If you’ve experienced sleeping difficulties in the past, chances are that you might have heard of the term ASMR.
But if you don’t, here’s a breakdown:
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR, is a term used for an experience best characterised by a “static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine”.
If you’ve no clue what I’m talking about, just imagine this:
A nail’s going skreak-skreak on the chalkboard. Now envisage that feeling. Is it a cringe-worthy, unpleasantly face-scrunching feeling?
If you are, good; now flip that notion on its head, and you’ve got the rough gist of ASMR.
Here’re some examples:
Heard a beautiful voice singing and experienced chills down your spine? Heard or seen something soothing, and got a “prickly” sensation?
That, my friends, is the power of ASMR: invoking pleasant, tingling sensations without having to physically touching it.
ASMR Videos
So apparently, ASMR videos aren’t just a thing on the net.
They are actually pretty phenomenal, so to speak.
This particular video, for example, garnered over 13 million views. If you consider the notion that a top Youtuber like PewDiePie is reaching out to an average of 4-5 million per video recently…
Yeah you get the gist.
And it’s not even the only one either; other ASMR videos are rolling in the views (dough) too.
Incidentally, this one has 9.2 million views.
Which makes you question: how do they do it?
As it turns out, it involves quite a number of “tricks”.
How does it work, exactly?
According to CNBC, people seek ASMR videos to “feel the tingling sensation that the clips give them, allowing them to unwind or go to bed”.
“It’s a very pleasant, natural high state that you want more and more of,” said Maria, who runs Youtube channel Gentle Whispering ASMR.
And that’s precisely what the producers give them.
Maria, for one, would write up a script with specific soothing words, and research on the appropriate sounds to utilise.
She would test out the correct lighting and sound levels, before commencing filming. Microphones are positioned where a viewer’s ears would be in real life, and lens are adjusted such that it’s where an onlooker’s eyes would be.
Thereafter, she would go into post production after filming, and remove unnecessary clap or loud noises.
“It creates this presence of a person with you or around you concentrating on you. It creates privacy. Most of the time people will watch it by themselves and truly lose themselves in the moment.”
And I have to say; it works.
Making a point to whisper softly, with hand gestures designed to captivate you in the moment, I found myself mesmerized within mere seconds. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to doze off right there and then, seeing how my boss’ office is right beside my workplace.
But it’s amazing how concise the details are. It might look simple, but if you look beyond the surface. Every inch and cranny of the video’s designed to, for lack of a better phrase, get you into the mood.
ASMR in a number of forms.
While Maria opts for a more personal touch, other YouTube channels dabbled in different methods to go about it too.
The Ephemeral Rift YouTube channel is one such example. Apart from conventional relaxing videos like trees rustling in the wind, or someone shuffling wooden blocks, they also experiment with characters like Dr. Lampert Schade, a psychiatrist with a lampshade on his head, and Corvus Clemmons, a plague doctor who wears a bird-like steampunk mask.
“I looked to YouTube as a creative outlet,” Paul of YouTube ASMR channel Ephemeral Rift said. “I was searching for something in my life that was fulfilling.”
Brain Orgasm
But perhaps the real attraction of ASMR lies not in its “spine-chilling vibes”, but the gratification it gives viewers. It has even been dubbed a “brain orgasm”, which kind of justifies the reason why so many people go for it.
And I must say; it does work pretty well. Who knew? A 3D voice which soothes you to sleep, with the slightest and daintiest of touches and seemingly is right beside you, could just be a better way to absolve your insomnia than all the sleeping pills in the world.
So try it out if you’ve a case of insomnia. After all…
It never hurts to try.
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