Does Long-Term Training in a Water Immersion Environment Change Interoception?

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Sports Science
• Psychology

Background:

• Interoception, the sense of the internal state of the body, is crucial for self-awareness and regulation.
• Athletic training may influence sensorimotor integration and interoceptive abilities.
• Understanding interoception in athletes is important for optimizing performance and well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate individual interoception in swimmers and baseball players compared to controls.
• To examine interoceptive responses (accuracy, sensibility, awareness) during water immersion.
• To explore the relationship between interoception, heart rate, and attention regulation.

Main Methods:

• Forty-eight male university students (athletes and controls) underwent 25-minute water immersion at 35°C.
• Interoceptive accuracy (IAcc), sensibility, awareness, and heart rate were measured pre-, during, and post-immersion.
• The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) was used to assess attention regulation.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in interoceptive accuracy were found between athlete groups and controls.
• Heart rate decreased significantly post-water immersion compared to pre-immersion.
• Interoceptive accuracy increased post-water immersion, showing a negative correlation with heart rate changes.
• Attention regulation and not-distracting subscales of MAIA correlated with interoceptive accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Long-term athletic training, involving multi-modal sensorimotor integration, did not lead to differences in interoception compared to non-athletes.
• Water immersion can enhance interoceptive accuracy and is associated with reduced heart rate.
• Interoception appears robust across different athletic disciplines and non-athletes, suggesting a fundamental human capacity.