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How frisky do you feel when you're hungry? Zero much frisky, right? No sex on an empty stomach, that's my motto. Well, science has finally gathered actual proof that hanger dampens women's desire.
University of California, San Diego postdoctoral fellow Alice Ely had 20 healthy women fast for eight hours. Then she hooked them up to an fMRI scanner and showed them pictures, some romantic, some neutral. Then she let the hungry women drink a 500-calorie meal replacement drink, hooked them back up to the scanner, and showed them more photos.
Surprise, surprise! The women "were more responsive to romantic cues" when they had full bellies, Ely says. "Instead of being anxious and annoyed and irritable when you’re hungry … once we’re sated, then we can get on to better things."
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"Yeah. It's a bit obvious, isn't it?" says clinical psychologist and author Dr. Ramani Durvasula.
That's what we thought! I'm way less playful and fun when I'm hungry, and I don't need science to tell me why -- though some of us may be forwarding this article to our significant others because finally, science is backing us up on this important issue.
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Durvasula says behavior economics backs up this super obvious relationship between hunger and sex, too. "When we are focused on a more pressing need like a deadline or being hungry we tend to get tunnel vision. When we are sated we can open our minds and mental bandwidth to other things -- work, romance etc."
Ah yes, tunnel vision. But what happens when your tunnel vision has an enchilada at the end and your man's leads to a different kind of happy ending? Maybe that's a good time to reenact that food-sex scene from 9½ Weeks.
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
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