Surprising article in Scientific American Journal that explores the mind body connection. Scientists are now discovering that people’s “gut instinct” or “butterflies” are connected with mind and emotions through our body. This gut instinct or some call it intuition, can process information much faster than our rational mind and it is usually accurate.
This other gut brain “second brain” is composed of many neurons in your intestinal tract and is connected with the brain in your head. The article points out that it is the seat of your unconscious thought. It can alert you very quickly to danger, suspicion, excitement.
People often say,” I just knew it in my gut” that is because this second brain contains 100 million neurons, give or take a few. That is more than in either the spinal cord or the peripheral nervous system. The second brain can control gut behavior independently of the brain in our head, and it is very connected with our emotions and with our physical illness or health.
More research is needed in the future but preliminary research shows that maintaining a healthy gut contributes to good mental health and vise versa. So notice your hunches and your gut feelings and be open to their influence, they can provide valuable information.