Lower levels of blood sugar may make married people angrier at their spouses¹ and even more likely to lash³ out（猛击，痛斥） aggressively, new research reveals. In a 21-day study, researchers found that levels of blood glucose⁴ in married people, measured each night, predicted how angry they would be with their spouse² that evening.

 

At the end of the 21 days, people who had generally lower levels of glucose were willing to blast their spouses with unpleasant noises at a higher volume and for a longer time than those who had higher glucose levels.

 

The study shows how one simple, often overlooked factor -- hunger caused by low levels of blood glucose -- may play a role in marital⁵ arguments, confrontations⁶ and possibly even some domestic violence, said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology⁷ at The Ohio State University.

 

Blood glucose levels can be brought up most quickly by eating carbohydrates⁸ or sugary foods.

 

"People can relate to this idea that when they get hungry, they get cranky," Bushman said.

 

It even has a slang term: "hangry" (hungry + angry).

 

"We found that being hangry can affect our behavior in a bad way, even in our most intimate relationships," he said.

 

The study, which took three years to complete, appears online in the Proceedings⁹ of the National Academy of Sciences. Bushman conducted the research with C. Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky; Richard S. Pond of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; and Michael D. Hanus of Ohio State.

 

The research involved 107 married couples. The study started with the couples completing a relationship satisfaction measure, which asked each spouse how much they agreed with statements like "I feel satisfied with our relationship."

 

The researchers measured anger in a unique way, developed and validated¹⁰ by DeWall in previous studies.

 

All participants were given a voodoo doll that they were told represented their spouse, along with 51 pins. At the end of each day, for 21 consecutive¹¹ days, the participants inserted 0 to 51 pins in the doll, depending on how angry they were with their spouse. They did this alone, without their spouses being present, and recorded the number of pins they stuck in the doll.

 

Each person also used a blood glucose meter to measure glucose levels before breakfast and every evening before bed for the 21 days.

 

The result: The lower the participants' evening blood glucose levels, the more pins they stuck in the doll representing their spouse. This association was present even after the researchers took into account the couples' relationship satisfaction.

 

"When they had lower blood glucose, they felt angrier and took it out on the dolls representing their spouse," Bushman said.

 

"Even those who reported they had good relationships with their spouses were more likely to express anger if their blood glucose levels were lower."

点击收听单词发音