SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of people are leaving comments on YouTube videos thanking ASMRtists for helping them sleep and ease their anxiety. But what is ASMR, and how does it work?
Autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, is difficult to describe because it’s a physical feeling, but most people who have it describe the sensation as tingles or pleasant goosebumps.
Recommended Videos
If you’ve ever had a tingly feeling when someone whispered something or spoke very softly, you might be experiencing ASMR.
Nearly half million post 9/11 veterans estimated to have PTSD, WWP says
Different things trigger ASMR for different people -- gentle voices, spray bottles, slow-moving hands, monotone voices, tapping and more.
It’s also common in the ASMR community for people not to realize they have ASMR because they don’t know what it's called, or they assume everyone experiences the tingles.
People have reported watching ASMR videos as a way to help them relax, calm their anxiety and even to help them sleep.
The creators of ASMR videos are commonly referred to as ASMRtists, and their videos have garnered millions of hits across YouTube.
ASMR has even popped up in mainstream media over the years, but is becoming more prevalent in pop culture.
Molly Shannon, an actress best known for her stint on Saturday Night Live, explained ASMR to Conan O’Brien on his show in 2014.
Shannon described experiencing ASMR when going through security and getting patted down by TSA at the airport.
Many celebrities have given ASMR-style interviews for W Magazine, including:
Jake Gyllenhaal
Cara Delevingne
Margot Robbie
Gal Gad
Kate Hudson
Eva Longoria
Ashley Graham
Juno Temple
Famous hip hop recording artist Cardi B recently tweeted about her obsession with ASMR videos Monday.
“Fav one is this Russian girl who live in America and this British lady on YouTube… I just followed some lady name spirit on IG she only chews tho but it’s cool,” she said on Twitter.
Kiari thinks I’m weird cause i watch ALOT of asmr video 😩 Like all deum day
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 8, 2018
Watch videos from popular ASMRtists below:
Gentle Whispering ASMR
Lauren Ostrowski Fenton
amalzd