ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Have you ever experienced a tingle in the head that travels through your spine to the limbs? This tingly sensation is euphoric, relaxing and gives you a feeling of well being. Scientifically it is called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), but it has many unofficial names such as braingasms, head tingles or head orgasms. It is a phenomenon that happens with the human body when one hears soft voices or certain soothing sounds such as tapping or scraping of a pen on paper.

Today, ASMR is being used by many as a method for relaxation and sleep aid. The tingling feelings are artificially created by specifically designed videos.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response – What is ASMR?

If you don’t know what ASMR is and you are searching google to figure it out, I imagine you just had a pretty weird experience.

Short answer: Nice tingling feeling you feel when you hear soft voices/sounds.

Long answer: Watch the video below and read on.

What does ASMR stand for on youtube?

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Many videos on YouTube end with the “ASMR”. It means that the video is made for relaxation purposes. It will often have whispering or quiet speaking and some generated sounds like nail tapping. You should feel like when watching these.

GentleWhispering’s example video

ASMR (Autonomous sensory meridian response) is a pleasant tingly feeling that you experience when you are hear soft voices or certain soothing sounds such as tapping, whispering, brushing etc. This tingling sensation is euphoric. It starts in the back of your head, travels down through your spine into your limbs. It relaxes you and gives you a feeling of well being.

Describing a feeling is pointless. Try it yourself by watching this video. You will have a better chance of trigger ASMR by listening to it with headphones. The video is created by Maria, also known as Gentle Whispering, who is one of the most famous ASMR artists today.

What is ASMR used for?

For now, there isn’t any relevant scientific data about ASMR to support any medical claims. Nevertheless, it is currently being used by many people to battle anxiety and sleeping disorders. Whether you are at the office working, in the school writing an essay or at home trying to sleep or relax, these videos will help you.

ASMR also has a lot incommon with the lullabies a mother would sing to a sleeping baby. Therefore it acts as a calming and soothing sound for babies and helps them to relax and sleep.

A big misconception about ASMR is that it involves something sexual. This is not true. However, there are a subset of these videos that are focused on a more sexual perspective. We have written about the erotic aspects.

First steps

Many people experience autonomous sensory meridian response naturally in some common situation like visiting a hairdresser. The sound of the scissors moving around, the gentle touch of the barber and the experience of proximity while someone is focusing on you, feels very relaxing. A common theme in ASMR videos is role playing. The idea of role playing is to recreate exactly this sort of natural experience.

We are all different and we experience sounds in different way. If you are interested in this subject, I would suggest you find out what kind of sounds trigger this tingling feeling in the head for you. These sounds or visual stimuli are called triggers and here is a list of the most common ones:

• Whispering and slow and soft speech
• The sound of lips smacking, such as when eating or kissing
• Certain accents
• Hand movements that make you feel proximity
• Watching someone focus on a task, such as painting, making coffee or folding towels
• Personal attention, such as having someone play with your hair or having your make-up done
• Sounds like crinkling, tapping, scratching or flipping pages

Where to start?

Start with these videos. Find your ASMR triggers and discover more!

Springbok uses soft speaking and personal attention in her videos.

Mouth sounds! Some of you might find these sounds unpleasant but for some, these are a relaxation heaven.

Lastly, Gentlewhispering brings you crinkle sounds.

If these weren’t enough for you, check out the top 10 ASMR channels or head over to the official subreddit.

What to do when ASMR don’t work?

There are people who don’t experience ASMR. It could be that you belong to this group or alternatively your trigger is just far more uncommon. If nothing triggers you, a sure way to get ASMR is to experience it physically. It can be done with a head massaging tool called the orgasmatron. It produces tingles that are much more intense than any audio ASMR trigger. I got one of these back when I was like 15 and have been using it ever since. It’s best used when someone else massages you with it. But you can do it yourself also. They are super cheap too.

Hopefully this article shed light upon the subject of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. To learn more about the subject, check out our more detailed article about ASMR triggers