Accompaniment of music in physical exercise moderates the relationship between objective cardiac signals and enhanced interoceptive accuracy

Physical exercise and music are two widely practiced activities that significantly contribute to mental health. Interoceptive accuracy (IAcc), the ability to perceive internal bodily states precisely, plays a fundamental role in health. However, it remains unclear whether physical exercise and its combination with music influenced IAcc differently. This study investigated how acute physical exercise, both with and without music, affects IAcc. The results showed improved IAcc after 35 min of running, regardless of music accompaniment. Furthermore, the enhancement of IAcc was associated with lower HR_PPG in running without music, but a non-significant positive trend was shown in running with music. These findings suggest that physical exercise is effective at improving IAcc, and that the physiological responses observed during exercise differ when music is present, indicating that music changes how the body's signals are integrated into interoceptive perception.