Welcome To The Head-Tingling World Of ASMR

If you’ve been on YouTube or the internet in the past few years, you’ve probably heard of ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. This ASMR trend has turned into a full-blown community of ASMR lovers. If you’re unfamiliar with this peculiar trend, keep reading to learn more.

What is ASMR?

ASMR is a sensory experience triggered by sounds, or sometimes visuals, that is best described as a tingling or tickling sensation in your brain. It’s different for everyone, but most describe it as a static-like feeling primarily felt on the scalp, back of neck and spine in response to auditory or visual stimuli.

Some people who haven’t experienced this phenomenon might even call it a “braingasm” or “whisper porn,” but there is nothing sexual about it. In fact, research shows that ASMR can actually alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and chronic pain. Other ASMR fans use it to help them relax or fall asleep.

Preferred ASMR stimuli varies depending on the individual, but some common ones are whispering, tapping, speaking softly and slow movements. But there is no limit to the ASMR repertoire, as these peculiar triggers are different for everyone—videos can be found of ASMRtists turning pages of a magazine, lighting candles, giving haircuts and massages or even holding a purring cat up to a microphone. There are even many roleplay videos that trigger the ASMR state by way of the viewer feeling that they are receiving personal attention or being cared for.

How does it work?

The warm, pleasant experience that is now called ASMR has always existed, but it didn’t coin the name Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response until 2010. Since then, there have been some studies on the fascinating experience in order to try to understand what exactly is going on in the brain when someone is experiencing these “tingle” sensations. One of the first studies done at the University of Sheffield showed that participants reported feeling extremely calm and relaxed, many even showing reduced heart rates.

Some researchers believe that ASMR may have some connection to synesthesia, as a small percentage of people who experience ASMR also reported having this condition. Synesthesia is the curious neurological condition in which individuals’ brains are wired a bit differently—they see numbers as colors and can “taste” shapes. It’s very possible there’s a connection between the atypical sensory associations in people with synesthesia and people who experience ASMR.

While ASMR remains a mysterious phenomenon, researchers hope that the focus on this niche internet trend may help them uncover new findings on how senses and even emotions function within the human brain.

Does everyone experience ASMR?

Unfortunately, not everyone experiences ASMR–you either do, or you don’t. As this is a fairly recent phenomenon, there is not much research on what causes someone to enter this mildly euphoric state.

While some people experience ASMR and some don’t, there are others who are actually repulsed by it. With the little research that scientists have done, some believe that those who do not like ASMR overlap with the population of people who suffer from misophonia, or sound-rage. With misophonia, common sounds like chewing or tapping can invoke the cringe-worthy feeling that most people feel when someone runs their nails down a chalkboard.

The ASMR Community

While ASMR only earned its name in 2010, the hype around it has grown substantially in the years since. There are more than 14 million ASMR videos on YouTube. While there are some tangential communities on Reddit and other sites, most of the ASMR community resides on YouTube because the platform lends itself to the types of videos that create an acoustic or visual sensory experience.

Many ASMR YouTubers use special microphones to create a binaural effect—this is like a three dimensional recording, creating an experience that feels as if the sounds are surrounding the listener. Especially for someone using ASMR for insomnia or anxiety, we recommend using a great pair of headphones to get the full binaural experience.

While there are thousands of popular ASMRtists on YouTube, we put together a list of our favorite creators as a good place to start when navigating this niche subset of YouTube:

1. ASMR Darling: ASMR Darling is a very popular ASMRtist with over 2.3 million subscribers on her YouTube channel. Her videos include trigger-focused sounds like ear to ear whispering, tapping, and scratching, as well as roleplay and personal attention-style videos (affirmations, compliments, camera touching, etc.).

ASMR Darling really focuses on helping people sleep better, so if you struggle with insomnia, her videos are a great place to start. But she also has some really fun videos, like this one where tries to play Fortnite as relaxed as possible.

2. Pokimane: Pokimane will instantly calm you down with her kind and gentle demeanor. Pokimane actually started as a Youtube and Twitch personality sharing her love of video games and interacting with a loyal fanbase. Her main YouTube channel has almost 4 million subscribers, and she eventually started a second channel, PokiASMR, dedicated purely to her ASMR talents.

Her videos focus on trigger-heavy ASMR videos using tapping sounds or brushing makeup brushes on the microphone. Often her videos will focus on a specific theme, like Soothing Spa Sounds or an ASMR French Lesson. She even gets T-Pain involved with the ASMR trend in this video.

3. Gentle Whispering: Maria from Gentle Whispering hopes her channel “will be your secret island of peace and relaxation.” Gentle Whispering has a wide variety of videos, including many roleplay scenarios where you can feel like you’re at the therapist, a doctor’s visit, or trying on new glasses.

These are only a few of thousands of talented ASMR YouTube creators. This unique phenomenon only continues to grow and YouTube is the perfect platform for these ASMRtists. They are able to create incredible sensory experiences for their audience with fairly low-budget production.

Gentle Whispering videos have been viewed over 640 million times on her YouTube channel.

Ready to relax, destress and sleep better? We hope we’ve opened up your eyes to the incredible world of ASMR. 

VLOGHOG