Interoception-anyone else?

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Two things I struggle with- knowing when I'm full up , and not drinking enough. It has to be really obvious sometimes before I'll drink i.e dry mouth/headache/ nausea etc .

Have felt quite light-headed recently and urine has been rather strong .

I experience the same so far as not drinking enough, and the subsequent dry mouth, nausea, headache from dehydration. I'm trying to improve my intake by keeping a water bottle with me more often, both at home and when I travel. I don't generally have the same issues in regard food intake(I'm careful, and don't like to overdo ... I sense my limit, and like to feel comfortable). But, I can understand how this could be quite a problem if you're not receiving the message that you're full.

This is a medical condition. Cholecystokinin (CCK) is produced in the upper small bowel in response to food and gives a feeling of fullness. It is released soon after food reaches the small bowel. Researchers have found CCK can stop a mouse from eating as soon as it’s injected into the brain.

Ghrelin is known as a "hunger hormone." When your stomach is empty, it releases ghrelin, which sends a message to the hypothalamus telling you to eat (49Trusted Source).

My advice: Keep a water jug filled fresh each day and make an effort to drink from it regularly.
Food intake-wise, be aware of portion and calorie intake where possible for your health's sake, if you notice this is causing you health issues.

Normally, ghrelin levels are highest before eating and lowest about an hour after you've had a meal.

However, in overweight and obese people(not saying that you're overweight, firemonkey, but this can be linked to such issues), fasting ghrelin levels are often lower than in people of normal weight (50Trusted Source, 51Trusted Source).

Studies have also shown that after obese people eat a meal, ghrelin only decreases slightly. Because of this, the hypothalamus doesn't receive as strong of a signal to stop eating, which can lead to overeating (52).

Here are a few tips to improve the function of ghrelin:

Sugar: Avoid high-fructose corn syrup and sugar-sweetened drinks, which can impair ghrelin response after meals (53Trusted Source, 54Trusted Source).
Protein: Eating protein at every meal, especially breakfast, can reduce ghrelin levels and promote satiety (55Trusted Source, 56Trusted Source, 57Trusted Source, 58Trusted Source).

Bottom Line:
Eating plenty of protein and avoiding foods and beverages high in sugar can help optimize ghrelin levels.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9- ... t-hormones

Further research ....

What do we know about Interoception and Autism?

As with other sensory systems, the interoceptive system can be impacted in individuals with autism. To date, only two research studies have examined the interoceptive experience of individuals with autism*. Both have found the participants with autism to have significantly lower awareness of their interoceptive signals. Although a great deal more research is needed in order to have a full understanding, these two studies confirm the numerous personal experiences reported by individuals with autism.

For example, Chloe Rothschild, a 22-year old with autism reports:

‘I did not realize I had trouble feeling my internal body signals, as I had never heard of interoception before November 2014, but when I did, everything started to make sense. That is, difficulties with interoception help to clarify why I have such a hard time pinpointing my symptoms when I am not feeling well, why sometimes I seem to eat snack after snack without feeling full and why I get upset/anxious/overwhelmed so quickly, because I don’t feel it until I’m already far into the storm of the discomfort and frustration.’

Hollis, an 18-year old with autism reports:

‘I went and got a plate of food thinking that I was hungry. I wasn’t hungry. I was bored. My body was not giving me clear signals, so I did not know what I was feeling. There have been many instances of this growing up. After learning about interoception, I started working on feeling my heart beat. I would lie in bed every night with my hand on my heart. It took about six months for me to feel my heart beat consistently. Interoception has been an important concept for my personal development as a teen with HF-ASD. Being able to receive clear internal signals has allowed me to be more successful in all areas of my life.’

What can be done to improve interoception?

The good news is that interoception can be improved. Mahler provides an entire chapter filled with practical and easy-to-use strategies that target the development of Interoceptive Awareness (which is the ability to both notice & give meaning to internal sensations). Also included is an entire chapter dedicated to the assessment of Interoceptive Awareness.

Could interoception be a missing link in the field of autism? The evidence suggests so. Interoception: The Eighth Sensory System provides a thorough opener to this important conversation.

*Fiene, L., & Brownlow, C. (2015). Investigating interoception and body awareness in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research. Doi:10.1002/aur.1486

Garfinkel, S.N., Tiley, C., O’Keeffe, S., Harrison, N.A., Seth, A.K., & Critchley, H.D. (2016). Discrepancies between dimensions of interoception in autism: implications for emotion and anxiety. Biological psychology, 114, 117-126.
Source: https://autismawarenesscentre.com/what-is-interoception-and-how-does-it-impact-autism/

Thanks for that informative reply. The feeling your heartbeat comment is interesting . I've never been able to feel mine.

You're welcome, firemonkey. Yes, that IS interesting about the heartbeat and that you can "learn" to feel it, over time. I'm learning along with you, thanks to your questions.

I seem to have the opposite problem regarding hunger. I have a small appetite, can’t eat too much at once or my body refuses to swallow. I’d probably do much better with 4-5 small meals/snacks throughout the day than with the usual 2-3 big meals because I can’t eat enough at once to keep me full between breakfast/lunch/dinner. I also have a short time period where I actually feel the urge to eat, if I wait too long I don’t want to eat anymore.

I'd never heard of this before, so I went and did some reading about it last night. Interesting stuff, thanks for the post.

But to answer your question, yup. I think this is something that has been problematic for me in life. From not knowing that I am hungry, full or thirsty, to not recognizing bodily clues about emotion until it's too late...that's been me for years. I mean, it's gotten better over the last ten years or so, in part because of trying to practice mindfulness, but I haven't come close to mastering that and still have plenty of oops moments.

I had no idea this was a thing. Seriously, thanks for the post.

I eat too much. And I drink too much.

I guess you will need to buy more packets of Hawaiian Punch, Firemonkey

I percieve any sensation whatsoever in my stomach to be ravenous hunger. This is a problem.

I barely drink water and I think I'm probably very dehydrated, it's just very hard to remember. My appetite is weird because it sort of switches on and off. I often can tell if I am hungry but there will be weeks every now and again where I feel nothing and just forget to eat.

Interoception is certainly a new concept to me. But it does go a long way to explain what we are dealing with being on the autistic spectrum.

I never actually feel hungry but have learned to eat at certain times and its become a habit. And obviously I have had trouble drinking enough water most of my life. I have recently begun drinking more water and feel much better. I am now drinking around a half gallon/2 liters of water per day.

Something else I have trouble with is if I am too hot or too cold. Like if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to really concentrate to determine if I have too much or too little blankets on and is that the reason I woke up? I have gone so far as to document what combination of bed coverings I have slept well with in summer and in winter so I can put them on again a year later.

My introception is so sensitive, if I'm a bit of a worrier, I'd be a hypochondriac or complaining about something for every minute or less.

Too sensitive... And unregulated.
As much as I get to figure which is which and why, I also disregard a lot of it as if it's some annoyance.
It never helps that I could just suddenly change after a nap or sleep.
Or consuming something. Or by standing and sitting in some way. Or by literally passing time.


As for eating and drinking, lack of routines or at least lack of order at home never helped.
Even during the lockdowns, there were days I'd forget to eat.

Like emotions, I tend to fight most internal sensations like an annoying notification.

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