“Are You Missing These 14 Alarming Signs that Someone is Starving Themselves?”
4. Mood Swings and Irritability
Chronic under-eating can lead to frequent mood swings and irritability. When your body doesn’t receive enough nutrients, it can’t regulate hormones like serotonin and dopamine, which impacts mood and well-being.
Serotonin influences learning, memory, and happiness as well as regulating body temperature, sleep, and hunger. Dysregulation of your happy hormones increases the risk of depression, anxiety, mood swings, and other health conditions.
5. Trouble Sleeping
Without enough energy, staying awake and focused during the day can feel like an uphill battle, but getting a good night’s sleep can become an even greater challenge. When you fall asleep, your body uses energy and nutrients to repair itself and recover, and a lack of energy leads to restless nights and difficulty staying asleep.
Additionally, undereating can result in a deficiency of tryptophan, an essential amino acid mainly found in protein-rich foods. Tryptophan is a critical ingredient for the production of serotonin, which helps regulate sleep by converting it to melatonin—a hormone that regulates sleep cycles.
6. Feeling Cold All the Time
The body’s core temperature must stay at a certain level to work optimally. When your body is low on calories, it will not be able to keep warm, and your temperature will drop, making you feel chilly or even start shivering.
A lack of food can lower your metabolism, which means your body produces less heat, making you feel colder. Your body also relies on fat stores for energy. When you aren’t eating enough, you lose these fat stores.
