Interoception is about understanding the internal body signals that can influence how learners in a classroom feel, regulate, respond, and participate throughout the school day. While many educators are familiar with external sensory experiences like hearing, seeing, or touch, interoception focuses on what is happening inside the body – signals related to hunger, thirst, fatigue, discomfort, excitement, nervousness, energy levels, and emotional states. These internal sensations shape how students experience the classroom environment, yet every learner notices and interprets those signals differently. Understanding interoception can help educators and therapists move beyond simply viewing behaviours at surface level and instead become more curious about what a learner may be experiencing internally.
As part of the 2026 Inclusive Classrooms Summit, occupational therapist Anna Vander Haeghe, a self-proclaimed “interoception-guru”, shared more information about interoception and why understanding internal body signals can completely shift how we support learners.
What Is Interoception?
Anna explains that to understand interoception, we first need to understand sensory processing and sensory integration.
Most of us grow up learning about the five external senses – hearing, seeing, taste, touch, smell. These senses gather information from outside the body.
However, we also have three additional internal senses that help us understand what is happening within our bodies:
- The vestibular system: our balance and movement sense. Sense organs in the inner ear detect movement, direction and speed and help keep us upright and stable. If the vestibular system is not working well, that is when you experience vertigo.
- Proprioception: the awareness of our body position in space. Signals from muscles, ligaments, and joints help the brain understand how we are moving, how we are sitting, and when we feel discomfort.
- Interoception: the internal body signals we experience and the meaning our brain makes from them. Anna explains that interoception involves signals traveling from the body to the brain, where the brain notices, interprets, and creates meaning from those sensations. These signals help maintain homeostasis and influence both emotional and physical experiences.
The term interoception was first introduced in 1906 by scientist Charles Sherrington, who described the idea of “interoceptors” within the body that send signals to the brain. The brain then needs to notice and make sense of that information, helping form the mental and emotional meaning we derive from those internal sensations while also supporting homeostasis within the body.
These signals help influence both emotional and physical experiences and can come from throughout the body and internal organs. Examples include:
- Hunger
- Thirst
- Fatigue
- Tightness in the chest
- Lung soreness after exercise
- Energy levels
- Illness or discomfort
The brain must recognize these signals and make sense of them in order for us to care for ourselves and feel comfortable in the world.
Interoception Is Different for Everyone
One of the most important ideas around interoception is that sensory processing is highly individual. Anna emphasizes that what one person notices in their body may be completely different from another person’s experience.
For example, some students may feel extremely uncomfortable in cold weather and immediately notice it, while others may barely register the sensation.
Neither response is right or wrong. It is simply how different nervous systems process sensory information.
The same applies to sounds, movement, emotions, hunger, or physical discomfort. One person’s brain may notice sensations very easily, while another may miss those signals entirely.
Understanding this can help educators shift away from assuming all learners experience sensations the same way.
How Interoception Influences Emotions and Behaviour
Interoception also plays a major role in emotional awareness and regulation.
Learners need to gradually develop an understanding of what different body sensations mean for them personally. Anna explains that we often unintentionally teach emotions and body states as though they are universal experiences.
For example, children may be taught that a growling stomach means hunger. However, not everyone experiences hunger through stomach sensations. Some learners may not notice those signals at all, which can make it confusing when they are taught that hunger “should” feel a certain way.
The same applies to emotions.
Anna shares that excitement for her may feel like talking louder, having a higher voice, or feeling sensations in her chest and torso. Nervousness, however, creates very different sensations, including brain fog, difficulty finding words, and cramping feelings in her stomach.
These internal experiences are highly personal, and learners need opportunities to build awareness of what different sensations mean within their own bodies.
Supporting Interoception in the Classroom
When thinking about interoception in the classroom, Anna encourages educators and therapists to become curious about learners’ internal experiences rather than focusing only on observable behaviours.
So how do we do this?
- Validating our learners’ inner experiences:
A key part of supporting interoception is validating a learner’s internal experience. Anna shares the example of someone feeling cold and expressing discomfort, only to be told: “You aren’t cold. It’s fine. Don’t complain”
Although the intention may be to reassure, responses like this dismiss the person’s real sensory experience.
Validation means recognizing that a learner’s experience is real for their body and nervous system in that moment. It is not about deciding whether their experience is correct or incorrect, but rather just hearing them and acknowledging what they are feeling.
- Model our own inner experience:
Anna emphasizes the importance of adults talking more openly about their own internal experiences.
Children learn through observing and listening to others. If adults never describe what they notice happening inside their bodies, learners may not develop language or awareness around their own internal signals.
For example, a teacher might say: “My ears are ringing because the classroom feels really loud right now. Maybe we can make things a little softer, so it is more comfortable.”
Conversations like this help normalize the fact that people experience sensory input differently and help learners better recognize and communicate their own sensations and emotions.
Anna explains that many children are often expected to hide or suppress growing emotions until they eventually become overwhelmed. Modeling internal experiences can help learners notice those signals earlier.
- Shift from that behavioral lens of things needing to be done a certain way to an interoception lens:
Anna encourages educators to shift away from viewing behaviours simply as something that needs to be corrected or managed, and instead become curious about what may be happening within a learner’s nervous system.
Looking through an interoception lens means considering the possible reasons behind a learner’s stress reactions, behaviours, or difficulty transitioning away from an activity that feels comforting or regulating to their body.
There are many possible factors that may be creating discomfort or stress within a learner’s body. A student may be:
- Hungry or tired and struggling with internal body discomfort
- Overwhelmed by noise or sensory input in the classroom
- Confused about expectations or unsure about changes to the plan
These experiences can create stress responses that show up externally through behaviour.
Rather than labeling behaviours as “attention-seeking” or “avoidant,” Anna suggests educators pause and consider what might be happening internally for that learner. Viewing behaviour through an interoception lens provides deeper insight into what may be contributing to the learner’s actions and helps us respond with greater understanding and support.
Neurotypes and Interoception in the Classroom
The best way to support interoception in the classroom is to learn more about interoception, and part of that is understanding different neurotypes when supporting learners.
Some learners may have:
- Interest-based brains that become deeply focused on preferred interests and miss internal body signals
- Rule-based brains that feel safest when routines and expected sequences remain predictable
- Autonomy-based brains that need a greater sense of control over what happens to their body and activities
Understanding these differences can help educators better interpret stress responses, emotional reactions, and sensory experiences within the classroom environment.
Building Interoception Awareness
One of the most wonderful aspects of interoception is that it is not static – the awareness of internal signals can grow and develop over time.
Anna explains that before expecting learners to consistently use social-emotional strategies, we first need to help them develop awareness of what is happening inside their bodies. When learners begin recognizing what feels comfortable, uncomfortable, calming, overwhelming, exciting, or stressful for them personally, they are better able to understand when they may need support or regulation strategies.
Often, the challenge is not that learners are unwilling to use strategies – it is that they may not yet recognize the internal signals that tell them when those strategies are needed.
By supporting interoception awareness, educators and therapists can help learners build greater self-understanding, self-awareness, and connection to their own nervous systems. And importantly, this awareness can continue to grow and develop over time, offering meaningful opportunities to better support regulation, participation, and wellbeing within the classroom.
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About Anna Vander Haeghe
As a rural Occupational therapist for over 25 years in Alberta, Canada, Anna has focused the past 13 years on creating a busy private practice supporting schools, educators, early childhood workers, children, youth and their families embracing neurodiversity and neuroscience-informed practice. Anna is an international speaker and mentor and is passionate about sharing her occupational therapy expertise, especially the important topic of interoception.
Website: https://www.annavot.com/