Background: 'Interoception' involves the sense of internal bodily processes, including respiratory and cardiac activity, as well as emotional sensations. Maladaptive interoception can develop after traumatic life experiences, sometimes contributing to poor mental health. Physical exercise and mindful body-based activities are thought to improve interoception. Trauma-informed ways to notice bodily sensations have been incorporated into Outdoor Education sessions at Afon Goch Children’s Homes Ltd., with instructors successfully engaging children in numerous Interoceptive Awareness Opportunities (IAOs). One IAO guided children to notice their pulse in different parts of their body after cycling. The present study aims to empirically validate this exemplary IAO using well-operationalised variables.
Protocol: Adult participants (N = 80) were assigned to interoceptive or exteroceptive between-subjects condition. At baseline, Heartbeat Evoked Potentials (HEP) measured the cortical processing of the heartbeat during 2 minutes of internal focus and cardiac interoceptive accuracy was assessed using a Heartbeat Discrimination Task (HBDT). Participants exercised on a cycling ergometer under light or vigorous physical exertion intensities (within-subjects ~1 week apart). The interoceptive condition participants were guided to attend to their pulse in their chest, hands, feet, head, stomach and legs for 20 seconds each. The exteroceptive condition participants focused on a screen and located pulsing shapes. HEP and HBDT measures were gathered again when their heartrate returned to within 10% of baseline. Psychometric data was obtained regarding emotions, trauma, interoceptive awareness and exercise.
Hypotheses: Vigorous physical exercise and interoceptive attentional focus are expected to have the greatest impact on post-exercise interoception measures [pending data analysis].