Interoception is your perception of the signals coming from within your own body. Your brain's connect to everything in your body, and the communication is bi-directional. Being able to perceive the signals your body is sending you is an instinct you're born with, and also a skill you can train through [[Meditation]] and [[Mindfulness & Now|mindfullness]]. Better interoception is associated with lower levels of depression, lower [[Anxiety]], better access to your [[Emotional Algorithms]] and the chance to recognize [[Emotional Decisions]] for what they are (note: this doesn't mean "avoid them"), amongst other benefits (see: [[Day Trading Interoceptors]]). It makes intuitive sense that you understanding the signals your body is sending you would set you up for a better life. People with poor interoception don't have a good vocabulary for describing their inner state. They are "good", or "bad". They can't go very far in describing _how_ they feel. Those who have a better perception of and understanding of the signals coming from within can say they are feeling "energized" or "insecure". # Improving Interroception You can train your interroceptive abilities and actually make meaningful improvements. Techniques: - [[Meditation]] - particularly the kind with body scanning - Naming your emotions, very descriptively - Biofeedback training - guessing your heart rate, then checking # Interoception Test There are a couple of ways, they both deal with your heart. 1. Count your heartbeat, not using your hand. 2. Estimate your heart _rate_, then check it. **** ## Source - [[Huberman Labs]] - [[Do Hard Things]] ## Related - [[Emotional Algorithms]] - [[Presence]]