What is ASMR? Those Tingly, Relaxed Feelings Explained!

Ever feel a warm, tingly feeling in your head when you hear soft voices or nice noises? Here's why...

For as long as I can remember, I have experienced a strong warm tingly feeling in my head and back of my neck whenever someone speaks in a soft voice to me. In fact, I absolutely loved visiting opticians and doctors as a child because they tended to speak in such a soothing voice that I would leave feeling so relaxed and calm. Flash forward a few years to one night at Uni where I just couldn't sleep and resorted to typing in "help me sleep!" on Youtube. Little did I know I would unearth an entire community of people just like me who can feel instantly relaxed at certain noises and voices - and that there are tons of Youtubers (ASMRtists) who make videos to give you those tingly feelings!

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and it is essentially a pleasant tingly sensation usually in the head and moving downwards which is triggered by stimuli. The stimuli can be anything but the most common are visual and auditory. Ever experienced a nice feeling when someone taps their nails on a desk, if they whisper in your ear or even chew chewing gum? Then it's likely you are being triggered - and you can recreate that feeling! If you can prolong the feeling via a video, it can lead to intense relaxation and sleep. Unfortunately, it is too good to be true for some people as it is clear that it doesn't work for everyone. However, the videos are created in such a warm, relaxing environment that even if you don't experience tingles, you will feel relaxed and perhaps able to sleep better.

On Youtube, there are a whole host of lovely ASMRtists to cater to every trigger you can possibly think of. It's simply a case of trial and error: watch a few videos and see what works for you! You will even come to have favourite artists who you will visit regularly because you know they will give you tingles no matter what triggers they use - their voices and presence are simply enough! For me, I adore GentleWhispering, ASMRRequests, SpringbokASMR and Amalzd (to name but a few!), who are all amazing women with kick-ass personalities and never fail to give me tingles. Lately, so many new people have joined the community and are making all kinds of fantastic videos about any topic you could imagine.

ASMR has gained such a huge media presence within the last year, with interviews being held with ASMRtists with a large following on TV and articles being written about the phenomenon. It is so popular now that the artists can even make a living from creating regular videos. And it's no surprise - with so many people unable to relax, ASMR offers an incredibly welcoming, supportive community and a whole range of videos to help you get your sleep on.

Go ahead: type in "ASMR" on Youtube and give it a go. Happy relaxing!