ASMR

A few of you may have browsed YouTube lately and found videos or 'roleplays' with the word ASMR in their title. Please, don't judge these videos by the first 5 seconds, by your friend's jokes about them or by the comments underneath.

What is ASMR?

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or 'ASMR', is the tingly feeling you receive when you listen to a certain sound, see a certain image or action or smell a certain smell that 'triggers' you. This tingling may relax you, help you fall asleep or simply just feel nice and that is what makes ASMR so amazing.

This might sound complicated, but it really isn't. Have you ever felt a soothing tingling sensation over your scalp, or down your back, or even in your toes after someone has whispered something to you or after you see someone describe a concept with their hands? If the answer is 'yes', then you, my friend, have experienced ASMR. If the answer is 'no', then you're probably moving your cursor towards the 'x' button with a mildly confused expression spread over your face.

If you have never experienced ASMR - and most of us haven't - then please, check out the list of recommended ASMR artists (they're the youtubers who appeal to your ASMR needs) below and watch one of their videos. If you're new to the concept, I suggest you try one of their 'whispering' videos rather than a 'roleplay', as you may find the idea of someone pretending to be a doctor to help you sleep rather odd and this may put you off.

My Experience

I first discovered ASMR when I was scrolling through youtube's suggestions of recommended videos for me and I found one called 'Eye Examination Role Play for Relaxation (ASMR)' by a youtube channel owned by American ASMRist Heather Feather. I'm not going to lie, when I saw the word 'Role Play' I thought that the video had sexual content and stayed clear of it for weeks until one day I realised that it wouldn't be so high profile on YouTube and still exist with it's sexual content allowances and so I braved it and jumped right in.

I had no idea what I was watching, I found it very queer that people would watch these videos for fun. I didn't know the purpose of the video either, until half way through when Heather hold up a pad of paper with 'random' letters on and asks you to read them as part of the eye test. I hadn't even realised I was tingling until I read the sentences on the pad and it says something alike 'Hi! I hope you are getting tingles'.

And since then I have explored all the modern ASMR techniques; scratching, whispering, soft speaking, tapping, water sounds, chewing, sksksk-ing, blowing in your ears, roleplays... the list is surely infinite.

Relaxation

ASMR relaxes me every night, and I'm someone who doesn't even have a problem dropping off to sleep. If you suffer from insomnia or find it hard to wind down after a day in the office then ASMR might be the thing for you.

All I ask is you keep an open mind whilst watching the videos. The people making them are genuinely trying to relax you and if you take the mick out of them then you're wasting their time and effort. If you dislike the concept, simply do not revisit it.

Leave a comment with your opinion of ASMR! (Or a question if this post baffled you! ^.^)

List of ASMR artists (on YouTube):
- Heather Feather
- pigsbum53 (Nicole)
- SoftlyGaloshes (Bekah)
- TheWaterWhispers (Ilse)
- LauraLemureX (Laura)
- WhispersUnicorn