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Understanding and responding to hunger and thirst signals by neuro-divergent people

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Neuro-divergence, encompassing conditions such as autism spectrum, ADHD, and sensory processing, can profoundly influence how individuals perceive and respond to their bodily signals.

While neurotypical individuals generally recognise and respond to hunger, thirst, and satiety cues with relative ease, neuro-divergent individuals often face unique challenges in this area. Understanding these challenges is crucial for fostering empathy and supporting effective strategies for well-being.

This article is written so it is directly readable and useful (in terms of providing action items) for people in your immediate surroundings, but naturally it can be directly applied by neuro-spicy people themselves!

Hunger and Thirst Cues

For many neuro-divergent people, recognising hunger and thirst cues can be a complex task. These signals, which manifest as subtle physiological changes, might not be as easily identifiable or may be misinterpreted.

For instance, someone on the spectrum might not feel hunger as a straightforward sensation in the stomach but instead experience it as irritability or a headache. Similarly, those with ADHD may become so hyper-focused on tasks that they overlook or ignore feelings of hunger and thirst entirely.

Sensory Processing and Signal Translation

Sensory processing issues can further complicate the interpretation of bodily signals. Neuro-divergent individuals often experience heightened or diminished sensory perception.

This variability means that sensations like hunger pangs or a dry mouth might be either too intense to ignore or too faint to detect. The result is a disconnection from the body’s natural cues, leading to irregular eating and drinking habits.

Satiety and Fullness

Recognising satiety and fullness presents another layer of difficulty. For neuro-divergent individuals, the brain-gut communication pathway might not function in a typical manner.

This miscommunication can lead to difficulties in knowing when to stop eating, either due to a delayed recognition of fullness or because the sensory experience of eating (such as the textures and flavours of food) becomes a primary focus rather than the physiological need.

Emotional and Cognitive Influences

Emotions and cognitive patterns also play significant roles. Anxiety, a common experience among neuro-divergent individuals, can mask hunger or thirst cues, making it harder to recognise and respond appropriately.

Additionally, rigid thinking patterns or routines, often seen with autism spectrum, might dictate eating schedules and behaviours more than actual bodily needs.

Strategies for Support

Understanding these challenges opens the door to effective strategies and support mechanisms:

  1. Routine and structure: Establishing regular eating and drinking schedules can help bypass the need to rely on internal cues. Setting alarms or reminders can ensure that meals and hydration are not overlooked.
  2. Mindful eating practices: Encouraging mindful eating, where individuals pay close attention to the sensory experiences of eating and drinking, can help in recognising subtle signals of hunger and fullness.
  3. Sensory-friendly options: Offering foods and beverages that align with an individual’s sensory preferences can make the experience of eating and drinking more enjoyable and less overwhelming. This is a really important aspect!
  4. Environmental adjustments: Creating a calm, distraction-free eating environment can help individuals focus more on their bodily cues rather than external stimuli.
  5. Education and awareness: Educating neuro-divergent individuals about the importance of regular nourishment and hydration, and how their unique experiences might affect this, can empower them to develop healthier habits. This is, of course, more a longer term strategy.

Understanding the complex interplay between neuro-divergence and bodily signals underscores the importance of personalised approaches and compassionate support.

By acknowledging and addressing these challenges, we can help neurodivergent individuals achieve better health and well-being!

(this post was created using some information from ChatGPT in addition to our own research)

Exercise, Sleep

New evidence on body clock and depression

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Researchers found something relevant to people with depression while working on something else (original article at Independent.co.uk, tnx Andrew for the link).

In a nutshell, what they found was that people with severe depression had their body clock out of whack: they were essentially living in a different timezone. I don’t think it’s actually news to us, I wrote about this and it being the equivalent of jetlag in the BlueHackers HowTo. But, I do think it’s interesting in the sense that at least in the cases the researchers encountered, for people with severe depression there was a genetic cause. We like to know why things are the way they are, so this new info can help in that respect.

Modern life, in particular with the type of work many of us do, makes it really easy to stuff up your day and night rhythm, and also your eating pattern which is actually related to this as well. Getting your day/night, daylight and food intake patterns right is generally a very important base. Not for everybody, but I think definitely for most of us. And while some of these things might still be hard for some, they’re relatively easy steps compared to others. It’s worth a try and they’re also specifically things you can get external help with – you can get a friend to come by for a walk at a specific time of day, or go get a meal.

Once the new pattern is trained (can take up to three months but often it’s much sooner) you’ll find it much easier to stick to, and also that other tasks become easier.

Mind you, I’m very aware that this is still easier said than done – I have my own company arranged in such a way that it doesn’t create nasty work hours, but I also have a family and thus in the mayhem (or even just because of the weather) I sometimes lose (some of) the pattern for a while. But, I’m now aware of it and that does make a difference already – it’s easier to fix. Typically my food pattern stays ok, but the morning walk loses out (by the way, it may be an afternoon walk that works best for you).

Do you know what’s messed with my morning walk lately? The city council has closed off a footbridge crossing a creek (storm damage), and that was the only way through in that particular direction. I can create other walking loops but they’re less convenient for several reasons – I’ve walked some but it feels less comfortable. I’m generally ok with change but it’s funny how this is just very disruptive!

How do day/night, exercise and food patterns work for you, and how have you tweaked them to work better for you? Please tell, it will help others.

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Healthy eating (unprocessed foods)

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The following is from BBC News site: Depression link to processed food

After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in future depression risk with the different diets.

Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who at the least whole foods.

By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of depression than those who ate very few processed foods.

Not really surprising (to me, anyway) but interesting to see some research on this. And the difference is quite significant.