Perception of One's Own Body: Babies Feel their Heartbeat and Breathing

Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise to our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important because they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. Until now, however, little was known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals.

A study by the Vienna Children’s Study Lab at the University of Vienna shows that babies as young as 3 months old can perceive their own heartbeat. In addition, the team, led by researchers from the University of Vienna and working with colleagues from the University of Potsdam and Royal Holloway University of London, also investigated for the first time the perception of their own breathing by infants and observed developments during the first two years of life. The results were published in the journal eLife.

How Babies Recognize Bodily Signals

The perception of internal bodily signals (also known as interoception) refers to the ability to notice and classify signals from within one’s own body, such as hunger, thirst, heartbeat, breathing, pain, tension, or temperature, and is closely linked to emotional awareness, mental health, and self-perception. In addition, the development of self-awareness and identity depends in part on the perception and experience of one’s own body. For example, those who perceive inner restlessness, palpitations, or tightness in the chest are more likely to interpret these sensations as anxiety or stress and regulate them accordingly. Well-developed interoception is therefore considered an important basis for emotion regulation and mental health, while impairments are associated with disorders such as anxiety, depression, or psychosomatic complaints.

In young years, the ability to perceive one’s own body signals can be particularly important, as it often forms the basis for interaction with caregivers—for example, babies depend on their caregivers to respond appropriately to signs of hunger or discomfort. Even in early childhood, the perception of body signals plays a central role. Infants are not yet able to express their needs verbally and depend on caregivers to correctly interpret their physical signals—such as crying, motor restlessness, or changes in muscle tone—and respond to them sensitively. These repeated experiences of “matching” between one’s own physical state and external reactions contribute to the development of a basic sense of security and self-efficacy. The child learns implicitly: My body sends signals, and these signals have meaning.

As development progresses, awareness of one’s own body becomes increasingly integrated into self-perception. Physical experiences help children to distinguish between themselves and their environment and to develop a stable body schema. Through movement, touch, and physical feedback, they develop a sense of where their body begins and ends. These processes are closely linked to the development of self-awareness and identity, as the body is a central reference point for experiencing one’s own self.

In addition, the perception of internal bodily signals also influences social interactions. Children who are better able to perceive their physical and emotional states are often better able to communicate them or respond appropriately to social situations. Conversely, early experiences of disregard or misinterpretation of physical signals can lead to a weakened or distorted access to one’s own sensations, which can have long-term effects on self-image, relationship skills, and emotional regulation.

How Early Body Awareness is Related to the Development of Emotional and Social Skills

The study shows that babies as young as 3 months old can perceive their own heartbeat and that this ability remains relatively stable during the first two years of life. At the same time, the results suggest that the perception of breathing improves significantly during the second year of life. Interestingly, the ability to perceive heartbeat and breathing does not seem to be related to each other – similar to adults.

Measuring body awareness in babies is challenging because, unlike adults, one cannot simply rely on verbal reports. Therefore, the research team used innovative methods by tracking the eye movements of infants as they watched child-friendly characters. These characters moved either in sync with the child’s heartbeat or breathing, or with a slight time delay. The results showed that babies recognize the correspondence between their own heartbeat or breathing rhythm and the animated figures at an early age. They looked at the screen longer when the figures were synchronized than when they were delayed. “The babies must have recognized that the characters were moving at the same time as their heartbeat or breathing, and then paid more attention,” said the study’s lead author, Markus Tünte from the University of Vienna.

These findings open up exciting perspectives for future developmental psychology research. In particular, it is important to investigate how early body awareness is related to the development of emotional and social skills and what role parents play in shaping early body perception. In the long term, such research could be used to promote healthy body awareness and thus the mental health of children.