Short read: HSPs and exercise

Lucy Newport • March 26, 2025

Reading time: 1 min

Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections - my honest, heartfelt emails to support your binge eating recovery as a highly sensitive woman.



Most women in binge eating recovery have a challenging relationship with exercise.


And as a Highly Sensitive Person, it’s likely there are extra layers of complexity for you…


Maybe you’ve really pushed yourself in the past, exercising in ways that were
 too intense for you and further disconnected you from your body, all in the name of weight loss. 


Perhaps you feel guilty that you don’t do certain types of exercise simply because they don’t feel good to you. 


Or maybe thoughts about how you “should” be exercising stop you from moving your body as much. 


If so, there’s
a recent piece of research into HSPs and their relationships with exercise that you might find insightful… 


The researchers found from those who took part (students and employees at a university in the USA, mostly female) that HSPs are just as likely to exercise as anyone else, but that they prefer less intense exercise. 


And that makes absolute sense knowing what we know about HSPs ✨


It’s just one small study, but it totally resonates with me. 


How about you?


If so, I hope knowing this helps you to quieten the “but I should be…” thoughts, and enjoy moving your body the ways you like to! 





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