If our mood sours when we feel hungry, it is jokingly referred to as being hangry. No joke! A new study in Germany confirms the conscious feeling of hunger that leads to a worse mood. It has to do with glucose or blood sugar levels. The study, in the journal ebioMedicine, tracked glucose levels in healthy adults with continuous glucose monitors, such as those used by diabetics. When glucose levels drop, mood also deteriorates, but not always. Authors found it is not the glucose level itself that raises or lowers mood, but rather how strongly we consciously recognize a lack of energy. That awareness, if you choose, can act as a kind of buffer for your mood, helping to maintain emotional stability even when energy levels fluctuate. Or you can be hangry.