Having low blood sugar levels can cause us to become more aggressive and make arguments between couples more inflammatory. It is the conclusion of a study carried out by researchers from the universities of Ohio (USA) and Amsterdam (Holland).
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), involved 107 married couples . For 21 consecutive days, they measured their blood glucose levels twice a day. After this period, the researchers found that people with lower glucose levels had more outbursts of anger towards their respective partner than those with normal sugar levels.
In another phase of the experiment, all participants were given a voodoo doll with similarities to their partner and 51 pins. The test consisted in that at the end of the day they had to insert as many pins into the doll according to their level of anger (without the presence of their partner). The results revealed that the lower the glucose level, the more pins they drove into the doll representing their partner.
“There is a clear relationship between aggressive impulses, such as those we have observed with dolls, and actual aggressive behavior,” said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study.
This basically happens because self-control “feeds” on glucose in the blood, and when this energy is depleted, it causes a decrease in this capacity, hence having a discussion while hungry is not especially a good idea , since we will inevitably be more angry and aggressive.
