What Is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response ASMR Everyday Health MenuNewslettersSearch ASMR What Is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response ASMR It’s been described as showers of sparkles, euphoric tingling, and even a brain orgasm. What is this phenomenon? By Milly DawsonMedically Reviewed by Samuel Mackenzie, MD, PhDReviewed: March 5, 2019Medically ReviewedGentle sounds, such as whispers or a brush stroking a microphone, can elicit ASMR.Petr Svoboda/AlamyASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response.” It’s a rather dry term considering the fact that it stands for a physical sensation that millions of people describe as a peaceful, joyful tingling that floods their bodies. “These sensations can come over someone when he or she watches certain videos or hears certain sounds," reports the National Sleep Foundation. (1) ASMR can also occur in the real world in response to directly experienced sounds and sensations, such as someone gently massaging another person’s scalp. The internet is now bursting with sites offering ASMR videos. One famous creator of these videos, known only as Maria, describes ASMR as being “like showers of sparkles. It’s like warm sand being poured all over you,” she says. “It’s like goosebumps on your brain.” People who experience ASMR — and not all do — speak of it as a tingling that often starts in the scalp and then travels along the spine, at times reaching the limbs. Those who experience ASMR generally describe it as both pleasurable and relaxing. Other, less frequently used terms for ASMR include AIE, for attention-induced euphoria, and AIHO, for attention-induced head orgasm. Despite this latter term, the vast majority of people who use ASMR videos state that they find them relaxing but not erotic. Creative Ways to Reduce Stress 9 Adult Coloring Books to Color All Your Stress Away Sound Baths Soothing Stress With Sound Michael Phelps s Favorite De-Stress Technique Is So Simple Anyone Can Do It How to Find Stress Relief and Reduce Stress for Good What Are Some Popular ASMR Triggers As mentioned before, ASMR sensations can arise in response to actual sights, sounds, or physical sensations that a person experiences directly. ASMR can also arise when people watch videos that present similar sights or sounds. Whether a person experiences the sights, sounds, or sensations in the real world or by means of videos, the ASMR stimuli are called triggers. Popular ASMR triggers include the following:Whispers or other slow, gentle patterns of speech, the sounds of kissing or lips smackingPleasing nonhuman sounds, like a fire crackling, rushing or running water, the crinkling of paper, and white noiseBeing the recipient of close personal care from another person or witnessing such an encounter (Some examples include being given a massage, having your hair done or just fondled by someone else, having makeup applied, and being the “patient” in situations such as a low-stress, simulated medical or optical exam.)Observing another person working on a quiet, detailed task, such as painting a picture, fixing a bicycle, or folding paper for origami RELATED: Best ASMR by Type Intentional and Unintentional How Do I Know if I Have ASMR If you are a person who experiences ASMR, you may very well have done so first as a young child, suggests the limited research about the subject. Nearly 500 adults who used ASMR videos answered a survey that was conducted by a British research group at the University of Swansea in Wales. In the report published in March 2015 in the journal PeerJ — Life & Environment, slightly more than one-half the group said that they first felt an ASMR response between the ages of 5 and 10. Some people do first have an ASMR experience in adulthood, though. (2) You may respond to ASMR triggers such as receiving gentle care from another person in real life but not respond to ASMR videos. In fact, even if you respond to ASMR triggers in the physical world, you may find ASMR videos unpleasant or distasteful. Resources We LoveASMR UniversityInsomniaNational Sleep FoundationPloS OneProject SleepSleep 101The ASMRtist ShowThe New YorkerThe Savvy Insomniac How Does ASMR Work Public interest in ASMR has reached high levels. However, the degree to which science can explain ASMR is quite limited. Only a few scientists have been studying ASMR, and they have been doing so for only a few years. Still, these researchers have drawn some conclusions about ASMR. Below are some findings from a study published in June 2018 in the journal PloS One (3):ASMR videos really do elicit tingling sensations along with positive emotions in those people who are prone to have ASMR. The videos do not have this effect on other people.ASMR fosters a complex, mixed emotional state. The positive feelings that the videos create include both calmness and excitement. Although these two emotions may sound like opposites, psychologists have long known that people can have opposite emotions at the same time. For example, nostalgia involves feelings of happiness tinged with sadness.ASMR has measurable effects on the body, and these effects tie in with the videos creating mixed emotions. For instance, ASMR slows the heart rate, which is a sign of relaxation. It also increases the ability of the skin to conduct electricity (skin conductance), which is measure of physical arousal.ASMR increases a person’s feeling of being connected with other people. Future studies are likely to provide a deeper understanding of how ASMR actually works to affect the body, including the brain. RELATED: The Best ASMR YouTube Channels Benefits of ASMR Are Real The vast majority of people — 98 percent of 475 survey respondents in the March 2015 PeerJ study — who seek out ASMR videos do so to relax. Eighty-two percent of that group sought the videos specifically for help with sleep. Seventy-percent of the group used the videos to deal with anxiety and stress. (2)Learn to Meditate 5 Ways to Practice Breath-Focused Meditation“I was totally amazed [by the videos’ effects],” stated one survey participant. “I started feeling an extremely relaxed trance-like state that I didn’t want to end … a little like how I have read perfect meditation should be but I never achieved.” The fact that people seek ASMR for help with sleep and mood issues also emerged as a key finding in the June 2018 Plos One study. (3) In addition, users of ASMR videos feel a heightened sense of “connectedness,” that study showed. Perhaps ASMR acts as a form of “social grooming,” the researchers hypothesize. Viewers may feel as if they are being soothed by another person, boosting their sense of well-being and bonding. Can ASMR Help Me Sleep Hundreds of thousands of people use ASMR videos for help sleeping, and research confirms that ASMR does induce physical changes in the body, such as a slower heart rate, that would go along with a relaxed state. More Help for Sleep Problems A Soundtrack for Slumber Max Richter s Overnight Sleep Concert Why Can t I Sleep Insomnia Explained Can a Sound Machine Actually Help Me Sleep Better The Relationship Between Insomnia Anxiety and Depression ASMR Triggers Stimulations and SensationsCertain ASMR triggers stand out for being mentioned frequently by people who experience the response. Keep in mind that ASMR triggers can be effective when a person experiences them in the real world or observes them either in person or online. Common visual and audible triggers include:Haircuts and hair brushingMassages and other situations in which one person is gently giving another person close personal attentionPeople doing repetitive tasks, such as folding laundry or working at craftsSoft sounds, such as whispering, low laughter, book pages being turned, or gentle scrapingCrisp sounds, such as tapping fingernails or metallic foil being crunchedLoud sounds, such as those from a vacuum cleaner or airplane RELATED: Resources for ASMR ASMRtists Both Intentional and Unintentional ASMR Some creators make videos expressly to induce ASMR, and ASMR users seek out these videos for the good feelings that they foster. This is intentional ASMR. Among the most popular such creators are the following ASMRtists:Maria, creator of the website Gentle Whispering ASMREmma, creator of WhispersRed ASMR Other superstars of the ASMR world never even heard of the term. Their videos have just turned out to provide content that is soothing and ASMR-inducing to lots of people. These creators are considered unintentional ASMRtists. The most famous of them is the late art teacher Bob Ross. How Popular Are ASMR Videos ASMR videos first emerged in large numbers online in about 2010. They began to attract millions of views fairly quickly and remain hugely popular today. Media giants, such as the The New York Times, The New Yorker magazine, and CNBC.com, have run long stories about ASMR videos and the online entrepreneurs who create them, including Maria. The top five ASMR videos featuring Maria, who uses only her first name for the sake of privacy, have attracted more than 47 million views. She has more than 872,000 subscribers. Another huge ASMR personality, Baba the Cosmic Barber, who died in late 2018, amassed nearly 17 million views for just one of his ASMR videos. It featured Baba giving a patron a head massage. NEWSLETTERS Sign up for our Healthy Living Newsletter SubscribeBy subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking ReferencesWhat Is ASMR? The National Sleep Foundation.Barratt EL, Davis NJ. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): A Flow-like Mental State. PeerJ — Life & Environment. March 26, 2015.Poerio GL, Blakey E, Hostler TJ, Veltri T. More Than a Feeling: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) Is Characterized by Reliable Changes in Affect and Physiology. PloS One. June 20, 2018. SourcesCastillo M. These People Make a Living With Bizarre, Repetitive YouTube Videos That Give Viewers ‘Pins and Needles.’ CNBC. February 19, 2017.Cline J. What Is ASMR and Why Are People Watching These Videos? Psychology Today. September 26, 2018.Gibson C. A Whisper, Then Tingles, Then 87 Million YouTube Views: Meet the Star of ASMR. Washington Post. 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