In the January blog post, we discussed interoception—the conscious experience of internal bodily states. Learning to listen to these signals may help us modulate how we perceive, anticipate, and interpret them. But how can we practice this? It sounds very interesting, but what exactly should we do if we want to improve our interoceptive skills?
Below, we propose four simple exercises that can help develop interoceptive ability:
1. Dynamic Heartbeat Perception
Traditionally, cardiac interoception has been assessed through the heartbeat tracking task, where individuals attempt to count their heartbeats over a specific period without using any external aids. However, recent studies suggest that this task may be influenced by reporting biases or expectations about heart rate, rather than accurately reflecting true heartbeat perception.
A more contemporary approach involves training dynamic heartbeat perception—that is, focusing attention not only on the number of beats but on spontaneous variations in their frequency and strength across the respiratory cycle. For example, noticing slight acceleration during inhalation and deceleration during exhalation, a phenomenon known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
This type of attention may help better attune the brain to the real integration of visceral afferent signals and predictive models, rather than relying solely on cognitive estimations of average heart rate. Moreover, since heartbeat strength typically decreases during inhalation (when the heart beats faster but individual beats become less perceptible), training this perception may enhance sensitivity to subtle interoceptive changes, which are relevant in conditions such as anxiety or psychosomatic disorders (Larsson DEO et al., 2021).
How to practice it:
- Sit quietly in a peaceful environment; optionally, place one hand lightly on your chest or abdomen to facilitate connection with breathing.
- Observe the sensations of your heartbeat and breathing simultaneously for 1–2 minutes.
- Try to notice whether the perception of your heartbeat changes as you inhale and exhale: does it become faster, fainter, or stronger?
- The goal is not to count the heartbeats, but to detect qualitative variations in sensation.
- Afterwards, if desired, compare your perceptions with a real-time heart rate recording (e.g., using a heart rate variability monitor).
This approach trains not only interoceptive accuracy but also dynamic interoceptive sensitivity, a key dimension in understanding the relationship between bodily signals and emotional states.
2. Awareness of Visceral Signals After Eating or Drinking
After consuming food or drink, one can practice directing attention to the internal sensations that arise: gastric distension, temperature, satiety, urge to urinate, and so on. This kind of attention helps develop visceral interoceptive awareness, which is usually less accessible than cardiac or respiratory interoception.
Moreover, it may be especially useful in clinical contexts such as functional abdominal pain or eating disorders, where the relationship with visceral or gastric processes may be significantly altered (Datta N et al., 2021).
3. Ocular Proprioception
The eyes are among the most complex and sensitive organs of the human body. To ensure their protection, they exhibit greater sensitivity to changes in both internal and external states compared to other body parts.
Furthermore, ocular physiological variables (such as intraocular pressure) are closely linked to systemic variables like blood pressure (Yasukawa T et al., 2022), making the eyes an excellent interoceptive reference. Studies have shown a direct relationship between extraocular muscle activity and intraocular pressure in animal models (Hofer RE et al., 1995). Based on these findings, it has been proposed that ocular proprioceptive exercises, by activating extraocular muscles, could modulate both ocular and even systemic physiological variables.
Simultaneously observing ocular and bodily sensations during these exercises could provide an excellent interoceptive training opportunity.
Examples of exercises:
- With eyes closed, inhale through the mouth—imagine directing the air toward the eyes, filling the eyeballs and causing them to protrude slightly from their sockets. Exhale through the mouth or nose—relax the eyes and allow the air to flow back outward.
- With eyes closed, inhale—concentrate on drawing the eyeballs inward into the sockets, as if moving them toward the back of the head. Exhale—relax the eyes and gently grow taller from the crown of the head, making a slight chin-tuck movement.
- With eyes closed, inhale and exhale while rotating your head fully to the left, accompanied by moving the eyes in the same direction. Inhale again—keep the head rotated while moving the eyes in the opposite direction (to the right). Exhale—return the gaze to the left, slightly increasing cervical rotation. Repeat 3 times on each side.
- With eyes closed, perform large circles with the gaze to the left, gradually shifting ocular position with each circle until reaching maximum ocular rotation to the left. This should take about 2 respiratory cycles. Pause after the last exhalation. Return the gaze to center without breath. Inhale and repeat the process to the right.
4. Body-Scan
Originating from the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program, this exercise involves systematically bringing attention to different areas of the body (for example, from the feet to the head), observing sensations such as temperature, muscle tension, or skin contact (Gan R et al., 2022).
The goal is not to change anything, but to observe with curiosity and without judgment. This practice improves overall interoceptive awareness and may modulate brain networks involved in emotional and autonomic regulation.
These exercises not only promote a deeper connection with the body’s internal states but may also help reorganize the way the nervous system interprets, predicts, and regulates these states. In people with chronic illnesses, training interoception could open up a complementary therapeutic pathway, helping the predictive system to better adapt to distorted internal signals. Moreover, simply listening to the body as a deliberate practice becomes a small but meaningful step with therapeutic potential.
- Larsson DEO, Esposito G, Critchley HD, Dienes Z, Garfinkel SN. Sensitivity to changes in rate of heartbeats as a measure of interoceptive ability. J Neurophysiol. 2021 Nov 1;126(5):1799-1813. doi: 10.1152/jn.00059.2021. Epub 2021 Oct 20. PMID: 34669507.
- Datta N, Bidopia T, Datta S, Mittal G, Alphin F, Herbert BM, Marsh EJ, Fitzsimons GJ, Strauman TJ, Zucker NL. Internal states and interoception along a spectrum of eating disorder symptomology. Physiol Behav. 2021 Mar 1;230:113307. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113307. Epub 2020 Dec 26. PMID: 33373691.
- Yasukawa T, Hanyuda A, Yamagishi K, Yuki K, Uchino M, Ozawa Y, Sasaki M, Tsubota K, Sawada N, Negishi K, Tsugane S, Iso H. Relationship between blood pressure and intraocular pressure in the JPHC-NEXT eye study. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 19;12(1):17493. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22301-1. PMID: 36261671; PMCID: PMC9582013.
- Hofer RE, Lanier WL, Iaizzo PA. The temporal relationship between intraocular pressure and extraocular muscle activation in cats. Pflugers Arch. 1995 Sep;430(5):779-86. doi: 10.1007/BF00386176. PMID: 7478933.
- Gan R, Zhang L, Chen S. The effects of body scan meditation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2022 Aug;14(3):1062-1080. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12366. Epub 2022 May 10. PMID: 35538557.