Hangriness

But how hunger turns into hangriness is a mystery, says Jennifer MacCormack, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in psychology and neuroscience, who wanted to understand the phenomenon.

In addition, stress or intense emotions can actually lead to more ghrelin production and hunger. Stress-eating is a cousin of hangriness.

A 2019 study suggests that the intensity of your “hangriness” is influenced by the interplay of interoception—the awareness of our body’s internal signals—and environmental context.