1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works, Hey, brain stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bomb here. Many of us are familiar with 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: the feelings that low blood sugar produces. Crankiness sets in. 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: Some of us get abusive, others downright hostile. Usually a 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: glass of juice, a candy bar, or some other well 6 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: timed snack clears this honest to goodness condition colloquially called 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: being angry, a cross between hungry and angry. I call it. 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry? But why does 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: hanggar happen? Some people have good self control and others don't. 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: In recent years, scientists have linked self control to nutrition. 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: They say self control requires energy. If your body is 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 1: mining for energy and finds done well, self control goes 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: out the window. It all comes down to the amount 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: of glucose our body's process. The human body is a 15 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: machine made of meat. Like all machines, it needs fuel. 16 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: That fuel comes in the form of glucose, a a 17 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: blood sugar. Our bodies convert the carbohydrates and the foods 18 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: we eat into glucose. The body then stores some of 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: that glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen and 20 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: stores some as fat. When our blood sugar is low, 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: the hypothalamus, the portion of the brain involved in hormone production, 22 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: among other things, gets bent out of shape, throwing the 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: body's hormones out of whack and suppressing serotonin. A neurotransmitter. 24 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: Serotonin has a hand in controlling mood and appetite. It's 25 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,199 Speaker 1: often called the feel good neurotransmitter because it can relieve 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: symptoms of depression and anxiety. If your body stops processing serotonin, 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: your mood can shift. You can get tired or forget things. 28 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: Your concentration becomes poor. You might even get angry. Still, 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: your blood sugar has to drop like a rock, from 30 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: seventy to a hundred milligrams per desilet to less than 31 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: fifty five milligrams per DESI leader for the hangar games 32 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: to begin. In a study published in the journal p 33 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: n a S confirmed the people really do get hangry. 34 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: The researchers studied whether low glucose levels were responsible for 35 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: greater aggression in married couples. The scientists studied a hundred 36 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: and seven couples and monitored their glucose levels twice a 37 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: day for twenty one days to measure their aggressive impulses. 38 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: The researchers asked each person to stick between zero and 39 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: fifty one pins into a voodoo style doll representing their spouse, 40 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: with more pins representing greater anger. When the three weeks 41 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: were up, the researchers asked each couple to play a 42 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: game designed to measure aggression. The scientists allowed the winner 43 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: of the game to blast the loser with loud noise 44 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: as both sat in separate chambers. There was a catch, however, 45 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: each person wasn't actually turning up the volume. Regardless, those 46 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: participants with low glucose levels believed they were hammering their 47 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: spouses with high decibels of irritating noise. The authors concluded 48 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: results suggest that interventions designed to provide individuals with metabolic 49 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: energy might foster more harmonious couple interactions. In other words, 50 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: eat some carbs before you argue. And this study was 51 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: just one of several linking self control to glucose levels 52 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: in the brain. Another study concluded that those who drank 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: a beverage high in glucose were less aggressive than those 54 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: who did not. Still, another study found an indirect relationship 55 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: between diabetes, which is marked by poor glucose metabolism, aggressiveness 56 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: and decreased self control. Although causation is always hard to 57 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: pin down, these studies suggested that a spoonful of sugar 58 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: helps diminish violent or aggressive behavior in the short term. 59 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: Of course, consuming too much sugar and other simple carbohydrates 60 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: can lead to poor glucose metabolism in the long run, 61 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: so while a cookie maybe a quick fix if you 62 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: need to focus, it's best overall to consume balanced meals 63 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: and snacks containing enough protein and fats along with those 64 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: sweet carbs to keep your blood sugar nice and even. 65 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by John Paritano and produced by 66 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: Tyler Playing Brains def has merchandise. Now you can contain 67 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: your liquids, electronics, and or body in brainy style by 68 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: visiting t public dot com slash brain stuff, and of course, 69 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: for more on this and lots of other even keeled topics, 70 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.