Having a “gut feeling” isn’t just folklore, you’re literally feeling things from your
gut, and also other organs.
Yup, it’s pretty nifty!
Hey everyone!
Amy with you on DNews today.
And I’ve got a feeling you’re going to like this episode, and odds are my gut is
right on that.
So let’s start with the gut part of the whole gut feeling thing.
It’s kinda gross to think about, but our bodies are teeming with bacteria - this is
the microbiome you’ve probably heard about.
Most of those bacteria live in the gastrointestinal tract, what we colloquially refer to as the
gut.
These bacteria regulate digestion and metabolism, extract vitamins and nutrients from food,
and program the body’s immune system.
But there’s so much more going on!
This complex bacterial ecosystem has prompted the gut to evolve a complex neural network
called the enteric nervous system,3 which is so ridiculously sophisticated it’s sometimes
called the second brain.4 This network of over 100 million neurons can even function
when it loses connection to the brain!34
And the gut-brain connection goes both ways.
Gut bacteria produce neurochemicals that regulate basic physiological and mental processes,
influencing things like memory and mood.4And the brain affects the microbiome; psychological
stress can suppress certain helpful bacteria making you more likely to get sick.3
This two-way communication is part of a larger network of inter-body talk.
The brain connecting to the gut through neural networks, and also your ability to recognize
this connection, is an example of something called interoception.
This is a sense of self-identity beyond knowing what self-help books call “the real you.”
It’s the sensing of physiological signals that originate within the body and carry information
to the brain: things like body temperature, breathlessness, and heart rate that ultimately
give you an indication of states like hunger, thirst, pain, and anxiety.
Whether we’re consciously aware that our body is sending these signals, they happen,
particularly when we’re making risky decisions.
They send information to the brain and affect the way we make decisions, so what you think
of as a “gut feeling” is actually you responding to those subtle cues.
A recent study from the University of Cambridge took interoception into the real world and
looked at its role in successful financial trading, a career notorious for acting on
“gut instincts.”
The researchers measured 18 male traders’ abilities to detect subtle changes in their
physiological state by a heartbeat detection test: how well they could count their own
resting heart rate without using a pulse point.
Admittedly this is a small sample size, but these 18 men were better able to count their
heart rate than non-traders, and within the group those with a higher score were also
better traders who survived longer in the financial world, earning more money than their
less body-aware peers.
So in this case, interoceptive ability does correlate to good decisions in a risky environment.
But correlation isn’t causation.
Just because you can pretty accurately measure your heart rate doesn’t mean you will make
millions trading.
Other interoceptive studies have found people’s ability to detect their heart rate increases
during times of stress, so the correlation from traders could just be an awareness honed
from years in the industry.
But it’s also the case that professionals practised in a field can manage their stress
better, so traders might not be experiencing the stress reaction of an increased heart
rate.
Or it could be something totally different.
Maybe successful traders with money use their downtime to work out, which could help develop
keener sense of body awareness.
In any case, the results do show a link between better body awareness to interoceptive cues
and good decisions in risky environments.
So maybe there’s something to be said for trusting your gut.
And speaking of guts, our guts do a lot more for us than we think.
Want to know more?
Trace has a video all about how scientists can actually program our gut bacteria to fight
harmful infections.
Check it out here.
So how many of you guys tend to go with your gut?
Let us know in the comments below, don’t forget to like this video, and subscribe so
you never miss an episode of DNews.