Interoception and Neurodivergence: Understanding the Signals Within

Have you ever unintentionally skipped a meal because you didn’t notice you were hungry? Forgotten to sleep because tiredness didn’t register until you were beyond exhausted? Or realized at the end of the day that you were severely dehydrated, having not had any water for hours? These aren’t just oversights they may be signs of poor interoception. So, what exactly is interoception, and how do we improve it, especially from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective?

I can speak from personal experience: for months, I used to leave work feeling physically unwell. Headaches, stomachaches, and symptoms that mimicked fever would regularly overwhelm me. It wasn’t until I took a closer look at my patterns that I realized the cause. I wasn’t drinking enough water, I hadn’t eaten all day, and I wasn’t moving my body. My interoceptive system wasn’t alerting me effectively, and I wasn’t attuned to the subtle signals my body was sending. Once I made adjustments, setting reminders, changing my routine those symptoms disappeared. Understanding interoception changed my life.

What Is Interoception?

Interoception is the eighth sensory system alongside the five traditional senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) and two lesser-known senses: proprioception (sense of body position) and vestibular sense (sense of balance and spatial orientation). Interoception allows us to sense internal physical states, such as hunger, thirst, heart rate, pain, temperature, digestion, the need to use the restroom, and emotional experiences like fear or sadness.

This internal sensory system is key to maintaining homeostasis. When something in the body is off such as blood sugar dropping interoceptive signals motivate behaviors that restore balance (like eating). But if those signals are muted, misread, or overwhelming, it becomes difficult to respond appropriately.

Interoception and Neurodivergence

Sensory processing differences are common among neurodivergent individuals, including Autistic people and those with ADHD. While many are aware of sensitivities to external stimuli (e.g., bright lights or loud noises), internal sensory differences often go unrecognized. Interoceptive signals may be delayed, faint, confusing, or entirely unnoticeable.

This disconnect can make it hard to identify needs, interpret emotions, or regulate the body’s rhythms. A neurodivergent person may not recognize hunger until they feel nauseous or may struggle to interpret whether they are anxious, tired, or overstimulated. These challenges can affect nutrition, sleep, toileting, pain awareness, emotional expression, and self-regulation.

Interoceptive Support: A Dual Approach

To support individuals with poor interoception, we focus on two core strategies:

1. Adapting the environment to support body awareness through reminders, routines, and assistive tools.

2. Building interoceptive awareness through intentional practices that strengthen the mind-body connection.

Tools and Adaptations

Timers, Alarms, and Apps

External reminders are essential when internal cues are unreliable. Setting alarms every few hours can prompt intentional check-ins: "Have I eaten? Drank water? Used the restroom? Stretched?" These small interventions can prevent burnout, fatigue, and physical dysregulation.

Apps like Tiimo are especially designed for neurodivergent users and can help structure the day with visual schedules and flexible reminders.

Building a Routine

Routine creates structure and predictability—two key elements that help reinforce interoceptive awareness. When our days follow a predictable rhythm, it becomes easier to identify when something feels "off" in our internal state. For example, eating lunch at a consistent time every day helps your body associate that time with hunger cues, reinforcing your ability to notice them.

Routines also act as built-in checkpoints throughout the day. If you already take a lunch break at noon, use that opportunity to incorporate additional habits that support your body’s needs, like drinking water before and after your meal, taking a few deep breaths, or doing a quick stretch.

It’s important to note that routines don’t have to be strict or boring. In fact, they can be flexible and still provide structure. ADHDers and others who resist routine may benefit from flexible scaffolding—predictable rituals that include choice or variability. For instance, you might keep a morning routine that includes brushing your teeth, taking medication, and journaling—but you can vary the order, timing, or even add optional elements like music, meditation, or dancing.

Consider making routines sensory-friendly. Pair activities with sensory cues: light a scented candle during bedtime prep, play the same playlist during your morning routine, or use visual cues like checklists or colored cards to guide your sequence of tasks. These sensory associations can deepen mind-body connection and strengthen interoceptive patterns.

When routines are disrupted—as they inevitably will be—it’s okay. Notice the change, reflect on how it felt, and offer yourself compassion. The goal isn’t perfection, but building a supportive rhythm that helps you check in with your internal state more consistently.

Interoceptive Awareness Practices

Over time, consistent use of interoceptive awareness practices can significantly improve your ability to notice, interpret, and respond to internal cues. These exercises help bridge the gap between bodily sensations and conscious awareness, fostering greater autonomy and reducing reliance on external reminders. These practices can be adapted to meet individual sensory profiles and comfort levels.

Interoceptive awareness is not just about detecting physical signals—it’s also about learning the language of your body. For many neurodivergent individuals, cultivating this awareness is a process of re-connection. Below are evidence-informed strategies to help you begin building that connection:

• Mindful Check-Ins: Short, structured pauses where you consciously attend to physical or emotional sensations. Start with the breath, then scan for areas of tension, pain, or sensation.

• Body Mapping: Journaling or drawing to document where you feel different emotions or physical sensations in your body. Over time, this builds an internal map of patterns and emotional-physical correlations.

• Sensory Labeling: Using descriptive, non-judgmental language to articulate internal experiences (e.g., tight, fluttery, hollow, pulsing) instead of vague or evaluative terms like "good" or "bad."

• Rhythmic Anchoring: Tuning into your heartbeat or breathing rhythm and observing how these change in response to stress, rest, or different environments. This helps track arousal levels and supports self-regulation.

• Contextual Awareness: Noticing how different environments, tasks, or interactions affect your internal state. For instance, do you always feel a tight stomach in crowded spaces? Does your breathing change during transitions?

• Restorative Stillness: Incorporating brief periods of low-stimulation stillness into your day allows subtle sensations to come to the surface. This might include lying on the floor, dimming the lights, or listening to white noise.

These practices can be introduced gently and incrementally. What matters most is consistency, curiosity, and compassion. There is no "right" way to feel, and your body’s cues no matter how faint or inconsistent are valid signals worth learning to interpret.

1. Mindful Check-Ins

These short awareness exercises help you tune into physical and emotional sensations without judgment.

• External Check-In: Hold a warm or cold item. What does the temperature feel like? How does your perception change after setting it down?

• Sensation Check-In: Stretch gently. Where do you feel the movement? Is it pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?

• Emotional Check-In: When you feel the edge of an emotion, observe it. Where is it in your body? What does it want you to do? What intensity does it have?

2. Body Scans

Scan your body systematically to notice sensations in each area. This builds descriptive awareness.

• Basic Scan: Start from your feet and move upward, describing sensations (e.g., heavy, tight, soft).

• Color Scan: Assign colors to body parts based on how they feel.

• Symbolic Scan: Use metaphors or images (e.g., "my head feels like a storm cloud").

• Action-Oriented Scan: Identify what your body parts are doing (e.g., "fists are clenched").

Important: If you have a trauma history, especially involving the body, work with a therapist when attempting body scans, as they can sometimes be dysregulating.

3. Interoception On-The-Go

Throughout the day, pause during routine activities (washing dishes, walking, folding laundry):

1. What am I feeling physically?

2. What am I feeling emotionally?

3. Are these connected?

For example, "My stomach is tight and I'm irritated. Am I hungry? Would eating help?"

4. "How Low Can You Go?" Exercise

This biofeedback-based practice helps you detect your heartbeat and build regulation skills.

1. Measure your resting heart rate.

2. Do light cardio (e.g., jumping jacks).

3. Try to feel and count your heartbeats without tools.

4. Then measure your heart rate using a watch or fingers.

5. Record the difference.

6. Practice daily or weekly.

7. Later, try to reduce your heart rate after exercise using calming strategies (e.g., breathwork, lying down, music).

This practice strengthens awareness of internal rhythms and helps refine regulation strategies that work for your unique nervous system.

Final Thoughts: Reclaiming Internal Awareness

Interoception is a vital, yet often overlooked, aspect of self-awareness and mental health. Many neurodivergent individuals experience difficulty with interoception but may not recognize it as such often internalizing their struggles as personal failures. In reality, these challenges are frequently rooted in sensory processing differences, not a lack of motivation or self-discipline.

By cultivating interoceptive awareness and incorporating adaptive strategies into our environments and routines, we can develop a more consistent and compassionate relationship with our bodies. Whether it’s through timers, routines, body scans, or mindfulness practices, every small step toward noticing and responding to your internal state matters.

You deserve to feel safe in your body. You deserve to have your needs noticed—by yourself and by others. Building interoceptive awareness is more than a self-care strategy; it’s an act of reclaiming your right to attunement, regulation, and presence. It’s a reminder that your body is worth listening to, and you are worthy of understanding.

With support, education, and patience, bridging the gap between brain and body is not only possible it’s powerful.