I often get strong gut feelings when I meet a new person. Where do these come from — and are they a real thing?
You meet someone at a party and want to like them, but something feels off. It’s hard to pinpoint what it is, but you just get a bad feeling inside. We often call this sensation a “gut feeling,” and we’ve been conditioned to trust it — sometimes blindly.
But “gut feelings” are simply neurochemical signals that lead to a change in your stomach’s electrical rhythm — and not, in fact, an oracle. I know this because I’ve spent my career studying the gut-brain connection, and my discovery elucidating part of this pathway got an asteroid named after me.
Statistically speaking, gut feelings aren’t necessarily right. Researchers have found that people who make quick judgments based on gut feelings more often misjudge the emotions of others — compared to people who employ a systematic way of thinking. Studies evaluating emergency medicine physicians — who constantly make rapid life-or-death decisions — have found that relying on gut feelings led to the right diagnosis in only about 54 percent of cases.
And the funny thing is, if you’ve made a decision based on a gut feeling, scientists have found you actually may be more likely to dig in your heels about your choice later.
Because of this, I never treat gut feelings like a sign from above. When I get one, I pause, gather more information and think rationally about what to do next. Even if this takes a bit more time, it can yield more accurate information — both when I’m seeing patients and in my personal life.
Behind the scenes of a ‘gut feeling’
Certain triggers in our daily lives — stress, novelty, even prior memories — cause parts of our brain — including the amygdala, the emotional processing hub — to release a molecule called corticotropin-releasing hormone. This kicks off a signaling cascade through the vagus nerve, the main communication highway between the gut and the brain, and that message grinds the stomach to a rapid halt.
By the way, those same signals also trigger spasms in the colon — which is why you may feel queasy but also urgently have to use the bathroom right before your turn at karaoke.
Think of it as a stop sign
Here’s where things gets really fascinating: The butterflies you feel on an exciting first date are, on a molecular level, at least partly the same phenomenon as when you’re caught telling a lie and you feel your stomach tying itself into a knot.
Yet one of them feels wonderful and urges you to charge ahead — while the other makes you ill and want to disappear.
Why?
The difference is context. In both scenarios, you immediately grasp the external stakes and environment. But not every gut feeling comes with such clarity — at least at first. Sometimes the signal is triggered by something subconscious — like a memory, a gesture that reminds you of someone, or a seemingly ordinary object in the room that once held a special meaning.
That’s the risk of treating a gut feeling like an oracle: You don’t always know what it is actually responding to. The feeling itself is not “good” or “bad” despite how we often label them.
Think of a gut feeling as a stop sign, not a traffic ticket. It’s not telling you that you’ve done something wrong. It’s telling you to slow down and look around before you proceed. And yes, sometimes when you stop, you may discover that a bus is barreling right at you. But often, you won’t — and you couldn’t have known that from the feeling alone.
Calm the gut and think clearly
So what can you do if you get a gut feeling but you can’t focus because your stomach is doing somersaults?
Luckily, you can lean into the physiology. Your stomach’s reaction is dependent on signals traveling through the vagus nerve. So you can use a vagal maneuver — simple actions that engage the vagus nerve — to interrupt it: Try slow breathing with a focus on extending the exhale, for instance, or place a bag of ice cubes or frozen veggies over your face as you hold your breath for about 15 to 30 seconds. Not only will you calm a racing heart, but you’ll help restore the regular rhythm of your gut as well.
Earlier in my career, I sometimes felt ill right before I went live on television. These maneuvers helped me stay sharp when I couldn’t afford to lose focus.
Your gut feeling can also be right
None of this means you should ignore a gut feeling when it shows up — quite the opposite. I often hear from patients that a persistent, nagging sense that something wasn’t adding up was what pushed them to ask for another opinion, request another test or refuse to let a symptom go unexplained. Sometimes, that instinct turns out to be lifesaving. When it is, it’s tempting to conclude that your “gut knew.”
But it’s what you did after experiencing a gut feeling that helped. It was what you chose to do after that pause — the follow-up questions, the digging for more detail — that actually led to the outcome.
We often remember the gut feelings that had a vivid payoff. We don’t remember the countless times a gut feeling flagged nothing at all.
What I want my patients to know
The physiological explanation I’ve described above is one specific pathway. Not every sensation we call a gut feeling necessarily runs through this exact circuit, and psychologists studying intuition more broadly may not be measuring these changes simultaneously.
But the throughline is similar regardless: The body registers something before the mind can articulate it, and much of this will be carried by the vagus nerve.
The post I research ‘gut feelings.’ Here’s how I know when to trust mine. appeared first on Washington Post.
