In a SINGLE workday, you can negotiate a better rate with a supplier and increase your margin for years. You can call your financial planner and make an investment to impact your retirement. You can book a vacation that will create lifelong memories for your family. Or you can have an Executive Health Physical and save your life.

The UF Health Douglas Williams Executive Health offers a full range of advanced diagnostic services to detect life-threatening conditions and extend life through prevention and early intervention all in ONE productive and efficient day. Throughout your Executive Health Physical, you will receive a full comprehensive medical exam, empowering lifestyle modification tools, all your test completed, questions answered and test results back the SAME DAY

Each month we have shared helpful strategies and information in order to increase your knowledge on the importance of creating a balanced healthy lifestyle. There are many factors involved in ensuring you are on the right path to healthy living. The Executive Health nurse, Destiny Knopf, will share additional tips and tricks, which will assist you in achieving your ultimate wellness goal.

Your stomach is rumbling, your workload is pressing, and your temper is flaring – you’re HANGRY! Pity the fool who comes between you and the lunch buffet. Yes, hangry is a real thing, so steer clear of the hungry-angry among us!

So what exactly does hangry mean? The definition, as you’d expect: “Bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger.” Sound familiar? It’s safe to say the majority of us know the feeling. Usually we get “hangry” because there is blood sugar instability or a severe drop in blood glucose levels, which can lead to aggression.

What about the other emotions – such as frustration, irritability, or anxiety? There are many biological changes caused by hunger (e.g., increased levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which can cause rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure) and play a key role in triggering emotions. Hunger is literally generating a very basic emotional feeling of being negative or unpleasant and tense.

In general, hunger by itself doesn’t make a person emotional. If someone is feeling negative from being exposed to an undesirable or hostile situation, he or she is more likely to become “hangry” and blame their anger on outside sources or factors. On the other hand, someone who is hungry, happy, and exposed to a positive or neutral situation is more likely to recognize hunger as the culprit of any feelings of unease.Thus, they are more inclined to reach for a snack and then deal with a situation calmly.

Here’s one way to avoid overreacting when you are craving sustenance: become more emotionally aware. Those who take the time to think about their emotions don’t get as “hangry” when their stomachs are rumbling. While those who don’t think about their emotions are more likely to blame their hunger-induced feelings on external sources.

This temporary lack of awareness leads us to misattribute or blame our feelings on something in the environment, rather than the fact that we are just hungry. If you can catch yourself becoming “hangry” – your awareness may be enough to put you back in the driver seat and help you avoid acting on that hunger.

The treatment for preventing “hangriness” is to feed yourself! The simple solution is to consume balanced meals and snacks, well spaced throughout the day. Avoid reaching for junk foods – they can raise your blood sugar rapidly, causing it to crash shortly after and make you crave even more high-calorie, high-sugar treats. The easiest way to achieve a well-adjusted emotional state and diet is preparation. Planning your meals and snacks in advance is the key to avoid going down the “hangry” path.

Han•gry (Han-gree) adj. – A state of anger caused by a lack of food: hunger causing a negative change in emotional state.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hangry

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/hangry-meaning

For more information on the UF Health Douglas Williams Executive Health Program, visit www.exechealth.ufl.edu or contact us at (352) 265-8262.