Shell Shares Why You Should Never Drive Hungry

Hunger pangs are common for most of us, especially after toiling all day over a computer stuck behind a desk job. That moment when your stomach suddenly feels hollow and starts to gurgle tends to strike right when you’re in middle of the infamous Manila traffic on the way home. And when we’re hungry and craving, we do things we don’t normally and rationally do–like getting ‘hangry,’ for example. Considering the amount of time we spend on the road, it’s not too farfetched to say driving hungry is one of the reasons why we experience terrible and exhausting trips.

This is one of the things that Shell found out in the Shell Driving Experiment, a groundbreaking worldwide study that uses cutting-edge emotional intelligence technology, ChatBots, mobile apps, and weather and traffic information to uncover drivers’ food and drink preferences and driving performance during everyday rides. Shell worked with experts from Goldsmiths, University of London, to monitor the data points from over 2,000 participants worldwide in order to measure the driver performance score of each country and learn about the different factors that affect their performance.

After Philippine participants across three key areas–Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao–logged in more than 1,700 journeys and 26,592 responses to the ChatBot about their physiological state of hunger, the Shell Driving Experiment uncovered several interesting findings about Filipino drivers.

The experiment showed that feeling hungry or thirsty can impact your driving performance, showing that drivers who crave food or hydration don’t perform as well on the road. This decreases the smoothness of a driver’s journey, negatively correlating to a smoother trip score.

Nadine Tengco, a health and fitness advocate and one of the panelists Pilipinas Shell tapped during the media event that revealed the results of the Shell Driving Experiment, shared her two cents on the results.

“Just like how you need to fuel up your car before going on a drive, our body needs our own fill as well,” shared Tengco. “Driving while you’re hungry, especially in this heavy traffic, can really affect your mood and focus, which can have detrimental effects to your driving.”

Of course, the type and the amount of food that one consumes play an important role on one’s daily energy levels. In fact, did you know that turkey actually makes you sleepy?

“Food rich in Omega-3 can enhance mood, relieve stress, and increase alertness. But many other nutrients and flavors are associated with increased wakefulness and alertness such as nuts, citruses, and dark chocolates. More than that, staying hydrated is important,” Tengco concluded.