Like most people, I thought that ASMR was weird. I couldn’t see how the prospect of listening to a stranger chew food or invasively whisper in my ear could be enjoyable. Unlike most people, however, weird or unconventional things pique my curiosity. Much like how pressing on a bruise can be strangely satisfying, having knowledge on the things I find weird is oddly stimulating. Thus, I found myself inclined to delve into the world of ASMR.
What is ASMR?
The term ASMR was only recently coined in 2010 as an abbreviation for autonomous sensory meridian response, but it existed even before it was called ASMR. On Oct. 19, 2007, a thread on Steady Health titled “Weird Sensation Feels Good” was started by an individual who claimed that they’ve been experiencing a phenomenon since childhood where they could feel a sensation similar to tracing fingers against their skin without being physically touched. Although the claim sounded strange, the many affirmative replies on the thread suggested that a significant amount of people have experienced the same phenomenon or at least, something similar.
To this day, there hasn’t been any heavy scientific research trying to explain or refute the nature of ASMR, but the community has rapidly grown and has left many personal commentaries on their own experiences with ASMR. While not everyone can actually feel physical touch through sound, most, including myself, can still agree that ASMR is an overly scientific term for eliciting a brain massage or euphoric feeling through sounds occasionally accompanied by visuals. Many people have turned to ASMR to cope with insomnia, stress, and anxiety.
Note: ASMR is not a substitute for professional therapy!
What Kinds of ASMR Are There?
When I searched for ASMR on YouTube for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the amount of content available. ASMR is incredibly diverse; here are some examples:
- “trigger” videos for finding sounds that your body responds to most
- whisper-type videos
- roleplay videos
- service-type (hair-cutting, ear-piercing, etc.)
- fantasy-type
- cooking videos
- ambient videos
- environment
- frequencies for concentration or meditation
- vlogs
Now that I’m more knowledgeable, I think ASMR can be separated into two broad categories: intentional and unintentional. The types of videos with weird, new content can be categorized as intentional ASMR while videos like cooking are unintentional ASMR.
Intentional ASMR
Intentional ASMR was what I was least informed about, so I challenged myself to educate myself on the matter and form an informed opinion on it. I learned that the people who make these types of videos refer to themselves as ASMR artists who try really hard to “trigger” the listener.
A trigger is supposedly an experience where you can “feel” the sound or visual not only in your ears but on other parts of the body.
There are tons of videos that are titled something like, “100 triggers,” or “Video for people that don’t get triggers.” The idea is that after you find something that “triggers” you ― such as tapping, typing, whispering, and hand movements across the screen that mimic caressing fingers ― you can look up other ASMR videos of just that one particular trigger in order to maximize relaxation.
Another really common intentional ASMR is what I call the service-type ASMR, for example, “ear-cleaning” and “scalp massages”. Regardless of the trigger though, it’s really common for these videos to span from 30 minutes to an hour because they are often created for the listener to gradually fall asleep to.
That said, there are also intentional ASMR videos that aren’t necessarily meant to fall asleep to such as ambient ASMR meant for improving focus and content like dogs eating vegetables meant to spread happiness.
Unintentional ASMR
On the flip side, there’s unintentional ASMR. These videos have natural sound — no music or sound effects — that tend to be on the quieter side. As aforementioned, this includes cooking videos, but more interestingly, some music covers and even Bob Ross’s painting videos would qualify for ASMR.
How to Get Into ASMR
While it was uncomfortable at first, ASMR has grown on me. I’ve been using ASMR before actually sleeping to de-stress my brain and even for changing my environment’s sound. I can see now why it has become so popular on an international scale ― it is an effective way to soothe your mind.
If you’re interested in exploring ASMR, here are my biggest tips:
- Explore all types of ASMR
- Keep an open mind
- Find an artist that you like. Sometimes, you may not like a trigger simply because you don’t vibe with the artist.
- Take it easy. Ease yourself into the world of ASMR if you’re apprehensive but curious.
Overall, I hope that my endeavor to understand ASMR has helped dispel some misperceptions of it while encouraging support by providing examples as a starting point in one’s ASMR journey.
My Venture into ASMR
Food ASMR is what introduced me into the world of general ASMR, and I soon found myself making similar videos on my Instagram. I have an entire highlight reel of “ASMR” videos.
More recently, I’ve filmed my first “ASMR” vlog. You can watch it here:
HUNGRY CRAVING 