Never Send A Hangry Email

The age old professional saying is “Never send an angry email.” This is sound advice (this article shares some good tips), but an equally important precaution is to avoid sending hangry emails too.

First things first: what is hanger?

Hanger is defined as “bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger.” (source) For some, the feeling can come on quickly or they may not even realize they’re acting hangry, but others notice a shorter, less patient tone. Others feel physiological sensations such as weakness or shakiness.  

The majority of clients I’ve worked with admit that they have personal experience with this emotion (I do, too!). This playful name and all of the marketing around it is normalizing a symptom instead of helping people know they can make changes to prevent it.

I mentioned this same notion in my “4 Reasons You're So Tired (and what to do about it)” post. Just because something is commonplace doesn’t mean it’s right or has to be this way. It’s the same principle when people reference that the majority of people are dissatisfied in their jobs – just because other people dread going to work doesn’t mean you have to, too. 

So, if you’re a hangry person, what can you do?

There are a handful of ways to both prevent and address hanger. As with most wellness topics, prevention is ideal instead of dealing with the symptoms, but we’ll cover both!

Hangry Influences

To understand how to try to avoid hanger in the first place, let’s discuss the main catalyst – low blood sugar. When it’s been a while since you last ate, or if you ate food that causes a blood sugar rollercoaster, your body thinks the glucose levels are too low and sees it as an emergency situation. This sends your body into a “fight or flight” response:

What’s interesting is the connection between food and emotions:

“Another reason hunger is linked to anger is that both are controlled by common genes. The product of one such gene is neuropeptide Y, a natural brain chemical released into the brain when you are hungry. It stimulates voracious feeding behaviours by acting on a variety of receptors in the brain, including one called the Y1 receptor. Besides acting in the brain to control hunger, neuropeptide Y and the Y1 receptor also regulate anger or aggression…

Hanger is undoubtedly a survival mechanism that has served humans and other animals well. Think about it like this: if hungry organisms stood back and graciously let others eat before them, their species could die out.” (source)

Prevention and Hanger Management

What You Eat

When we eat simple carbohydrates, or simple sugars, on their own, our body breaks them down too quickly and that sets us off on the blood sugar spike then crash cycle. When you’re already feeling hangry, you’ll be tempted to grab that donut or bagel, because your body wants the fastest way to increase blood sugar possible. Those options will perpetuate the cycle when you inevitably come crashing down.  

Pairing your carbohydrates with protein and fat will slow the process of breaking them down, thus keeping you full longer and avoiding the rapid changes in glucose levels.

For examples to make this clearer for you, I found this Pinterest page with a TON of meal ideas.

When You Eat

Other ways to prevent hanger are to eat breakfast (one with protein, fat, and carbs vs that donut or bagel on the go!) as you’ll likely have not eaten for at least 8+ hours, and when you skip it your body starts to get distressed. I’m a believer in listening to your body and many people think they don’t feel hungry for breakfast, but I invite you to try an experiment of having something small within the first hour of waking and then examine your energy levels through to lunch. I’ve had many clients notice a HUGE shift in their energy based on this tiny tweak alone.

The topic of snacking it hotly debated in the wellness world, but for some people (especially those who are super active), it’s a necessary step to manage blood sugar levels. Have healthy snacks in your desk drawer, in your bag, or know where there are healthy options near your office so you’re not stuck with the vending machine or office party leftovers (aka sugar and carbs!).

When In Doubt - Breathe!

If food isn’t in sight, take deep belly breaths to help mitigate that “fight or flight” mode (this activates your parasympathetic nervous system). I’d especially recommend this if you’re at work and trying to avoid being reactive to whatever you’re managing at the time! If you know you can get hangry, and notice certain trends or times of day when it happens, try to keep the more sensitive and important tasks and emails away from this danger zone as you make these shifts in your eating habits. This may be just what you need to avoid sending that hangry email!

• Do you get hangry often?

• Do you notice it impacting your performance at work?

• Is it interfering with personal or professional relationships?

• How can you pick one of the tips in this post and try to incorporate it into your life to start your hanger management protocol?

Habit Change: How to Drink More Water

In case you missed it, I recently did a “7 Day Drink More Water Challenge” on my Instagram page.

With summer just around the corner, and research showing that over 75% of Americans are in a state of chronic dehydration, it makes sense to dig into this topic!

We all know that drinking water is not just beneficial, but life-and-death critical, for our health. It distributes nutrients to cells, regulates body temperatures, removes toxins and excess sodium from our systems and more. Yet so many of us fail to do it adequately.

When you stop to think about it, it’s truly interesting that people with access to clean drinking water struggle to meet this most basic and simple human need.

Why is this? What interferes with your adequate water intake?

For many, it’s the simple fact that it isn’t a habit, and when things aren’t a part of our normal routine or rituals they can be easily forgotten, regardless of their importance.

If you’ve been reading along on the blog, you’ve noticed I write a lot about mindfulness. This is yet another example of how we can incorporate this practice into our lives to make tiny shifts that have huge impacts.

First, let’s assess your current water drinking habits.

Did you know you're supposed to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of water per day? So, if you weigh 200lbs that means 100oz of water or 12+ cups. Don’t shoot the messenger, but if you exercise heavily or drink lots of caffeine or alcohol (both diuretics) then you need to drink even more!

Do some math right now and look at how your daily consumption adds up.

For most of you, there’s at least a little room for improvement (myself included!). Below are some ideas for ways to make drinking water a habit.

I try to start every day with hot water and lemon - even when I travel!

Morning Routine

Imagine if I told you you're not allowed to drink ANY water for 8 hours today. Think about it… that's what happens when you sleep! It’s one reason among many why starting off the day with water (before anything else!) is so critical.

Leave a full mason jar or water bottle on your nightstand and drink it all first thing in the morning. For extra accountability, I like to pretend I'm not allowed to leave my room until I finish. I find it wakes me up and gets me on track right away without doing much work. If you have a long commute, I highly recommend doing this as a way to avoid chugging closer to your departure time and then needing to use the bathroom during your travels.

If you’re thinking “But Aileen, coffee is my morning ritual and I’m not giving that up (especially for boring water)!”

…I get it, and you don’t have to! But you can leverage that existing habit to build this new one.

Two participants in a recent corporate wellness workshop of mine had a ritual of making coffee first thing in the morning without any thought or effort (can you relate?). Each of them now leaves a water bottle/glass next to the coffee machine with a goal of drinking at least as much water as coffee before it brews, or before drinking it. If this is part of your routine, give this a try!

Office Routine

Often when we think we're hungry or craving certain foods, we're actually just dehydrated. When we're fatigued, or have trouble concentrating, it can be for the same reasons. Instead of drinking water, we reach for the mindless snack or grab another cup of coffee.

At work, when we’re in busy mode, we might go the whole day without really drinking any water (I’ve been there!). When that afternoon slump hits, and those stale donuts in the kitchen seem extra tempting, go to the water cooler instead and fill up. If you hydrated in the morning, your bathroom trips will help you move from your desk more during the day, which will actually help your productivity (fresh perspective!) and counteract so much sitting.

See how a little change can create a ripple effect?

Nag yourself

Until drinking water becomes such a ritual that you don’t even think about it, you need reminders. I’ve had clients set alarms or push reminders on their phones, leave sticky notes on their desks and in their kitchens, set up recurring calendar reminders, and drink from bottles that have the time of day on them for extra accountability.

Which of these might be useful for you?

Outside the glass

Eating foods that have high water content can be a nice life-hack if you don’t drink enough water simply because you think it’s boring. Some of these foods include pineapple, watermelon, lettuce, cucumber, strawberries, zucchini, and celery.

In addition to how much you're drinking, what you're drinking out of is also important. I’ll do a future post about water quality and filters but focus on the simple stuff for now.

Did you know plastic water bottles (even reusable ones that say BPA free) can leach phthalates into your water? These are hormone disrupters and linked to ADHD, breast cancer, male fertility issues, and more. You may not even notice how often you drink from plastic, but here and there at the gym, conferences/work events, summer BBQ’s and picnics adds up.

One simple solution: buy a reusable water bottle made from glass or stainless steel.

Luckily there are tons of affordable options on the market (see my wellness resources for my faves). You may even get motivated to drink more if you have a fun bottle – nerdy but true! Make a habit of leaving it by your keys or in your work bag, or even have one at work and one at home, so you have it on the ready.

These are some of many ideas to help you up your water intake, one of the simplest ways to address a myriad of health concerns. Simple "healthy habits" like drinking water aren't usually mind blowing new information, and I think it's the same for a lot of nutrition.

It's often not about the fancy new superfoods or trendy workouts, but the basics like drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, breathing, moving, and eating real food. I'm grateful to help people cut through the chaos of the wellness world to get back to the basics to find better health. 

Which of these can you put into practice, or what other ideas do you have to make new hydration habits? How can you make some tiny tweaks in time for summer? Cheers!