Have you ever heard someone's voice or watched a certain video and suddenly felt very relaxed, with a tingling sensation on your head or neck? That feeling is called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). Here are a few notes about it:
- Not everyone experiences ASMR, or are only triggered by certain sounds. To find out if you have it, check out a video with multiple triggers, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5QjfnIHZ1A
- It's often discovered in childhood, with something like a teacher's voice or a T.V. show "triggering" a response
- There are different "triggers" for people – everything from chewing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6SfvNzcGmA) to watching someone iron a shirt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_iaiM4b-Ok) to tapping/scratching (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHuzw67ergw).
- Some ASMR videos are created especially to help you get to sleep, making them something to try for those with insomnia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qscmiLap-g
Like many people, I didn't know what ASMR was, but did experience it as a child. My family used to laugh as I would watch QVC to fall asleep, but I found the voices and gesturing so relaxing (I still watch ASMR QVC role-plays when I can't sleep, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pez3mjSPaTE). Many people have said that the painter Bob Ross was the first trigger for them. It's an interesting phenomenon. Here are a few resources to check out.
This is Maria, whose channel GentleWhispering is one of the most popular on YouTube (this is one of her most popular videos, with almost 16 million views!). This video is great because it features a number of different sounds and actions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVpfHgC3ye0
One of the classics: Bob Ross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HfA9K7SL5M
More information on ASMR: http://www.asmrlab.com/
And if you REALLY want a lot of information and links to videos, join the 115,000 people on the ASMR subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/asmr/