Listen to Your Gut (Literally): Your Tummy's Grumbles Can Tell a Lot About Your Overall Health

(Kindel Media/Pexels)

As a kid, I used to put a toy stethoscope to my cats' and dogs' bellies to listen to all the strange sounds (and even tried it on myself a few times).

The noise was weird and funny – and instantly recognizable, as anyone with a digestive system that has blasted out a deep growl at an inopportune time knows.

It's amusing when it's someone else's stomach; cringe-worthy when it's your own.

But could you recognize your stomach rumbles and match them to your current state?

Could you recognize your stomach rumbles? (Robert Kneschke/Canva)

That's what a team led by researchers at University College London recently did in a creative new experiment published in Scientific Reports, in which people had to identify whether they're listening to a live recording of their own stomach or one recorded a few minutes earlier.

Why?

Called Rumble Recognition (by the researchers themselves), the test isn't trying to prove you can recognize your stomach's 'voice'.

Instead, it's designed to measure something called gastrointestinal interoception – our ability to detect and interpret signals coming from inside the digestive system.

Schematic diagram of the experimental setup. (Savage et al., Sci. Rep., 2026)

Interoception (AKA the 'sixth sense') has become a hot topic in neuroscience because it underpins everything from physical sensations like hunger, thirst, or a full bladder – but also includes emotions.

"Gastrointestinal sensations contribute to what are colloquially referred to as 'gut-feelings' and are an often-reported aspect of emotional feelings," write the researchers.

Interoception is important because it's a key way for us to assess whether we are feeling energetic, hungry, stressed, sick, afraid, or relaxed – which is really important for emotional and psychological regulation.

Some people are pretty tuned into their bodies in this way, but being overtuned can lead to panic attacks and distraction, while having low interoception can lead to over-…