Interoception
Sensing from within
Interoception is the ability to notice internal body signals, including heartbeat, breathing, tension, and other felt changes.
The science behind InteroHB
Why interoception matters
Interoception is your ability to sense signals coming from inside your body, such as heartbeat, breathing, tension, and internal activation.
This page explains the concepts behind InteroHB: interoception, heartbeat awareness, scoring dimensions, and the research that inspired the app.
Overview
The short version
Better interoception can support self-awareness and a clearer understanding of what is happening inside your body. InteroHB uses heartbeat awareness because it gives the practice a concrete signal to notice and compare.
Calibration
Compare felt vs actual
Calibration compares your felt estimate with the monitor reading, giving you a practical way to reflect on accuracy over time.
Context
Conditions matter
Internal awareness can feel different depending on the moment, so context helps explain patterns across sessions.
The Interoceptive Index
What the app measures
By performing the Sense exercise, users receive an awareness score called the Interoceptive Index based on the core dimensions below.
Core dimensions
Calibration
How close your estimate is to the actual value
Bias
Whether you tend to underestimate or overestimate
Consistency
Whether your awareness is stable across repeated sessions
Context breadth
Whether the skill carries across different situations
Why context matters
Awareness in one situation does not always transfer automatically to another. You may read your body well while resting, but less accurately under caffeine, after movement, or in other changing conditions.
InteroHB is designed to help make those differences visible, so training becomes more personalized and more meaningful.
Transparency
Sources & Methodology
InteroHB is designed for general wellness, self-awareness, and practice with in-app exercises. It is not a medical device, does not provide medical advice, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or monitor any disease or medical condition. Heart rate values are provided by Apple Watch or the connected Bluetooth heart rate device.
Methodology
How InteroHB uses heart rate data
InteroHB uses heart rate values from Apple Watch or a connected Bluetooth heart rate device during practice sessions. Heart rate can vary naturally based on movement, posture, breathing, stress, sleep, hydration, medication, fitness level, and other factors. InteroHB uses this information only to support reflection during in-app exercises.
Methodology
Sense methodology
Sense sessions compare the user's estimated heartbeat or heart rate with the measured value from Apple Watch or the connected heart rate device. The resulting score is app-specific and reflects performance within the exercise only. It should not be interpreted as a clinical measurement or medical assessment.
Methodology
Flow methodology
Flow sessions help users observe how their heartbeat and heart rate change over a period of time. Flow-related scores are based on session patterns within the app, such as consistency, estimation accuracy, and changes observed during the exercise. These scores are app-specific and are intended only for wellness reflection and practice.
Methodology
Interoceptive Index methodology
The Interoceptive Index is an app-specific wellness score based on patterns across completed sessions, including heartbeat estimation accuracy, consistency over time, and session context. It is designed to summarize practice trends within InteroHB. It is not a medical score, diagnostic score, clinical assessment, or measure of disease risk.
Sources
References and supporting links
- American Heart AssociationTarget Heart Rates / Heart Rate Basics
- CDCMeasuring Physical Activity Intensity
- Bluetooth SIGHeart Rate Service Specification
- Garfinkel et al.Interoceptive dimensions across cardiac and respiratory axes
- Brener & RingTowards a psychophysics of interoceptive processes
- Kandasamy et al.Interoceptive Ability Predicts Survival on a London Trading Floor
These sources are provided to support general educational information about heart rate, Apple Watch and Bluetooth heart rate data, and interoception research. InteroHB's in-app scores are proprietary, app-specific wellness scores and are not clinical or diagnostic measures.