Why does my stomach make noises when I'm hungry?

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Sometimes when you’re really hungry it sounds like there’s an angry little army marching around inside your stomach, growling and trying to remind you that it must be time to eat! Usually, the grumbling and growling sound you hear when you get hungry is actually not coming from your stomach but from your intestines, which is where your food goes after it leaves your stomach! 

Whether you’ve just eaten or you’re in between meals, your intestines are almost always at work. The sound of your “growling stomach” is actually the noise of your intestines squeezing and contracting while they do their job! This noise even has its own special (and funny-sounding) name: Borborygmi. 

The reason you tend to hear this noise when you’re hungry is that when your stomach is empty, there’s no full belly to block out the sounds! However, you can (and once in a while probably will) hear this noise even when you’re not hungry at all, and that’s okay too! 

The Rhyme of Little Lily's Tiny Tummy!

One sunny day around 12 noon
A sound was heard -- a growling tune.
The tiny tummy of Little Lily
Made a sound they heard in Philly!
She knew at once without a pause
That her breakfast digesting was the cause.
With an empty belly awaiting its meal
No food was there to stifle the squeal!
She said “Excuse me!” and then went off to dine,
She ate PB&J that was more than divine!
And when she was done with her sandwich and fruit
The growling had stopped and her stomach was mute!