What Is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)?

The term was coined by a layperson and was popularized on digital media platforms. As such, it is not currently a formal medical diagnosis and is not widely acknowledged by the medical community, though it may be considered an emerging area of research.

The internet is now bursting with sites offering ASMR videos. One famous creator of these videos, known only as Maria, describes ASMR as being “like showers of sparkles. It’s like warm sand being poured all over you,” she says. “It’s like goosebumps on your brain.” While commonly triggered by online videos, ASMR originated in the real world in response to directly experienced sights, sounds, or physical sensations, such as someone gently massaging another person’s scalp.

Other, less frequently used terms for ASMR include AIE, for attention-induced euphoria, and AIHO, for attention-induced head orgasm. Despite this latter term, the vast majority of people who are fans of ASMR videos state that they find them relaxing but not erotic.

What Are Some Popular ASMR Triggers?

Whether a person experiences the sights, sounds, or sensations in the real world or through videos, the ASMR stimuli are called triggers.

Popular ASMR triggers include the following.

• Whispers or other slow, gentle patterns of speech, the sounds of kissing, or lips smacking.
• Pleasing, ambient sounds, like a fire crackling, rushing or running water, the crinkling of paper, and white noise.
• Being pampered or witnessing it. Some examples include receiving a massage, having your hair done or fondled by someone else, getting makeup done, and being the “patient” in a low-stress, simulated medical or optical exam.
• Observing another person working on a quiet, detailed, or repetitive task, such as painting a picture, fixing a bicycle, or folding paper for origami.
• Crisp sounds, such as tapping fingernails or metallic foil being crunched
• Loud sounds, such as those from a vacuum cleaner or airplane

How Do I Know if I Have ASMR?

People who experience ASMR — and not all do — speak of it as a tingling that often starts in the scalp and then travels along the spine, at times reaching the limbs. Those who experience ASMR generally describe it as both pleasurable and relaxing.

That said, you may respond to ASMR triggers, such as receiving gentle care from another person in real life, but may not respond to ASMR videos. Indeed, even if you respond to ASMR triggers in the physical world, you may find ASMR videos unpleasant or distasteful.

How Does ASMR Work?

Public interest in ASMR has reached high levels. But the degree to which science can explain ASMR is quite limited. Only a few scientists have studied ASMR, and they have done so for only a few years. Still, these researchers have drawn some conclusions about ASMR.

• ASMR-triggering sounds and visuals may activate the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, brain regions involved in emotional processing and attention.
• Tactile triggers, such as physical touch or the sensation of being touched, activate the somatosensory cortex, an area of the brain that processes physical touch sensations. This activation is believed to contribute to feelings of well-being and relaxation.
• Factors like personality traits, prior experiences, and cultural background may influence a person’s response to ASMR triggers and the intensity of those experiences.
• ASMR fosters a complex, mixed emotional state. The videos create positive feelings of calm and excitement while reducing stress and sadness.
• Future studies are likely to provide a deeper understanding of how ASMR actually affects the body, including the brain.

Potential Benefits of ASMR

The vast majority of people — 98 percent in one study — who seek out ASMR videos do so to relax. Eighty-two percent of that group sought the videos specifically for help with sleep. Seventy-percent of the group used the videos to deal with anxiety and stress.

“I was totally amazed [by the videos’ effects],” stated one survey participant. “I started feeling an extremely relaxed trance-like state that I didn’t want to end … a little like how I have read perfect meditation should be, but I never achieved.”

Although ASMR videos are popular, most research to date has focused only on immediate or short-term effects. There is no solid research on long-term effects.

ASMRtists: Both Intentional and Unintentional ASMR

Some creators make videos expressly to induce ASMR, and ASMR users seek out these videos for the feelings they evoke. This is intentional ASMR. Among the most popular such creators are the following ASMRtists:

• Maria, creator of Gentle Whispering ASMR
• Emma, creator of WhispersRed ASMR

Other superstars of the ASMR world never even heard of the term. Their videos have just happened to provide soothing, ASMR-inducing content for many people. These creators are considered unintentional ASMRtists. The most famous of them is the late art teacher Bob Ross.

The Takeaway

• ASMR is a physical sensation that some people experience when they watch certain videos or hear certain sounds, whether online or in real life.
• While ASMR isn’t a formal medical diagnosis, it’s an emerging area of research that may have therapeutic benefits due to the calming sensations people experience from its content.
• ASMR is thought to work by activating brain regions involved in emotional processing, attention, and physical touch. This activation can produce feelings of well-being and relaxation.
• Most of the research to date has focused on the short-term effects of ASMR. More research is needed to examine the long-term effects of ASMR.