ASMR: a brain tingling experience

Fingers tapping across the desk, drops of rain plopping into a puddle, a soft whisper, biting into a crispy wafer; are all sounds that many consider to be relaxing.  Listening to any relaxing sound often creates a type of ‘pins and needles’ tingles or shiver in response to the sound. This type of sensory experience is known as an Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or what is commonly known as ASMR. ASMR refers to a mildly euphoric physiological and psychological experience brought about by auditory (and sometimes visual) stimuli.

WHAT IS ASMR

The name ‘Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response’ was coined by an enthusiast of the phenomenon in mid-2000’s, in the hope that giving a clinical name would somehow lend legitimacy to the then niche experience. However, in the past couple of years, ASMR has become quite the internet phenomenon- leading to the birth of ASMRtists (ASMR artists) and blogs.

ASMR is the body’s response with a tingling sensation to certain audio or visual stimuli that are known as triggers. The sensation if often felt in the skull or toward the base of the head, and moves down to the spine to extremities (Barratt & Davis, 2015). ASMR is generally thought to be related only to auditory stimuli, but even visual triggers like painting can provide the same sensations.

COMMON AUDITORY TRIGGERS

• Whispering

Whispering one of the most common ASMR triggers, where in ASMRtists speak softly into a mic. The soft voice is found to be tingle-inducing for most. Some phrases or words may be repeated more than once if they are found to have a relaxing effect.

• Tapping

Many of us tend to unknowingly tap our fingers into surfaces as a way to calm ourselves down when nervous or stressed. Most ASMRtists tap surfaces with long nails or fingertips to create a relaxing sound. Many videos creatively include tapping on a variety of surfaces to produce different sounds.

• Concentration

For some, watching another person concentrate on a task can be relaxing. For example, the renowned Bob Ross’s ‘The Joy of Painting.’ He was not an ASMR artist, but him speaking softly while painting gorgeous landscapes is found by many to be deeply relaxing.

• Eating

There are a number of people who have an ASMR experience from cooking sounds like broth boiling, the sizzling sound of something being fried on a pan. Sounds like chewing on something crispy or slurping are also common triggers.

The above listed triggers are just few of the wide range of ASMR triggers available online. You only need to find the right one for you, that can help you unwind after a long day!

THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS

ASMR is known to be a relaxing, euphoric, anxiety reducing experience. People looking for this experience seek ASMR triggers or videos as an aid for sleep or concentration, or just to relax or to help reduce uneasiness.

However, clinical research on ASMR is limited and its effectiveness is still a highly debated topic. When it comes to mental disorders like depression, an effective relationship between ASMR and medications has not been established yet; but cannot be refuted that ASMR can bring about a negative mood relief for individuals who have depression. Individuals who were moderately to severely depressed stated a greater positive change in mood after an ASMR as opposed to those without depression (Barratt & Davis, 2015).

ASMR also has implications in helping foster a flow, or a deep level of concentration or immersion. A study by Barratt et al. (2017) revealed that there exists a significant positive relationship between ASMR triggers and a great flow experience. Moreover, people’s preference for relaxing, warn and safe ASMR triggers suggests conduciveness to flow (Barratt et al., 2017).

Despite there being no academic consensus on the psychological application of ASMR, it is definitely a topic with several possible therapeutic implications. However, there is hope that future studies explicate the psychological support and clinical implications of this mystifying phenomenon.

References

Barratt, E. L., & Davis, N. J. (2015). AutonomoUs Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state. PeerJ, 3. 

Barratt, E. L., Spence, C., & Davis, N. J. (2017). Sensory determinants of the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): understanding the triggers. PeerJ, 5.