Here's What ASMR Actually Is—and How to Know If You're Reacting To It
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You know that feeling when someone's playing with your hair and your body literally shivers? You get this tingly feeling sometimes all the way down to your toes. It's like this involuntary response you have zero control over... and it feels so good. That's ASMR.
What is ASMR?
ASMR stands for an autonomous sensory meridian response. The funny thing? Research and science behind ASMR are still so new that there's really no "scientific" definition for the term. It simply refers to that tingly sensation you get when exposed to a stimulus.
In my search to find out more about WTF ASMR really is, I stumbled upon an article penned by neurologist Steven Novella and published on Neurologica blog. Novella says that people have often explained ASMR as a pleasurable sensation in the back of the head. In fact, it's actually been referred to as a "brain orgasm" or "braingasm." Different triggers (more on those later) seemingly engage the same parts of the brain. Looking back on his own experience with tingles, Novella wonders if they could have been little seizures.
Personally, I prefer braingasms to seizures, so let's roll with that.
What are common ASMR triggers?
Whispering
Humming
Tapping
Scratching
Eating
Mouth sounds
Hair brushing
Shampooing
Massage
Related: 3 Acupressure Points That Can Help You Sleep
What Are ASMR Videos?
ASMR videos feature the creators doing one or more of these actions, and the results are inescapably tingly.
Visual triggers, while way less common (maybe because people don't respond to them as much) are still a thing. As an example, the ASMRtist (ASMR+artist, obvi) might shine a flashlight toward the camera, move it in different directions, and click it on and off.
Nearly anything can be a trigger.
Gibi, internet sensation and creator of ASMR videos and gaming content tells Parade, "ASMR is vast. It can be whispering, soft speaking, or no speaking at all. It can be audio-only, or even visual-only. It can be role-play, scripted, unscripted, immersive, casual.... It can be eating food or tapping or tracing or touching the camera lens. ASMR is for any age—and can be on any topic."
"People stumbling on ASMR for the first time can have a lot of judgments and misunderstandings," says Corrina Rachel, producer for Psychetruth and one of my absolute favorite ASMRtists. "There are a LOT of ASMR videos out there, and maybe someone's first experience of ASMR is eating sounds video... which can seem pretty strange at first! Without any context, it can seem strange for someone to be whispering or tapping on a bunch of random objects..."
Adds ASMR video creator Tingting, "A lot of people think ASMR is just whispering and tapping things, but it's much more complicated than that. After watching a lot of ASMR, you realize that it's not just about tapping something, but it's how you tap it, when you tap it, why you tap it, etc. Everyone has their own style of ASMR, so there's no right way to create ASMR. It's important to do what feels natural to you."
Is ASMR good for you?
Yes!
Millions of YouTube folks use ASMR videos to help them focus, study, relax, and sleep. "... once you explain to someone that the videos are intended for sleep and relaxation, that can dissolve some of their confusion," adds Rachel.
Indeed, ASMR can be very rewarding.
Rachel tells Parade.com, "As a holistic health coach, I am obsessed with the importance of sleep and spending time in our restful state of the nervous system—the parasympathetic or 'rest and digest' state. Our busy lifestyles keep us in the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), and in this state, our body prioritizes survival and surges with stress hormones."
"While this is helpful when we need it, it's not a healthy state for us to be in for prolonged periods of time, especially most of the time! Only when we are in a parasympathetic state can the body handle maintenance functions such as immunity, digestion, cellular repair, muscle growth, fat-burning, etc. So, anything that puts us in that parasympathetic state is extremely beneficial to our overall health. Hence my obsession with ASMR!
"I also consider ASMR as a form of meditation. Essentially, it helps us to quiet the internal chatter and tune into the moment. There's something about bringing intense focus and attention to tiny sounds that often go unnoticed. It just helps the mind to relax and let go of worries about the past and future." If you're trying to sleep more (or get better sleep), reduce anxiety, improve your mood, or better your concentration and focus, Rachel says that ASMR could help you.
Related: 100 Benefits of Meditation
What If I Don't React to ASMR?
Even if you don't get the tingles, you can still watch ASMR videos. Gibi says, "... we have taken the feeling of ASMR and named an entire genre after it. You don't have to *feel* ASMR to like ASMR videos. They can be watched and consumed for an insane amount of reasons! It's all about finding ASMR that *you personally* enjoy. And don't worry, everyone thinks it's a little strange at first, myself included!"
Other ASMR Benefits
Rachel's not the only one convinced that ASMR can help us. I also spoke over email to Shane, also known as Shiatsu Shane. "I've been a full-time shiatsu therapist for over eight years, running a clinic in a small village in Yorkshire," he says. "I stumbled across ASMR myself only last year by accident while researching a specific technique. This quickly led me down a rabbit hole of watching all kinds of ASMR videos, from massage to cutting up soap to watching people eat things and people doing whispered talking."
Allowing his craft of shiatsu therapy to guide him, Shane started producing more ASMR-esque videos and publishing them on YouTube. "The more I made, the more some of my viewers shared how it's helped them, the most common one popping up anxiety and insomnia. I've had pregnant ladies tell me how this has helped calm their anxiety about giving birth. Servicemen and women tell me how my channel has helped their PTSD. A guy told me how he feels watching my channel following surgery helped to keep him calm and he feels helped him heal quicker. These comments come from all over the world and have inspired many of my watchers to go seek out their local therapist."
Shane now has nearly 165,000 subscribers on YouTube, and his channel is growing every day.
I asked ASMRtist Jocie B what she feels are some benefits: "This is a very personal answer, but then again, I feel ASMR is a very personal experience. For someone who has struggled to love themselves and feel accepted (and continues to struggle on their worse days), ASMR is such a beautiful way to get out of my negative self-talk. I feel it speaks to the child within us, who doesn’t know what an amazing kid they are.
"Kind people have shared with me how my videos help them sleep/unwind after a long day, relieve their anxiety, and uplift their spirits. I’ve gotten a handful of comments from mammas that watch my videos with their newborns and toddlers, and they actually help them fall asleep!
I feel ASMR (of any theme) serves a similar function as does yoga, mindfulness meditation, or a warm cup of tea in a person’s overall health and wellbeing."
What ASMR Is Not
To be very clear, ASMR can mean whatever you want it to mean—but don't make assumptions about what it's designed to do. One misunderstanding is that ASMR is, ahem, naughty by nature.
Rachel explains, "While there are some overtly sexual videos out there (girlfriend role-plays, for instance), I don't think it's fair to say that all ASMR is sexual. Most of the viewers on our channel are female. I'd say it's more of a nurturing, motherly vibe that people like, and if it seems like people prefer female ASMRtists, I'd say it's because they are more motherly and nurturing."
"Much like a painting or a book, the artist/author may have certain intentions when creating the work, but there really is no right or wrong way for the audience to interpret it," says Jocie. "The issue arises when someone of authority asserts their interpretation on everyone else."
Shane echoes this, saying, "Misconception-wise, I think people look at the ASMR world as weird or maybe even sexual, but we all view things in life in different ways, and I don't dwell on these things. I believe I'm helping people, so as long as people are watching my content, I'll keep producing for them.
And speaking of ...
What Goes Into the Making of An ASMR Video?
Answer: a lot more than most of us realize.
I used to think it was as simple as recording yourself making noise. Boy, was I way off.
"Creating an ASMR video can be as beginner-friendly or as complex as the creator makes it," explains Gibi.
"I know of creators that are hugely successful filming off their phone and using a very simple microphone setup. I personally have grown my studio gradually over the 3+ years I've been making content and have developed a very organized system that makes shooting my videos feel very natural! My most complex videos involve characters—which means I need to write a script, gather costumes and props, do makeup, potentially build a set, and do video and sound effects during the editing process. These videos take quite a long time, but are worth it in the end for the immersive experience! A more simple video involving me sitting in front of my set-up and experimenting with sounds could potentially be turned around from beginning to end in one day. Planning takes the longest for sure, and my videos are planned out over a month in advance!"
Tingting also puts serious time, thought, and energy into her videos. "Making a video takes six days. The first part is brainstorming ideas and finding interesting props or sounds. Then I have to create a script. Then I do a quick rehearsal to understand the sounds my props can make and if the flow of the video is good. Then I do a complete rehearsal to get comfortable with the script. On a filming day, I have to set everything up: camera, lights, makeup, hair, backgrounds, props, microphones, etc. Filming days start at 10 AM and usually finish around 6 PM, but sometimes it takes a lot longer because of outside noise or just not having the right feel at the time and having to re-film the video. There are days where I have to film until 2 or 3 AM. By then, my voice gets very tired. Then I have to edit out all the outside noises and render the final video and post it to YouTube, which usually takes another two days."
It's also about having awareness and the right mindset. Corrina tells Parade.com that filming requires "extreme concentration and focus on every movement, every breath, every sound you make," plus "lots of attention on breath control, and the volume and pacing of movements/speech."
ASMR Can Be Whatever You Need It to Be
While ASMR might still seem very mysterious and maybe even a little weird, don't get too hung up on it. Just enjoy it. "ASMR is the genre we were missing for so long," says Gibi. "It can be anything you need it to be—relaxing, entertaining, soothing. For sleep, for stress relief, reducing anxiety, keeping your mind occupied while you're trying to wind down. People have told me they use it to practice eye contact, to have something on when they're lonely, to help their children calm down ... and as it gets more and more involved, people simply watch my content for entertainment."
Enjoy the tingles.
Want more ASMR videos? We've got 'em.
Sources
Corrina Rachel, producer for Psychetruth
Jocie B, ASMR artist
Gibi, ASMR creator
