Bridging interoception and time perspective: toward an embodied model of consciousness

Background Emerging evidence suggests that the ability to sense internal bodily signals, interoceptive awareness, is central to embodied consciousness and adaptive self-regulation. Yet, the cognitive mechanisms by which interoceptive processes shape the continuity of conscious experience remain insufficiently understood. One such mechanism may be time perspective, a framework reflecting individuals’ orientation toward the past, present, and future, which structures how consciousness unfolds in temporal context. Methods In a non-clinical sample of 152 adults, participants completed validated measures of interoceptive awareness (MAIA), time perspective (ZTPI), and self-rated indicators of somatic experience, including sleep quality and digestion. Results Analyses showed that individuals with higher interoceptive awareness reported more adaptive somatic functioning, and that a balanced time perspective partially accounted for these associations. This suggests that interoception influences conscious self-regulation not only through autonomic processes, but also via temporal cognition. Conclusion These findings support a neurocognitive framework of embodied consciousness, in which interoceptive awareness and temporal orientation interact to maintain psychological and physiological stability. By linking bodily awareness with temporal cognition, this study provides preliminary empirical evidence for a functional feedback loop that grounds conscious experience in the body and time. This perspective opens avenues for future experimental and longitudinal research, as well as for clinical applications such as mindfulness and time-oriented interventions to strengthen embodied self-awareness and temporal balance.