The Link Between Your Inner Voice and Your Heart Rate
- Monarch
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
A new study from Aarhus University in Denmark led by Mikkel Wallentin looked at the connection between our inner speech (that silent voice in our head) and a fairly concrete physiological marker: heart rate.
The researchers asked participants (aged 18-75) to lie still on a bed, monitor their heart rate, and engage in three different kinds of inner speech:
Positive self-encouragement
Negative self-criticism
Neutral counting of numbers
They found that emotional inner speech — whether positive or negative — triggered a measurable increase in heart rate compared to the neutral counting task.
Interestingly: they found no significant difference between the positive vs. negative inner speech in terms of heart rate change. So it’s not just “negative self‐talk” that has an effect — any emotionally loaded internal dialogue seems to shift physiology.
The increase was modest (less than one beat per minute on average). The authors caution that because participants were still, in an experimental setting, the real-world implications (when you’re moving, interacting, or under real emotional stress) are not fully known.
They also ruled out subtle movement or breathing changes as the cause of the heart rate increase. It truly appears tied to the internal speech itself.
Why inner voice and heart rate matter for parents and children undergoing psychoeducational testing
When families come for psychoeducational assessment, there is a lot of focus on cognitive functioning (e.g., attention, memory, executive functions), academic skills (reading, math, writing), behavior, and emotional functioning. This paper adds a somewhat subtle but meaningful layer: internal self-talk and how it may link to emotional and physiological regulation.
Here are some possible takeaways for parents:
Inner speech is not invisible nor purely mental
We often think of self-talk as “just in our head,” but this study shows it can ripple out into the body (in this case via heart rate). For kids/adolescents who engage in a lot of inner self‐criticism or self‐encouragement (or even counting/routine internal verbiage), the internal chatter might have more significance than we think.
Emotional tone of inner speech may matter
Although this study didn’t find big differences between positive vs negative speech in heart rate outcome, the fact that any emotional voice elevates heart rate suggests that the emotional tone of what our kids say to themselves (even silently) may have downstream effects on stress, arousal, and potentially behavioral/regulation.
Self-talk could link to regulation and attention
In a psychoeducational context, regulation (emotional, behavioral, cognitive) is often a focus. If a child frequently uses internal self-criticism (“I always mess up”), that might tie into both emotional dysregulation (frustration, anxiety) and physiological arousal (heart rate up, alertness up). That arousal might interfere with attention, learning, executive function. This research provides a “bridge” between internal speech and physiological state.
Assessment and intervention implications
When we assess children, we typically ask about how they speak to themselves (sometimes indirectly via self‐report or parental report). This adds weight to that practice and suggests that we may also want to pay attention to how often children engage in certain kinds of self-talk, what the tone is, and how it might connect to their regulation. Interventions that target self‐talk (for example, teaching more positive internal dialogue, increasing awareness, or helping restructure negative self‐talk) may have benefits for emotional and physiological regulation — not just thoughts.
Caveats to keep in mind
The physiological effect (less than one beat per minute on average) was small in the experimental setting. It’s not necessarily dramatic. (PsyPost - Psychology News)
The study conditions were quite artificial (lying still, asked to use specific internal scripts). Everyday life for children/adolescents is much more dynamic, so the direct translation is not fully clear.
The study did not show that a child’s self‐talk causes major difficulties; it simply shows a physiological link. We cannot over-interpret it as meaning self‐talk always leads to big problems.
Practical tips for parents
Here are actionable strategies you can apply at home or in collaboration with your child’s psychoeducational specialist/therapist:
Talk openly about self-talk
Encourage your child to notice what they say to themselves (silently) when things are hard, when they succeed, when they make mistakes. Sometimes ask: “What’s going through your head?” or “What did you say to yourself when that happened?”
Increase awareness
Create moments of calm (for example, after an assignment, or during a break) and invite your child to reflect: “What internal voice did I have?” Just awareness can be powerful.
Model positive self-talk
Let your child hear you talk about your internal voice (in age‐appropriate ways): “I noticed I told myself I could handle this” or “Oops, I caught myself saying I always mess up — but that’s not true.”
Teach simple self-talk strategies
When self‐criticism arises: Guide your child to re‐frame: “I made a mistake, but I can try again” rather than “I always mess up.”
Encourage self‐encouragement: “I can do this”, “I’ve handled tricky stuff before.”
Use neutral internal counting or breathing to calm: When emotions get high, sometimes switching the internal voice to something neutral (counting, naming objects) can reduce arousal.
Connect to the body
Since the study shows a physiological link (heart rate), you might pair internal self‐talk work with relaxation or regulation exercises: deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness. When your child notices their internal voice is ramping up emotionally (or you do), pause and regulate the body → then check the internal voice.
Collaborate with professionals
If your child is undergoing psychoeducational testing, share questions or observations about self-talk with the assessor or psychologist. It may help them include this dimension in recommendations (something like: “help your child monitor and shift internal self-talk to improve regulation and attention”).
Why this fits into psychoeducational assessment
In a psychoeducational evaluation we’re looking at how cognitive, academic, emotional, behavioral, and even physiological domains interact. This study helps illustrate a link between the internal (what a child says to themselves) and the physiological/emotional. It reinforces how multi‐layered human functioning is.
In your child’s report or feedback session you might ask:
Are there signs of frequent negative self‐talk (e.g., “I’m stupid,” “I’ll never get this”)?
Does self‐talk seem to escalate when tasks get hard, and might that lead to increased arousal (which could interfere with attention, perseverance)?
Could one part of the intervention plan focus on self‐talk and physiological regulation together?
Is your child aware of their internal voice and could they benefit from self-talk coaching?
While this is just one piece of a larger puzzle, it’s a helpful reminder that our internal dialogue — the voice we carry with us — is not innocuous. It can link to our body, our emotions, our arousal, our attention. For children and adolescents in academic or cognitive evaluation settings, this reminds us to look beyond test scores and behaviors and also examine what’s being said silently inside their minds. If you’re a parent preparing for a psychoeducational assessment or working through the results and recommendations, consider discussing self-talk and internal voice with both your child and your psychologist/educator. Helping your child develop a kinder, more constructive internal voice could support not only their emotional well‐being, but also their attention, learning, and overall regulation.
ADHD - Autism - Executive Functioning - Learning Disorders
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