ASMR

Does anyone else hide their ASMR obsession like it's drug addiction? Cause... same.

There is a whole lot going on in the world right now. I've definitely felt anxiety and emotions that I'm not used to. So, I thought it'd be cool to share how I relieve some of that anxiety - ASMR videos.

I first discovered ASMR in 2018 - a little late to the party. I had no idea that the first ASMR videos I watched were in fact, "ASMR"; I had never even heard of the term! One day, whispered facial videos in an Asian country (can't remember which country) came up on my YouTube feed. I immediately enjoyed it because I like watching skincare routines/videos, but I had no idea what was up with the whispering! I just knew it was extremely soothing to me. The video had the term "ASMR" in the title but I seriously thought it was perhaps the name of the spa where the facials were being done lol. It wasn't until I saw another video with "ASMR" in the title from a different YouTuber, that I googled ASMR. I was mind-blown; learning what ASMR was and its effects explained why I kept consuming all of these videos and why I was almost in a sedated state while watching.

What is ASMR?

For the following sections, I'm going to pull a few pieces of info from a short paper I wrote on ASMR a year or two ago. I'm going to try not to bore you to death.

ASMR is an acronym for autonomous sensory meridian response. The term ASMR, coined in 2010, refers to the relaxing physical tingling (Dua, 2019), often sedative sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the body, also known as a “brain massage,” that is triggered by soft repetitive sounds (Mooney & Kelin, 2016) and visual stimuli. Though the setting of ASMR videos are often intimate, the sensations are non-sexual, but an idyllic meditative state.

In 2015 YouTube searches for ASMR increased over 200 percent and have been consistently growing (Mooney & Klein, 2015). A 2015 ASMR effects study revealed 75 percent of participants felt a tingling when they heard whispering, and 64 percent felt the same sensation when they heard "crisp sounds" (Barratt & Davis, 2015). However, not all viewers respond to the same triggers, and experience varied levels of responses to each trigger (Cline, 2018). For example, my bestfriend loves mukbang ASMR videos and that genre just isn't my thing. I had my partner watch one of my favorite ASMR videos and I was surprised he didn't enjoy it. We each have our own tingle-inducing preferences!

Top ASMR Triggers

• Whispering

• Tapping

• Physical Touch

• Personal Attention

• Page Turning

• Roleplay

• Light

• Eating

• Massage

• Concentration

Potential Health Benefits

Viewing ASMR has potential health benefits – many who watch the videos say it helps decrease symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and depression (Hostler, 2018). Dr. Craig Richard, a physiologist from The Shenandoah University, mentions that anxiety sufferers may be drawn to video as a medium for ASMR because the viewer is in complete control – “The stranger in a video – they can’t harm you” (Marks, 2018).

Though some people find ASMR videos to be unpleasant or “creepy” (Cline, 2018), the popularity of ASMR has led to research into the online phenomenon. According to a study by Manchester Metropolitan University, the claims of reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression after watching ASMR videos are plausible. Stephen Smith, a psychologist at the University of Winnipeg, agrees that ASMR is an absolutely real experience. When using fMRI machines for brain scans, he discovered a difference in the firing of neural networks among people who experience ASMR compared to the general population. Smith stated, “It seems to be affecting so many different people, and for the most part it’s affecting them in a positive way” (Marks, 2018). In a controlled experiment, people who experience ASMR and watched ASMR videos had reduced heart rates, reported feeling calmer (Hostler, 2018), and increased skin conductance (Poerio, Blakey, Hostler, & Veltri, 2018). Poerio et al., conducted a study in which “Findings indicate that ASMR is a reliable and physiologically-rooted experience that may have therapeutic benefits for mental and physical health” (2018).

My Favorite ASMRtists

I'm a whispering, physical touch, personal attention, massage triggered type of gal.

• WhispersRed ASMR

• itsblitzzz

• SemideCoco

• Serein Wu

• Chiara ASMR (most of her videos are in Italian so I have no idea what she's saying!)

• Gentle Whispering ASMR

Does anyone else hide their ASMR obsession like it's drug addition? Cause... same. But now, my secret is out! I love to snuggle up in bed with ASMR and my earphones. I sleep like a baby. Let me know if you love ASMR too and what type!