sensation\u201d or \u201chunger pangs.\u201d You may feel clutching contractions in your stomach, which may be your body\u2019s way of draining away any remaining food particles before your next meal. If your blood glucose level has dropped a bit, you may also feel weak, light-headed, irritable, shaky, or tired.<\/p>\n

People can also feel a desire to eat at times when they\u2019re not physically hungry. You may feel a kind of psychological hunger if you\u2019re used to eating at regular times, if you\u2019re in social situations where others are eating, or if you typically eat in response to emotional cues. Even seeing photos of food or smelling something cooking can stimulate a feeling of psychological hunger.<\/p>\n

Either kind of hunger can make you feel anxious. In fact, the neural networks that stimulate both hunger and stress responses in the body are shared. The hippocampal, pituitary, and adrenal systems (called the HPA axis) prompt both eating behaviors and stress responses, so it isn\u2019t surprising that hunger and anxiety are so closely connected.<\/p>\n

In animal studies,\u00a0researchers\u00a0found that blocking glucose in rats raised the level of stress hormones in their blood. The researchers discovered that rats had mood changes brought on by hypoglycemia \u2014 and they began avoiding the chamber where they had received the glucose-blocker.<\/p>\n

What is anxiety?<\/h4>\n

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, or apprehension. Symptoms of anxiety include:<\/p>\n