![]() ![]() This can be difficult to mindfully assess in the presence of external stimulations (such as video games, Netflix, and social media). Proper sleep hygiene requires you to be acquainted with internal cues. Many people with ADHD may have had the motto that sleep happens when there is no more fun to be had or nothing left to do. People with anorexia nervosa disconnect from signals from their bodies that they are hungry, and people with binge eating disorder may have problems with being aware of satiety. ![]() Interoceptive awareness is a concept much talked about in the eating disorder community, as people with eating disorders also have poor interoceptive awareness and eating disorders can further decrease it. The idea that my peers were clearly tapping into their interoceptive awareness in a clear way that overrode the external cue of the pizza was foreign to me and something I had to learn. I was puzzled that someone could be “full” even if there was more of that thing accessible to them. Recognizing how our bodies feel after we eat a hearty grilled chicken salad ( satisfied, energetic, clean) versus how our bodies might feel after eating a pound of French fries ( sluggish, groggy, bloated) may affect future food choices.Īs a child, it perplexed me how someone can love a food (like pizza) and choose not to eat it if they had access to it. Our interoceptive awareness has an impact on when we start and stop eating as well as what we eat. ![]() We need to ask ourselves: Am I actually hungry? Or is my hunger motivated by an external cue (like seeing a fast-food commercial)? Dishing out healthy portions means we have to perceive what our body actually needs, not what our dopamine-starved ADHD brains may be craving. Interoceptive awareness is essential to healthy eating, relying on recognizing cues of hunger and satiety. Lack of interoceptive awareness can lead to an underemphasis of pain signals, which then fail to give people with ADHD the proper pause or halt in potentially dangerous acts or situations. Pain is an adaptive signal that (hopefully) prevents us from engaging or re-engaging in an act that may threaten us. To recognize pain, you have to be attuned to your body’s sensations. One reason for this could be related to poor interoceptive awareness. Part of what contributes to that is not paying enough attention to what specifically feels good in our bodies and connecting to the sensation (or fully acknowledging the absence of a negative sensation). Too often people with ADHD report that even when they know something will help them, they have difficulty maintaining good habits. For example, if we are attuned to our body feeling rested and more alert after sleeping eight hours, we might be more likely to sleep eight hours again. Interoceptive awareness also involves recognizing what is working well for the body. Recognizing a small stone could prevent an emergency situation where someone is forced to painfully pass that stone. Even when it is recognized that something is awry, it may not be something a person tunes into enough, which can lead to procrastination on following up with a doctor.įor example, if a person has a small kidney stone and was connected to the discomfort in their body enough that it was properly distracting them, that awareness may override the executive resistance to making an appointment and following through. People with ADHD are less likely to be attentive to health cues, which can contribute to being less likely to get an annual physical and less likely to catch something in its early stages-which can set the stage for more severe expressions of medical conditions. Overall physical healthĪchieving optimal health includes tuning into your body and assessing what is working well and what isn’t. Interoceptive awareness promotes healthy living in a variety of ways. This pursuit of stimulation can result in being disconnected, dismissive, and unaware of important internal cues that are essential in healthy functioning. People with ADHD are often more externally oriented, seeking stimulation in their environments. Having ADHD can make this seemingly natural process not so natural. Our nervous system senses, interprets, and integrates signals originating from within the body all the time, including our heartbeat, breathing, satiety, as well as the autonomic nervous system activity related to emotions and emotional regulation.īeing attuned to this internal process requires a live, moment to moment awareness. ![]() Interoceptive awareness is the perception of sensations from within the body. ![]()
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