Here's how hunger can affect your stress levels and cause lifestyle changes
| Sep 28, 2018, 16:25 IST
A new research has stated that if there are sudden drops in your glucose levels, it can have a negative impact on your mood. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether chronic, long-term hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), is a risk for developing depression later. "We found evidence that a change in glucose level can have a lasting effect on mood," said Professor Francesco Leri from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
An experiment was carried out on mice wherein, one group of them were injected with a glucose metabolism blocker causing them to experience hypoglycemia. Other mice were injected with water. These two groups were then placed into two separate chambers. When the mice were removed and kept in front of the chambers, they actively avoided going into the one where they faced hypoglycemia.
"This type of avoidance behaviour is an expression of stress and anxiety," said Leri. "The animals are avoiding that chamber because they had a stressful experience there. They don't want to experience it again," she added. "When people think about negative mood states and stress, they think about the psychological factors, not necessarily the metabolic factors. But we found poor eating behaviour can have an impact," lead researcher Thomas Horman from the University of Guelph said.
An experiment was carried out on mice wherein, one group of them were injected with a glucose metabolism blocker causing them to experience hypoglycemia. Other mice were injected with water. These two groups were then placed into two separate chambers. When the mice were removed and kept in front of the chambers, they actively avoided going into the one where they faced hypoglycemia.
"This type of avoidance behaviour is an expression of stress and anxiety," said Leri. "The animals are avoiding that chamber because they had a stressful experience there. They don't want to experience it again," she added. "When people think about negative mood states and stress, they think about the psychological factors, not necessarily the metabolic factors. But we found poor eating behaviour can have an impact," lead researcher Thomas Horman from the University of Guelph said.