If you close your eyes and focus on your body, can you feel your heartbeat without touching your chest or checking your pulse? Can you do the same with your eyes open? This ability is a quick measure of your skill in “interoception.”
Interoception is the capacity to sense your internal states, such as sensations from your inner organs and muscles, which includes an awareness of your heartbeat. Many people find it hard to detect their heartbeat or can only do it with difficulty, indicating less developed interoceptive skills. Others can easily sense their heartbeat, showing a higher level of interoceptive ability.
Interoception is a term that’s not widely known. I’ve mentioned it often in my teaching, and there’s almost always someone who hasn’t encountered it before. However, you’ll likely hear it more in the future as we understand that poor interoception has significant drawbacks.
Not being able to sense your body’s internal states affects your emotional regulation. Imagine driving a car without a fuel gauge; you’d often run out of fuel because you wouldn’t have that vital information. Similarly, if you can’t detect your body’s signals until they’re very strong, you can’t regulate your emotions well. Noticing you’re anxious only when you’re very anxious hampers your ability to stay calm. Detecting these signals earlier allows you to take action sooner.
Low interoceptive ability is linked to depression. In one study, women with depression showed lower performance on a heartbeat test compared to a control group. Additionally, those with poorer heartbeat detection reported fewer positive feelings in their lives, which complicates decision-making. Decisions often rely on how we feel, and if we can’t detect our feelings, making good decisions becomes harder. This could lead to trusting untrustworthy people or choosing unsuitable jobs.
A personal anecdote: my partner, who struggles with anxiety, found it hard to feel her heartbeat. I suspect that some people may only feel their heartbeat when anxious, which makes them misinterpret their heartbeat as a sign of something wrong, leading to more anxiety. However, individuals with anxiety disorders typically notice interoceptive signals more acutely, which they might misread as abnormal signs, perpetuating anxiety.
Meditation, especially in the Buddhist tradition, emphasizes body awareness and can enhance interoception. Many meditators, including myself, report heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations through meditation. This shift is like going from a black-and-white drawing to a full-color image of the body.
For instance, a 2010 study published in Emotion involved experienced meditators, professional dancers, and a control group. Participants watched emotional film clips while researchers measured their physiological responses. The meditators’ self-reported feelings most closely matched their physiological states, suggesting that meditation improves internal awareness.
More recently, a 2021 study in The Lancet explored interoception training’s effects on autistic adults with persistent anxiety. Typically, people with autism struggle with interoceptive tasks, like counting heartbeats, and may overemphasize the sensations they do experience. The training helped participants improve their heartbeat detection, which in turn enhanced their ability to interpret and regulate internal signals. Remarkably, three months later, 31% of participants no longer had an anxiety disorder.
This shows interoception can be learned and significantly impacts well-being. Many mindfulness practices focus narrowly on breath sensations, which only slightly aids interoception. My approach encourages awareness of the entire body’s breathing sensations, helping to notice usually ignored subtler signals.
The meditation practice that accompanies my book, “This Difficult Thing of Being Human,” helps you sense the whole body breathing. Trying this can reveal how you interact with these internal sensations.
My experience in healthcare supports the article’s points. Bodhipaksa’s writing uses science transparently, balancing data emphasis well. It inspired me to revisit articles on how the heart regulates and synchronizes with its environment, provoking thoughts on group meditation’s effects and social interactions. Surrounding ourselves with emotionally skilled, compassionate people can foster wisdom.
This article introduced me to “interoception,” and it now makes sense that my ability to feel my heartbeat without special attention relates to my long-term meditation practice. This habit likely helps me monitor my body and mental states automatically.
I appreciate the insightful article, Bodhipaksa.