Don’t get hangry: feed your brain healthy food | Brad Bushman | TEDxColumbus

One of the two best predictors of success in life is self-control (the other is intelligence). Professor Brad Bushman has been studying human aggression for over 25 years. Aggression often starts when self-control stops. Bushman discusses his research on the link between low self-control and aggression. He focuses on the link between levels of glucose (blood sugar) and self-control. Glucose provides our brain with the fuel it needs to exercise self-control, including control of angry feelings and aggressive impulses. Bushman’s research shows that when people become hungry, they also tend to become angry and aggressive, captured by the term “hangry” (hungry+angry). Healthy foods like veggies, fruits, and whole grains can make people less hangry. Self-control can also be strengthened, like a muscle, through exercise.
Brad J. Bushman (Ph.D. 1989, University of Missouri) is a professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University, and a professor of communication science at the VU University, Amsterdam. He holds the Margaret Hall and Robert Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication. For over 25 years he has studied the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem of human aggression and violence. He is a member of President Obama’s committee on gun violence, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on the topic of youth violence. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed journal articles. According to Google Scholar, his articles have been cited over 25,000 times. He is ranked #2 among communication scholars cited in Google Scholar. In 2014 he received the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Media Psychology and Technology, American Psychological Association. His research has challenged several myths (e.g., violent media have a trivial effect on aggression, venting anger reduces aggression, violent people suffer from low self-esteem, violence and sex sell products, warning labels reduce audience size). (One of his colleagues calls him the “myth buster.”) His research has been published in the top scientific journals (e.g., Science, PNAS), and has been featured extensively in the mass media (e.g., BBC, New York Times, NPR).
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@laurawagoner9136]

Omg! This guy is hands down the best speaker I’ve seen in a long time and I only watch lectures. Never laughed so much in my life while learning at the same time! Needed that! Thx :)

[@djr5995]

I totally agree with the part about *self control being the root cause of most societal ills*. I think that this is the key take home message, which is that: if every individual could put effort toward exercising moderation and mastering self control, self restraint, self discipline then (I believe) this would do more toward making the world the most awesome version of itself than any other factor! If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at your life and make the change.

[@opelaurora3276]

This is part of the reason I'm less likely to trust smokers and people who are overweight.

[@mookamoka3]

@@opelaurora3276 Don't think anyone said anything about trust

[@mistabionerd8813]

@@opelaurora3276 There are domains of self control as well I.e. one may have self control on one thing but have a weakness for blueberry muffins. In your case your lacking self control on your prejudices

[@bakhriddinshernazarov3027]

@@mistabionerd8813 ш😊😅

[@lanceg3208]

This is because of some sort of social connection. When one is able to connect socially, beautifully, one is able to fill the void. You are able to pass the time because you are giving yourself some kind of positive stimulus. This is the key. The key to self control and delayed gratification is to keep feeding oneself with love, connection and compassion

[@NomadicLiving]

It would have been interesting to include subjects who are low sugar and low carb - because most people are dependent on eating high levels of glucose and react much like drug addicts when sugar is taken away.

[@bigbenhebdomadarius6252]

That's certainly been my experience. Of course, it's always possible that the carbohydrate-tolerant are always serene and in control of their emotions. Perhaps they don't understand that things are different for those of us who are insulin-resistant.

[@Neha165616Zouis]

“Hangry” is not an unknown term to us, but this brilliant talk presented it so well! Snappy, irritable behaviours when hungry make so much more sense now. :D

[@jihyunjk]

He was one of my favorite professors at University of Michigan!!💙💛

[@user-gh2lf1zw3r]

Jihoney omg if he was my professor, I would have aced all my exams!

[@elleh3495]

Go Blue!

[@jihyunjk]

Elle H GO BLUE!💙

[@jihyunjk]

Tania H He is one of the funniest professors I have met!

[@anneanne8531]

Lovely speaker and very enjoyable talk. Thank you

[@agostinocapitanio8201]

One of the best TEDx Talks ever :))

[@user-cr9zs8zh2z]

amazing and happy Pro.🥰🥰🥰

[@ravikandgule5574]

Wow!!!!.... One of the finest talks... Very informative... Presented in a very beautiful way........ Thank you so much..... Loved it.

[@EhsanAmini]

Highly entertaining.

[@rail7646]

a funny and sweet guy.

[@KUBE.archvis]

I am glad he addressed feeding the brain with healthy food instead of sugar. I spent the majority of this talk thinking the results were probably a result of the temporary sugar high people experience. But improving anger through sugar intake is not sustainable. I think a similar study that involves calorie restriction might be interesting. One group that can eat all they want, the other with a calorie limit and neither group is allowed to eat sugary + processed foods.

[@paulgaisaie1606]

He's got a sweet voice

[@leamilsim]

Paul Gaisaie yy

[@GenesisTheKid]

Paul Gaisaie it doesn't suit his appearance

[@Bruingebak]

Awesome advice, thanks prof :-)

[@maryadamson7375]

So true. Been there done that!! Love your sense of humor. We need to hang on to that too!!

[@ravanarbabi140]

The same tool can be abused against anyone. Experiments on people are very serious and need a control mechanism more than a lubrication.

[@meganhenry5795]

This guy is just delightful.

[@ZapatosVibes]

Great talk, mate!

[@downbntout]

Yeah, there's this thing, it does work. You get the option to do it when you turn 10 or 13 or so. It's called self-parenting. Gotta learn how, but many don't, cause it's easier to be a tall infant, which is the default state.

[@djr5995]

Sounds like a great way to exercise self control

[@lexciwally754]

In Jamaica we always say a hungry man is a hangry man...Didn't know it was a thing

[@gordontang9640]

o cool, I always thought it was another dumb internet thing....

[@lexciwally754]

Beauty of internet, we learning how things can seem limited but not.

[@cazzalyric]

Alexia Walters I actually quoted that just as he was making the connection between mood and hunger...funny and true 😊

[@QUINTUSMAXIMUS]

"A hungry man is an angry man". It is an English proverb. It has to do with a man not getting his desires fulfilled. Bob Marley when he sang of that in one of his songs was referring to oppression if we want to speak of that song. Are you sure people don't say angry instead of hangry? Anyway, I don't think it's a new idea since the proverb exists.

[@themultitalentedkrish]

తన కోపమే తన శత్రువు తన శాంతమె తనకు రక్ష దయ చుట్టంబౌ తన సంతోషమె స్వర్గము తన ధుఃఖమె నరకమండ్రు తథ్యము సుమతీ ! భావము : ఎవరికైననూ తన కోపమే తనకు శత్రువగును. తన శాంతమే తనకు రక్షణగా నిలుచును. తను చూపెడి దయాగుణమే బంధువులవలె సహకరించును. తానూ సంతోషముగా నుండగలిగినచో అది స్వర్గముతో సమానము. తాను ధుఃఖమును చేతులార తెచ్చుకొనినచో అదియే నరకమగుట తథ్యము.

[@Pippemi]

I'll look up Brad Bushman now, I thought he gave a really well-rounded talk compared to most.

[@chartdeus3574]

So valuable lesson appreciate it a lot

[@hannadr]

THANK U VERY VERY MUCH!

[@fredmoono7462]

very educative

[@Megan-ys9me]

Very brilliant and engaging.

[@JustASmallTownGirl85]

Well he just diagnosed me with low self control..I feel personally attacked🤣

[@petitio_principii]

A somewhat related study or set of studies also found out that, the later a trial is after breakfast or lunch time, the harsher tends to be the judges' sentences. A crime or infraction that would otherwise be evaluated to be of the same severity is punished differently according to the judge's meal time. Somewhat disturbing to thing that a process we'd want to be fair and rational can be measurably affected by something so trivial and factually irrelevant, unrelated.

[@zelenplav1701]

Self control has its limits when a person is continuously marginalized and disrespected through their life. Anger turns to depression because you have no power to change things, along with malnutrition (very common in USA) which makes control harder. Alcohol anyone? Self medication and all its problems. People snap and kill others because if the build up of various negative occurrences. Eating wisely, supplementing with minerals and vitamins has made all the difference.

[@WhiterockFTP]

No the problem here is that splenda is composed mainly of dextrose and maltodextrin, which is just fancy way of saying glucose - the reason it appears to have 0 calories (it has 4 per gram) is that any product under 5 calories is allowed to state that it has 0 calories, which makes this controlled trial completely pointless..... unfortunately.

[@lisareed5669]

Boy, are those scientists STOOPID!

[@mauragomez3269]

I have this problem Hangry! I start shaking and getting more aggressive and always wondering WHY!!!

[@DrSunilSable]

excellent information Sir,Thanks

[@MariaSantos-gm7ps]

Thanks was. Great. Maria

[@Something-like-Chopin]

The most entertaining and informative talk ever.😚 thanks.

[@watermelonprince8410]

Great presentation with lot of humor and laughers. Very creative way of testing people's stress and aggression level. Myself do intermittent fasting. I notice in the beginning of hangry, we do become easy to get upset and angry. But if you let the fasting continue in to 24 hours or 48 hours, the opposite begin to happen. When our digestion completely shut down and our body switching the fuel from glucose to ketone. Our brain go into a special super mode with super alertness and our IQ increase. Those intense alertness are design to make us survive in extreme condition. I hope to do some test during those super alert mode. I believe we become more compassion, and tolerance during those state of consciousness. I experience it first hand.

[@Psychologielernende]

Good Talk. And I like the hypothesis. But from a scientific point of view I wish there could be less correlation and more causation...

[@iramnaz3684]

These tipe always work i set right my highprolectonomia through juicing and yellow pill turmeric curcuma and i had been suffiring since 2010 and now i cured myself through natural remedy.

[@Birdylockso]

First of all, the results of the two groups, (on some slides), showed only a slight differential. Is it statistically significant? Also, the correlation between aggression and self-control seems to be presented a bit too simplistic. Anyway, it is a reference.

[@user-gh2lf1zw3r]

This guy is the funniest on Ted Talks 😂

[@darcy5823]

Isn't just one loud blast of noise directly in your ear permanently damaging? As a life-long single-sided deaf person, this concerns me!

[@nlafevre]

I was thinking the same thing. That is HIGHLY irresponsible for an experiment. I am appalled!

[@freeirishmexicanamericangi9199]

Regardless of this study fasting is good for you

[@henryturner-ward3879]

Prove it

[@freeirishmexicanamericangi9199]

@@henryturner-ward3879 read the numerous studies on the benefits of fasting. Just ask Google you'll find so many you can't read them all.

[@QUINTUSMAXIMUS]

Sure, but he didn't say that intermittent fasting is bad for you. If I am going to have tons of work, I don't fast. I try to do that when I have a ton to do.

[@deejeff8846]

We fast every night while we sleep

[@TH-eb7ob]

Yes, I which is in line with everything his experiment said. Low glucose = aggression. Fasting balances out blood glucose. I like what fasting does for my body, and I love what it does for my mental state. :)

[@Ash-bc8vw]

I love love this video It is such an eye opener It has changed my life

[@atommindproject9060]

Awesome! :)

[@johnstauffer8772]

Maybe look into early "Daycare"?

[@ahmadalfalasi4447]

Awesome crowd :)

[@petercyr3508]

I challenge him to the sound blast test. I am a 62 YO aerospace engineer and will come fasted for 4 days with a BG level probably in the mid 60s. However my ketone level will be around 3. My reactions will blow away any sugar burning college student or the prof himself.

[@vinestreet7]

Maybe "splendid" is the cause of aggression not calorie deficiency.

[@writer684]

There are three graphs on the remission slide what are they? Diffrent levels of exercise?

[@antoniojorgecostalima2406]

Bom dia

[@oceanasistermoon5069]

Also we now know the marshmallow test is deeply flawed. Children from higher socioeconomic homes can wait longer because they have more resources and their parents can provide more for them.

[@hermanhelmich]

Oceana SisterMoon sure... ask tRump 🙈🙈

[@bobgreene2892]

A good methodology could control for much of that (perception of an "external reserve" advantage), but it would seem that kids with more resources are trained to be more patient and are less frequently driven to extremes.

[@nonhlanhlapreciousRadebe]

Now this is quite interesting. It makes sense. Bob Marley's song.... '....a hungry man is an angry man" rings true lol I will definitely try the self control exercises.

[@waynelawson1235]

I waited for 3 marshmallows. Now I'm really successful.

[@hyy3657]

um...how did you do that?

[@marshagreene7926]

Wayne Lawson 😂

[@JimTheCurator]

I didn't even want the first marshmellow. I'm in jail now.

[@bobgreene2892]

TRUST VS DISTRUST Wouldn't this have been interesting-- how many children were able to trust the marshmellow wizard when he took the only one they had, but promised three more "soon"? Now, that is postponed gratification par excellence, and has even political ramifications. While some aspects might seem cruel to child-level perception, it certainly depends on which child is involved. Such seeming deprivation not only should reveal trust instilled by previous parenting but perhaps sibling/peer relationships, too. A very complex experiment to carry out, but with a rich payoff (And all subjects get three marshmallows, afterward, just as promised, to avoid needless toxic residue of "lost trust"). Not only glucose level, but learned trust seems the essential element of social bonding. Like any social asset, it can be used for good, as with Gandhi, or destruction, by a Jim Jones. In the end, "by their fruits shall you know them".

[@rail7646]

seems you stole 2 of them from the other kids and blamed their results as well lol

[@Avalon_1991]

Anger is bad. It is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

[@ameliejulien5445]

My friend angry eats cake to much. SWEET MAKES YOU ANGRY

[@samysouthern3627]

So what about fasting? Where does that fit in to this? As surely when fasting (which supposably is good for your psychical and mental health) your brain will be "hangry" right?

[@michaeldouglas5953]

What if you were generally low in glucose but had great self-control? Mildly angry???

[@nikhilgeorge3137]

Michael Douglas then you sir are in the wrong forum 😉😁

[@HeatherMarie8888]

except this study is skewed because it measures glucose. someone who eats a diet that induces ketosis would not have this same "hangry" issue. In fact, much of the time spent between eating if you are in ketosis actually positively effects your mood. People get cranky when they eat a carbohydrate based diet if their brain doesn't get its sugar fix. But I do imagine that people would get hangry anyway... even if the brain's fuel were ketones

[@MarmaladeINFP]

It's disappointing that even scientific researchers don't know basic knowledge such as ketosis.

[@diyz6126]

I would love to see a third group of people on a keto diet!

[@mahaabusada1412]

Ok so.. another research is definitely needed. Sugar does something similar to drug addiction to the brain and that's exactly what I've been thinking of while listening to this. The downs obviously come after being sugar high 😂 I wonder what insights kito diet can add to this! Or what ppl who eat 1 meal a day have to say about it 😮

[@buddhaneosiddhananda8499]

"Pay no attention to worldly science and sagacity..." Djwhal Khul

[@bobmarshall3700]

Amazing how people in audiences think they have to laugh hysterically throughout presentations, even when things aren't funny!

[@marshagreene7926]

Bob Marshall lol you are correct

[@katymcdonald5481]

People don’t laugh when really laugh when they are alone, laughing is a social bonding tool we have evolved to do. No other animals laugh.

[@ADCFproductions]

@@katymcdonald5481 so that's why i tell jokes to my cat and i laugh but he doesn't... hmmm

[@hermanhelmich]

Bob Marshall Not funny to you to be more specific

[@tessawebb9469]

I laughed though...

[@kmerrick8968]

the marshmello test has recently been disproved. It has more to do with if kids were poor or middle class.

[@rickytarkowski2490]

Which indicates also that their nutritional level was different.

[@giovanny1062]

I'm watching this having an ice cream

[@fred8780]

would like to see what keto would do.

[@austingode]

There are no pills that heal depression.....or anxiety so there is an urgent need to find alternatives

[@sjr7822]

Exercise prescription for depression and full spectrum light, sunshine

[@mediabreak1993]

Yes they have medication for depression and anxiety and it help out alot

[@Sara-us1mn]

So basically remove anger

[@seeamerica1]

So the moral of the story is eat more sugars? Dang, 3 days of eating protein bars & I already have diabetes (from the high fructose corn syrup).

[@renatapammer4531]

if you don´t burst out sometimes, you get a breakdown.

[@FranciscoElNeneGalan]

Hunger is the BEST motivator, people will do anything to feed their families during COVID lockdown, the government better give the stimulus check twice or more, otherwise people will invade supermarkets, anarchy on the way, you will really know the meaning of HANGRY..

[@Royal38898]

In short, the long winded story is a person is more angry when on low sugar than high sugar

[@joecaner]

Remember what the dormouse said Feed your head, feed your head

[@me888ize]

Funny, I never get hungry I only eat one meal a day, when I get home from work I am never hungry,

[@onlinechaosgremlin]

Would be interesting to see this repeated with people on keto.

[@rhaffedayday6990]

why is he disguising himself like an old man? It's pretty obvious in his voice he's 29

[@onlinechaosgremlin]

Maybe dont do this with sugar and with a much longer fast.

[@bobonya6978]

Hangry!? Isn't hungry correct?

[@samkia395]

Flawed lemonade study, because splenda has other characteristics/ingredients than just not having calories!!! also i know people who fasted in ramadan and are absolutely calm and not aggressive at all.

[@Sadiquecat]

Good now I can say ''hey if you don't like my behaviour its because you didt feed me, youre the only one guilty here'''' joke, good talk and nice to know love to see a followup on other things than anger or other, he probably has much more to say

[@Lunsterful]

This is going to sound controversial, but it's not intended to be. Would this explain the increase of terror attacks during the month of Ramadan?

[@devbachu7072]

🤩😍agree with u feed y gut an they help us

[@kithkin01]

sugar doesnt lead to diabetes

[@bigbenhebdomadarius6252]

I know the sugar industry believes that, but all the research says it does.

[@sureshkumarpandey1383]

Hight of stupidity. Must have got sponsorships from food industry. It’s a matter of common experience that the day you fast, you are less reactive, much less aggressive and very much in control of your emotions. A number of hormonal secretions follows the fasting that calms the mind. Therefore the conclusion is absurd.

[@musicatation2254]

Why the intro is scary ?

[@lisasays6174]

Would we call the marshmallow test "genius?" Couldn't we call it low risk taking, or even distrust?

[@zodammit]

Getting angry pisses me off.

[@IrinaTrustsGod]

They want all to hear that a low sugar level is to blame for their aggressions.

[@papuciowy1465]

Many saints didn't eat much and they were peaceful in Christ.

[@CatalystLightbridger]

Why No Disclaimer Here ?? This Dudes Good Too.. But The Other One Was an ACTUAL Doctor ...

[@WholeBibleBelieverWoman]

That was way over the top to buy voodoo dolls. They could have used pieces of paper to stab through with pens or pins. Geez.

[@Frogman214]

Great work! Interesting! Consider a similar study across cultures to validate. Minus the voodoo doll because that will cause problems. Develop another way to project "anger" on the spouse. I predict that Asian cultures would not be as Hangry on your scale since they don't eat lots of Empty carbs like the Standard American Diet (SAD) folks. Not to demean Americans, but their diet sucks for the most part and this is a result of the food and healthcare industry maintaining the status quo in the US at the present time. There's talk that this could change dramatically in the next ten years as the system might collapse and may only be saved by preventive and curative medicine currently being used in other cultures. Other cultures are well practiced to reverse type two diabetes through time restricted eating, fasting, and a proper nutritious diet. 2/3rds of Americans are obese and about 60% of them will develop diabetes which will be a tremendous cost on the US economy competing with Defense and other obligations. Thank You!

[@martinirving3824]

Sure enough, establishment nutritional propaganda, 16;00 - fruits, veggies and whole grains (healthy foods, it is assumed) to keep those glucose levels up (and that insulin belly nice and round and big).

[@cinnamongirl3070]

Exactly!!!

[@goodgood9955]

I have tinnitus. Id like to meet thjs researcher and show him what REAL aggresion is! WHAT A COMPLETELY UNETHICAL test it is to harm a persons fuckjng hearing!

[@djseanoduill]

Of course people could tell the difference between sugar and splenda in lemonade that's rediculous

[@scienceexplains302]

I would have eaten the marshmallow before the researcher had time to explain the rules 😒

[@newenedgar6144]

mambo jambo

[@JennyB957]

Do you think damaging people hearing is a good idea ? 😶

[@tanthiennguyen6101]

Intelligence & self Control will have a lot people's greats & greating.....But children's & Enimals too ...?

[@cazzalyric]

Stabbing Voodoo dolls in anger with intent...bad idea!!

[@zelenplav1701]

Better than stabbing people.

[@josephramdin7031]

Like for Spok :)

[@larryputra3692]

I feel bad for people doing keto and married

[@SkeevyNix]

I'd be interested to see this study conducted on those using ketones for energy. I don't feel they'd be angry because of low glucose, they're using ketones for fuel so I doubt there would be that correlation.

[@dianavenus3226]

the jail joke is messed up, fellas. why are they laughing?

[@downbntout]

Marshmallow test: good parenting.