Eating with a neurodivergent brain

Have you ever found yourself suddenly ravenous, realising you hadn't eaten in hours? Or only noticed your thirst after a pounding headache set in? While most of us occasionally do not pay attention to these cues, some of us do struggle with this disconnect daily. The reason lies in a lesser-known sense called interoception.

Interoception is our brain's ability to notice, interpret, and respond to signals from inside our body. It plays a vital role in how we care for our basic needs, such as food and hydration. Understanding interoception, especially in the context of ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence, can reshape how we care for ourselves and others.

What is interoception, and how does it affect eating?

Interoception is often called the "feeling within" sense. It's what lets us recognise when we're hungry, thirsty, tired, need the bathroom, or even when our heart races with excitement or nerves. Just like sight or hearing, interoceptive awareness differs from person to person. Some of us are highly attuned to subtle bodily cues, while others may only notice hunger or fatigue when it's pretty intense.

Interoception is crucial, not just for physical needs like eating or drinking, but also for emotional well-being and self-regulation. When interoceptive signals work smoothly, they help us care for ourselves proactively. But if these signals are disrupted or hard to interpret, it can impact everything from mood and comfort to eating and hydration habits.

Some people naturally find interoception more challenging. This is particularly true for many neurodivergent individuals, those among us whose brains function differently, including people with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and more. The interoceptive signals may be faint (under-responsive), intense (over-responsive), or simply confusing, and the ability to connect body sensations to specific needs isn't always straightforward.

Why neurodivergent people may struggle to recognise hunger

Research and the lived experiences of neurodivergent people show that challenges with interoception are surprisingly common. For some, inner sensations are hard to notice ("I rarely feel hungry, so I forget to eat until I crash"), while for others, the signals are unclear ("I can't tell if I'm thirsty, hungry, or just anxious").

Many neurodivergent people have learned, whether directly or through social expectations, to ignore their body's needs in favour of productivity or compliance, further disrupting self-awareness.

Difficulties with interoception can have a wide range of effects:

• Disrupted eating and drinking routines.
• Difficulty distinguishing between physical and emotional needs (e.g. mistaking dehydration for anxiety).
• More easily influenced by harmful messages in society about body image and eating, because of depending on outside signals instead of internal ones.
• More difficulty with emotional regulation and body trust.

Learning or re-learning to listen to and trust our body is often a process, one that benefits from patience, empathy, and, sometimes, professional support

How ADHD affects hunger, fullness, and body signals

In my work with clients with ADHD, interoception challenges often surface. Many clients report that they:

• Skip meals unintentionally (hyperfocus leads them to forget to eat or drink).
• Can't reliably sense hunger or fullness, sometimes eating past comfort or not until they're unwell.
• Confuse body signals, sometimes mistaking emotional distress for hunger, or ignoring thirst until physical symptoms (like headaches or irritability) show up.

ADHD makes this challenge even more pronounced because of how it affects focus, impulse control, routines, and emotional regulation. Inattentive symptoms, in particular, are strongly linked to difficulties with noticing and responding to bodily cues. While ADHD medication can be a valuable tool for many, it can also complicate things by sometimes dulling appetite and reducing bodily awareness.

Research shows that people with ADHD are at a much greater risk of disordered eating, including irregular meals to binge-eating, as well as dehydration and nutrient gaps. Impulsive eating or long periods without food are common, both rooted in interoceptive issues and typical ADHD traits. This pattern can become a cycle: low body awareness makes it harder to meet needs, which affects mood and focus, further confusing the body's signals.

Simple ways to reconnect with your body’s needs

If you find yourself out of touch with hunger, thirst, or fullness, you're not alone, and with curiosity and self-compassion, you can start strengthening this sense. Here are a few gentle prompt questions to ask yourself, especially at transition points in your day:

• Am I feeling hungry or full right now?
• When was the last time I ate or drank water?
• What foods or drinks am I craving or interested in?
• How is my energy level? Am I feeling foggy, tired, or wired?
• Do I notice any physical discomfort (headache, stomach rumbling, or lightheadedness)?
• What signs might my body be giving me about thirst or hunger?

Think of these as check-ins, not tests. There's no right or wrong answer, just information. And if you're not sure what your body's telling you, that's okay. Practice, patience, and sometimes outside support (from a registered nutritionist or therapist) can all help rebuild this internal trust.

Interoception is a vital sense that helps us care for both body and mind. For individuals with ADHD and other neurodivergent profiles, difficulties in noticing and responding to internal cues are common and very real, but they are not personal failings. By approaching our bodies with empathy and curiosity, we can start to rebuild trust and support our wellbeing.

If you recognise these challenges in yourself or someone you love, know that you're not alone, and that with the right support, change is possible.

References

• Ciccarelli, J., Jiang, Y. and Armstrong, L. (2024) ADHD symptoms and intuitive eating: The importance of interoceptive awareness and meaning mindset. [Preprint]. doi:10.22541/au.172984153.39178603/v1. 
• Jenkinson, P.M., Taylor, L. and Laws, K.R. (2018) ‘Self-reported interoceptive deficits in eating disorders: A meta-analysis of studies using The eating disorder inventory’, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 110, pp. 38–45. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.04.005. 
• Kutscheidt, K. et al. (2019) ‘Interoceptive awareness in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)’, ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11(4), pp. 395–401. doi:10.1007/s12402-019-00299-3. 
• M. Bruton, A. et al. (2025) ‘Diminished interoceptive accuracy in attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review’, Psychophysiology, 62(2). doi:10.1111/psyp.14750. 
• Martin, E., Dourish, C.T. and Higgs, S. (2023) ‘Interoceptive accuracy mediates the longitudinal relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) inattentive symptoms and disordered eating in a community sample’, Physiology & Behaviour, 268, p. 114220. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114220.