Why Married Couples Shouldn't Argue on an Empty Stomach

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Apr 27, 2014

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The next time you’re bickering with your spouse you may want to suggest having a nosh rather than nagging at each other. A new study finds that when married couples are feeling angry with their spouse they are usually dealing with low blood sugar and having a snack can sometimes combat the anger.

USA Today reports about the study recently published in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences that suggests couples who fight on an empty stomach will probably get more angry with their spouse than if they had eaten before the argument.

Married participants involved in the study were given voodoo dolls and told to jab pins in their dolls to symbolize how angry they are with their spouse. They were also told to measure their blood glucose levels before bed each night. What researchers found was that on the nights a participants blood sugars were at their lowest they placed more pins in their dolls. Results were the same for coupes who described their marriage as both “weak” and “strong”.

This study may not be surprising for those who recognize how grumpy an empty stomach can make them. Lead researcher of the study Brad Bushman advises, “When you discuss a sensitive topic with your spouse, you should do so over dinner, or better yet after dinner – but you should definitely not do it on an empty stomach."

What do you think of the study that suggests arguments with your spouse can get more heated on an empty stomach?

Will you take the researcher’s advise and bring up sensitive topics after a meal rather than before?