Autonomous sensory meridian response (better known as ASMR) is the new so-called “trend”, however, does it work?

A lot of sleep studies have been conducted leading scientists to look to experimenting with different sounds, smells, and experiences to help people fall asleep. However, is ASMR the answer to most of our questions and the answer to our sleepless nights?

Insomnia is one of the biggest health problems today’s world is facing. More and more people are having trouble sleeping and therefore experiencing side effects of insomnia, tiredness, and exhaustion reported as the main ones. Scientists and everyday people have tried various amounts of different methods to help themselves and their family and friends sleep easier and better. A lot of the time, an answer to sleeping better is a sleeping pill. Although, what happens when some people don’t respond to those methods either? What happens when you do not want to take medicine for it?

ASMR is a tingling sensation that usually begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. A pleasant form of paresthesia, it has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson (as stated online). There are a lot of different forms of ASMR – starting from rainfall and fire crackling videos and audios, continuing to scalp massages, hair brushing, applying makeup; soft tapping noises with different triggers (some more popular are tapping nails onto surfaces such as plastic, wood, paper, metal, etc), turning a book’s pages, listening to "crinkly" items such as paper, clothes, and other materials, typing on a keyboard and finishing sometimes with personal attention videos spoken in a soft quiet voice (where the ASMR artist performs tasks such as applying nail polish, makeup, giving a haircut, back massage, ear cleaning, etc onto a mannequin, which is supposed to be “you” or directly to the camera. Most of those ASMR artists whisper in a low calming voice to help you fall asleep. A lot of the time there are even ASMR pet videos or audio of a cat purring or kneading close to a microphone.

The content associated with the ASMR could be either just audio or videos accompanied by very clear audio. The ASMR artists or creators usually have very professional equipment such as a high-tech microphone and/or a mannequin to work on. There are a lot of different ASMR artists out there but a few of the most popular are TingTing ASMR, RelaxCorner ASMR, Starling ASMR, Jojo’s ASMR, GinaWhispers, Sensory by Sophie, ASMR Promo, Realdealpjc. Those creators and many more are very talented and they are proven to help people since more and more report being able to relax easier, getting less anxiety and panic attacks, being able to calm down after a stressful day, and also being able to fall asleep while listening or watching their videos.

ASMR is more than just the next “trend”. It is a form of art. It can help people with a lot of health issues and problems but it also manages to help people in their everyday lives relax and live a calmer and happier life and sleep better. It is proven that ASMR has helped people experiencing stress and anxiety issues relax and calm down and also fall asleep. Moreover, it has even helped people with depression, panic attacks, and insomnia calm down enough to fall asleep. People who sleep better lead happier lives and have a better life quality and ever better life expectancy. Better sleep helps people be happier and healthier, boosts their immune system, and helps them perform better in their personal life and also professional life. As it seems, ASMR has helped quite a lot of people and is doing nothing wrong, so why not try it?

Lastly, if you want a personal experience, I have tried watching and listening to ASMR videos myself and have never looked back. They have helped me with all the above and more. Since I lost my mum due to COVID back in 2021, I was experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and panic attacks and fell into a deep depressive state. I was not able to fall asleep until at least 5 am and when I did fall asleep, I was constantly having nightmares. When a friend of mine suggested watching some ASMR videos, I never expected them to help. Contrary to my belief they managed to decrease my anxiety and slowly I started to fall asleep earlier than 5 am every night until one day I managed to go back to my normal sleep routine (which for me is midnight or 1 am). I now use ASMR on daily basis, it helps me not only fall asleep and sleep better, but it helps me decrease my anxiety and stress of everyday life. I recommend it.