What Is ASMR?

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you’ve tried everything, and you still can’t fall asleep? You are just tossing and turning, and even counting sheep doesn’t help. Don’t worry – here comes ASMR to the rescue.

What is ASMR anyway?

Basically, ASMR is millions of people watching lengthy YouTube videos of people whispering, tapping softly, scratching, or otherwise making soft noises designed to give viewers “braingasms.” You might ask, how are these videos soothing and relaxing? And yet this mesmerizes many people.

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, a tingling sensation that usually begins in the head and can continue down the neck and spine as a response to certain sounds.

The ASMR sensations can be categorized into:

Physical sensations (what you feel):  light and pleasurable tingles, sparkles, fuzziness, or waves of relaxation in the head, neck, spine, and throughout the rest of the body.

Psychological sensations (how you feel): deep and soothing feelings of relaxation, calmness, comfort, peacefulness, or sleepiness.

ASMR occurs when you encounter certain “triggers”. ASMR sounds that might make you feel good are blowing, tapping, whispering, or even watching someone play with their hair. There are also triggers like eating and role playing – yes, I’m serious. Everyone has different ASMR triggers. No matter how picky you are, you are likely to find one that is right for you.

What the heck, you say?

To someone who has never seen or heard of ASMR before, the concept can sound very strange and confusing, but it’s worth trying it out for yourself!

People who watch ASMR report that it helps to melt stress and anxious thoughts away, along with helping you relax.  Not everyone can experience those tingling sensations when watching the videos, but they have a calming and relaxing effect no matter what.

Some individuals with clinical diagnoses of medical disorders report that these videos are helpful to their insomnia, anxiety, panic disorders and/or depression.

ASMR is becoming increasingly popular around the world and with celebrities. Of course, my suggestion is to lay on your Emma mattress, turn on a nice, soothing ASMR video and go to dreamland! Oh, and P.S. ASMR works on animals as well, so take your pet with you!