Hungry out of boredom? Study says your thoughts can deceive your immune system

Just being hungry in your head can cause significant changes in your body. Study showed surprising power of brain over your physical health.

Hunger can be both mental and physical. Sometimes you are hungry because your stomach is actually growling, and other times, you’re just hungry and need to snack out of boredom.

When you perceive yourself to be hungry, your immune system responds as if you are actually hungry. (Shutterstock)

It turns out hunger affects the immune system, even the mental kind, when you’re not really hungry. A study published in Science Immunology unveiled this connection, showing how closely thoughts and perceptions are tied to physical health.

Perception's connection to immune system

It's already well known how immune system is connected to dietary habits through theories like gut-immune axis. Any change in diet affects the immune system. However, this groundbreaking study shows the power of perception over biology; by merely thinking of something can affect the immune system.

What were the experiments?

The researchers tested this on mice. They made the already eaten mice hungry by triggering hunger-related brain cells called the AgRP neurons. Now that the mice feel ‘false hunger,’ certain immune cells count dropped in their blood. These cells, called monocytes, fight infections and control inflammation. So essentially, the researchers controlled the perception of the already eaten mice by making them think they were hungry, irrespective of being already full.

For the second experiment, the researchers did the opposite. This time, they experimented on mice that were actually hungry and didn't eat anything. They artificially activated their ‘hunger fullness neurons’ and the immune cell levels, and the monocytes went back to normal level.

What you think is very important

Your brain can trick your physiological systems. (Shutterstock)

Your thoughts and perceptions, what you think, are powerful enough to change your immune system. Even though the experiment was conducted only on mice, the researchers are hopeful that if similar results are seen in humans, it could transform the way we treat conditions like obesity, anorexia, and stress. In a way, your brain is powerful enough to override physical reality and trigger changes in your body, just based on what it believes to be true.

This is an important finding, signaling how deeply connected mental and physical health are.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.