What is ASMR?

Written By Fleur Peters

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) describes the experience of tingling sensations in the crown of the head or other parts of the body, in response to a range of audio-visual triggers such as whispering, tapping, and hand movements. This response needs to be ‘triggered’, which can happen through real-life experiences or through content online. 

Outside of this physical sensation, a big - if not the biggest- emotional and psychological benefit of ASMR is relaxation. ASMR is generally experienced as relaxing to the degree that many people use it to fall asleep.

On YouTube you’ll find millions of videos with ‘ASMR’ in the title. Each person has different ‘triggers’. The most commonly known trigger is being whispered to, or someone speaking calmly in a soft voice. But there are many triggers out there. Some, for example, love the sound of someone chewing food or making ‘mouth sounds’, while that sound makes others (me) want to punch a hole in a wall. And that’s okay! There’s something out there for everybody. Over the years the community across social platforms has grown exponentially, making it more and more accessible to find what you like. 

In 2018, our ‘mother of ASMR’ Emma Whispersred released a book called ‘unwind your mind’ (2019), where she stated “ASMR is nothing that doesn’t have heart and soul in it. That is to say, there should be kindness and nurturing in it somewhere”. I could not agree more. As someone who does not often experience the physical sensations of ASMR, it does deeply relax me and has helped me through feelings of sadness, grief and loneliness. This is why in my videos, I try to give back to the community what I received all those years as a viewer: a calming, cozy, safe space to unwind my mind. 

If you’re new to the world of ASMR (omg hi welcome, you’re in for a treat!), I recommend looking up ASMR on your YouTube search bar, along with a topic you’re interested in and I will guarantee you, you’ll find something. ASMR lego, music, records, art, books, history, cars, meditations, food and lifestyle content. It’s all out there, from slow to fast paced and from lo-fi to cinematic quality. You can search for terms like ‘whispered’ or ‘soft spoken’ for voice preferences or type in sounds you like.

I hope you’ll enjoy the journey into ASMR! Pro tip: when watching before bed, make sure to set an alarm for the next day. You might end up tingling away and falling asleep ;).

sources:

  • Poerio, G. L., Blakey, E., Hostler, T. J., & Veltri, T. (2018). More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology. PLOS ONE, 13(6), e0196645. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196645

  • Richard, C. (2018). Brain tingles : the secret to triggering autonomous sensory meridian response for improved sleep, stress relief, and head-to-toe euphoria. Adams Media.

  • WhispersRed, E. (2019). Unwind Your Mind. Random House.

Fleur Peters