A study concludes that to get happy, go a little hungry.
When you hear the word "hunger", the word "happiness" tends not to spring quickly to mind. And yet, that seems to be the conclusion of a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Granted, the study was done on mice, so at least if it doesn’t translate completely over to people, we now know one thing that can make a mouse happy. Either that, or the mice have all gotten together to try and make us hungry so there will be more food for mice. The study was funded by several organizations, including the National Institute of Health. As far as we know, none of the organizations have been taken over by mice.
The Theory
When the body is hungry, it releases many chemical messages to let the body know that it’s time to get food. One of these is a hormone called ghrelin. It apparently acts as a stress buster in order to help you try different ways of gathering food. And it can help you feel happy, although not as happy as more powerful hormones called endorphins.
Why would we need to feel relaxed and happy when finding food? Wouldn’t hunger alone be all of the incentive we would need? Maybe not. You need to also feel hopeful that you will be able to find food. Although this might not seem to be such a problem today, image if you were a wild mouse. There aren’t any Quickie Marts for you. If you wanted food, you had to go out into the cold, cruel world and get it. You needed less stress and more hope just to get out of your warm, safe nest.
Don’t Go Overboard
However, more hunger does not equate with more happiness. A little hunger, yes — but not a lot. You really don’t need a study to remind you of that, especially if you’ve ever been homeless and/or penniless. But they study also goes on to warn that in some people, gherlin might act as an addictive substance, even more pleasurable than endorphins. This might suggest a chemical treatment for anorexics or even devotes of the controversial Calorie Restriction starvation diet. Their hunger might make them feel happier, even though they are destroying their health.
So, what have we learned? That science has finally figured out a way to make their lab mice less stressed.
Hope this helps.
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