Heartbeat perception accuracy, a measure of interoceptive ability linked to physical and psychological health and emotional awareness, can be improved through intensive contemplative mental training. In a 9-month study with three training modules targeting attention, socio-affective, and socio-cognitive skills, participants showed small but significant increases in heartbeat perception accuracy after 6 and 9 months of practice. These improvements were associated with and predicted increases in emotional awareness. The findings indicate that meaningful changes in interoceptive accuracy require longer practice than typical 8-week mindfulness courses, and such training may offer pathways to enhance health.
A 3-month contemplative intervention involving daily Body Scan and Breath Meditation improved five of eight measured aspects of interoceptive body awareness (IA) in 148 participants, compared to a retest control group. The strongest improvements occurred in regulatory aspects—how the body is used for self-regulation in daily life—while the Noticing aspect (awareness of bodily changes) showed no significant change. Participants with low baseline IA changed most. Practice duration weakly predicted individual differences, but liking the practices and integrating them into daily life predicted changes on most scales. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) questionnaire, tested in a German version with 1,076 participants, showed good reliability and validity.