Exploring Individual Differences in Interoception Among Athletes Based on a Three‐Dimensional Construct of Interoception

ABSTRACT

Previous studies demonstrated that sensorimotor training enhances interoceptive abilities. Athletes are highly engaged in performance‐driven physical training and often incorporate—to varying degrees—sensorimotor training into their routines. In this study, we investigated the role of individual differences in interoception by comparing professional athletes of different performance levels and both sexes with recreational athletes and controls, applying a three‐dimensional model of interoception. Twenty‐six elite athletes, 52 recreational athletes, and 50 college students were recruited from national sports teams, local sports training centers, and local universities. We used the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoperative Awareness (MAIA), the Heartbeat Detecting Task (HDT), and a numeric rating scale based on HDT to measure interoceptive sensibility, accuracy, and awareness. At average, athletes showed significantly higher interoceptive sensibility, interoceptive accuracy, and interoceptive awareness than controls. Elite athletes reported significantly higher scores in all measures of interception compared to recreational athletes. Intriguingly, Non‐Distracting for interoceptive sensibility was positively correlated with the level of experience in elite athletes. Male athletes had better interoceptive sensibility and interoceptive awareness compared to female athletes in the elite group, while no significant sex differences were detected in the other two groups. These results indicated that level of sport experience and sex are associated with differences in interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and interoceptive awareness. It also suggests that interoceptive ability is possibly an experience‐dependent trait for athletic performance, which provides insight for improving sports performance through an approach of enhancing interoceptive ability.