I actually have two very real, clear memories of my first experiences with ASMR. One was when I was in preschool and is one of the only memories I have of preschool. One of the teachers, the oldest one, was teaching us about the months of the year. Her tone of voice and the way she clicked her consonants made me nearly fall asleep and I felt a tingling sensation all over the top of my head. The second memory is of sitting in the basement of my grandparents house listening to Bob Ross talk about painting 'happy little clouds' as I fell into a much-needed nap.
Here's the thing: I have really bad anxiety, as I've said in many an article. There are often evenings where I just cannot sleep. My brain is still moving, running through some small, unlikely loop of worry. Sometimes it is only ASMR that allows me to sleep.
What is ASMR? Well, ASMR is an initialism for autonomous sensory meridian response. While I don't often get the 'tingles' most describe, I usually- very thankfully- fall asleep. It's a response to sound that usually results in experiencing relaxation or calmness.
If you look up ASMR right now, you will find video after video of people whispering quietly into the camera, and tapping and crinkling various items. Sometimes ASMRtists- as they call themselves- do what are called 'roleplays', attempting to recreate what it's like to experience ASMR in real life, with a quietly talking doctor or bank teller. Sometimes they just show off their shopping hauls, give makeup tutorials, or tell the viewer about a specific topic like losing weight or divorce. I know this sounds a little weird, and, quite frankly, it is, but I know from personal experience that it's actually really helpful.
I don't have to listen to ASMR every single night to fall asleep, but especially before a big test or an audition, it's the only thing that will put me to sleep. There's a lot I don't know about ASMR, if I am honest. I don't know the particulars or the differences, and I honestly cannot tell you why a certain ASMR video makes me sleep and another doesn't. I don't think there's any scientific proof that this is an actual reality, it might just be a placebo affect, but I'd just like to suggest something here: If you suffer from anxiety as I do, or know someone that has anxiety or even just someone that struggles to sleep at night, maybe look into ASMR. There are even some ASMRtists that make videos aimed at children to help kids sleep.
I've attached the NPR story about ASMR, from the ASMRtist's channel who was featured in the broadcast, as it's a bit more educational than I've been. No matter how strange this seems, be aware that it really helps a lot of people.
