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The science behind why people get grumpy when hungry

<p>Are you not you when you’re hungry? Do you snap and pout and grumble (ok, we’re not children but you’re in a less than pleasant mood) when you’re hungry? It’s a sensation so common amongst people that the term “hangry” (an amalgamation of hungry and angry) was born. And now science has found the answer as to why some people get hangry and others don’t.</p> <p><strong>How “hanger” develops</strong></p> <p>When we eat, the foods are broken down into nutrients and used for energy. As the time passes from your last meal, the nutrients circulating in your body begin to drop and if your blood-glucose level falls far enough, your brain registers this as a serious, life-threatening situation. Unlike other organs that use a variety of nutrients to function normally, the brain is dependent on glucose to do its important job.</p> <p>So that’s why when you’re hungry, simple tasks become hard to do. It may be hard to concentrate or you might find you are making more mistakes. And you might not have the energy to behave in socially acceptable norms, thus the angry in “hangry”.</p> <p>Hanger is also exacerbated by the fact when blood-glucose drops, your body tried to compensate by releasing hormones that increase the level of glucose in your bloodstream. One of the major ones to be released is adrenaline, or the “fight or flight” response, which can add to the anger and grumpiness felt during hunger pangs.</p> <p><strong>Why do some people get “hangry” and others don’t?</strong></p> <p>The link between hunger and anger is controlled by common genes, one of them being neuropeptide Y. Neuropeptide Y makes you want to eat a lot straight away (like binge-eating) but as humans are all different, the amount and rate it is released is different for different people.</p> <p>Ultimately, hanger is a survival mechanism that spurs you to care about your hunger over others so your species won’t die out. But since we’re not fighting for our survival, the easiest way to handle hanger is the most obvious: eat something before you get hungry. And don’t make any big decisions in difficult situations when you’re hungry.</p> <p><em>Source: <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-the-science-of-hangry-or-why-some-people-get-grumpy-when-theyre-hungry-37229" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/08/benefits-of-food-journal/">Why you should keep a food journal</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/07/tricks-to-stop-overeating/">6 clever tricks to avoid overeating</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/07/foods-for-healthy-teeth/">5 foods to eat for healthy teeth</a></strong></em></span></p>

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Make your own honey bee plant hanger

<p>This 120cm long plant hanger gets its name from the picot knots combined with the yellow rope which makes me think of small insect wings! You can also switch to use alternating square knots here.</p> <p><strong>Knots used (see gallery):</strong></p> <ul> <li>Overhand knot (OK)</li> <li>Wrap knot (WK)</li> <li>Square knot (SK)</li> <li>Square knot sennit (SK sennit)</li> <li>Picot square knot (PSK)</li> <li>Josephine knot (JK)</li> <li>4-ply crown knot (4-CK)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Materials</strong></p> <ul> <li>38m of twined 2.5mm cotton rope</li> <li>Wooden ring, 4 – 5cm diameter</li> <li>8 wooden beads, 2–2.5cm diameter with</li> <li>6–10mm diameter hole</li> <li>Equipment</li> <li>Brush</li> <li>Crochet hook (to help thread the beads)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preparation</strong></p> <p>Cut the following:</p> <p>4 cords, each 3m long (filler cords)</p> <p>3 cords, each 6m long (working cords)</p> <p>1 cord, 8m long (extra-long to make the wrap knots)</p> <p><strong>Instructions:</strong></p> <p>Pair a 3m cord with a 6m cord. Pass them through the ring, folding both in the middle, then bundle the 4 cords together with an overhand knot (OK) to keep them from falling out or moving in the ring. Repeat with the remaining cords, except for one 3m filler cord and the extra-long working cord. Pass the last filler cord and the extra-long working cord through the ring and fold both in the middle. Bundle together both ends of the filler cord with one end of the extra-long working cord using an overhand knot, and leaving the other long end loose.</p> <p><img width="499" height="750" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39980/in-text-1-honey-bee-bundle_499x750.jpg" alt="In Text 1 Honey Bee Bundle"/></p> <p><em>Step 1 </em></p> <p>Using the loose extra-long working cord, make a 4–5cm long wrap knot (WK) just underneath the ring, gathering all the other cords together.</p> <p><em>Step 2</em></p> <p>Untie the overhand knot (OK) with only 3 ends, and add in the cord you used to</p> <p>make the wrap knot. Use both long cords to tie a sennit of 17 square knots (SK). Untie the other overhand knots one at a time and tie 17 square knots with each</p> <p>set of cords.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="853" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39981/in-text-2-step-3_500x853.jpg" alt="In Text 2 Step 3"/></p> <p><em>Step 3</em></p> <p>Tie 2 picot square knots (PSK). Thread the filler cords through a bead (you might need the help of a crochet hook or tapestry needle), then tie 2 more picot square knots under the bead. Repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.</p> <p><em>Step 4</em></p> <p>Tie another sennit of 6 square knots and repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.</p> <p><em>Step 5</em></p> <p>Tie 3 picot square knots. Thread the filler cords through a bead, then tie 3 more picot square knots under the bead. Repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.</p> <p><em>Step 6</em></p> <p>Tie another sennit of 9 square knots and repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.</p> <p><em>Step 7</em></p> <p>Take a filler cord and a working cord from 2 sennits and tie a Josephine knot (JK), placed about 10 cm (4 in) from the sennits above. Tie 3 more Josephine knots to finish the net.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <img width="500" height="544" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39982/in-text-3-step-8_500x544.jpg" alt="In Text 3 Step 8"/></p> <p><em>Step 8</em></p> <p>To tie the cords together, make a 4-ply crown knot (4-CK), using the 4 sets of cords as working cords, as shown in the illustration. Place your fist on a table with the tail of the plant hanger held upside down, and lay the cords down to make it easier to work the crown knot. Place the crown knot about 10cm (4 in) from the Josephine knots above it. Tie 5 to 6 rounds of the crown knot.</p> <p><em>Step 9</em></p> <p>Take the longest remaining cord and tie a 4–5cm (11/2 –2 in) long wrap knot around all other cords.</p> <p><em>Step 10</em></p> <p>Fray all the ends and use a brush to give the tail more volume.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <img width="499" height="1065" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40007/image__499x1065.jpg" alt="Image_ (395)"/></p> <p><img width="143" height="180" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39984/macrame-cover_143x180.jpg" alt="Macrame Cover (1)" style="float: right;"/></p> <p><em>This is an edited extract from </em>Macramé<em> by Fanny Zedenius published by Quadrille RRP $27.99 (NZ proce) and is available in stores nationally. Photographer: © Kim Lightbody</em></p>

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DIY Indra wall hanging

<p>This easy-to-make, yet attractive, wall hanging is 75cm (291/2 in) high and 22cm (83/4  in) wide and uses a repeat pattern that can be extended to make it wider or longer.</p> <p><strong>Knots used (images in gallery):</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lark’s head knot (LHK) </li> <li>Right-facing square knot (RFSK) </li> <li>Alternating square knot (ASK) </li> <li>Overhand knot (OK) </li> </ul> <p><strong>What you need:</strong></p> <ul> <li>51m of twined or braided</li> <li>2.5mm cotton rope</li> <li>35cm wooden dowel</li> <li>Tape</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preparation:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Cut the following: 18 cords, each 2.8m (31/8 yd) long</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Tape the ends of your cords to keep them from fraying. Fold each cord in half and attach it to the dowel using a lark’s head knot (LHK).</li> </ul> <ul> <li>The chart (see below) for this wall hanging is divided into five sections. When section five is completed, the pattern repeats sections two to five until you have finished the pattern, ending with a repeat of sections two and three. To separate each section, leave a little space between the alternating square knots (about 6mm/1/4 in).</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="570" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39384/intext-1-wall-hanging-2-new_500x570.jpg" alt="Intext 1 Wall Hanging 2 NEW (1)"/></p> <p><strong>What to do:</strong></p> <p>1. For the first section, tie 2 right-facing square knots (RFSK) using the first 4 cords, skip 4 cords and then tie another 2 right-facing square knots using the next 4 cords, repeating this sequence to</p> <p>the end of the row. Then tie 1 right-facing square knot on each set of 4 cords that you skipped the first time, a total of 14 square knots.</p> <p>2. For the second section, skip the 2 first cords, then tie an alternating square knot (ASK) with every set of 4 cords. Skip the 2 last cords, to make a total of 8 square knots. Underneath each of these knots, tie another right-facing square knot to create a row of 8 sennits with 2 right-facing square knots in each.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="499" height="685" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39382/intext-2_499x685.jpg" alt="Intext 2"/></p> <p>3. For the third section, skip the first 4 cords, then tie an alternating square knot with the next 4 cords, skip the next 4 cords, tie another alternating square knot with the next 4 cords, repeating this sequence to the end of the row, to make 4 square knots. Underneath each of these knots, tie 2 more right-facing square knots to create a row of 4 sennits with 3 right-facing square knots in each.</p> <p>4. For the fourth section, skip the 2 first cords, then tie an alternating square knot with every set of 4 cords and a right-facing square knot beneath (the same as in step 2), a total of 16 square knots.</p> <p>5. For the fifth section, tie an alternating square knot with the first 4 cords, then tie 2 more right-facing square knots directly beneath it to create a sennit of 3 right-facing square knots. Make a right-facing square knot with the next 4 cords, placing it at the same level as the middle knot of the previous 3 knots. Repeat this sequence to the end of the row, a total of 19 square knots.</p> <p>6. Repeat sections 2–5 two more times, then tie sections 2 and 3 once more.</p> <p>7. Cut all the cords to the same length, then tie decorative overhand knots (OK) at the bottom of each cord. Fray the end of the cords beneath each knot to get a tassel effect</p> <p><img width="159" height="200" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39383/macrame-cover_159x200.jpg" alt="Macrame Cover" style="float: right;"/></p> <p><em>This is an edited extract from </em>Macramé<em> by Fanny Zedenius published by Quadrille RRP $27.99 (NZ price) and is available in stores nationally.Image credit: Kim Lightbody</em></p>

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