The weird and wonderful world of ASMR

What is this strange phenomenon and why are people addicted to it?

Have you ever felt 'tingles' run down your spine when a teacher, parent, friend or friendly stranger, spoke kind words to you in a low and soothing voice?

Have you ever felt suddenly calmed by soft, reoccurring sounds like that of a lint roller on a pair of jeans?

Have you ever felt as though your brain was melting when getting your hair cut or washed by a hairdresser?

Have you ever been lulled to sleep when someone plays with your hair?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might experience the wonderful yet weird phenomenon of ASMR or Automatic Sensory Meridian Response. No-one is quite sure exactly what causes ASMR but individuals who experience it have described it as a tingling sensation that starts, usually at the top of the head, before working its way down the body, if not at least up till the arms. Repeated tingles like this, cause the body to relax, till some fall into a deep sleep. Although unusual, the experience seems to have a scientific basis, judged simply by the millions of people who experience it. They also actively seek it out to help them relax and sleep.

And they find it on Youtube. For the past decade, a handful of YouTubers have been creating content to help ASMR-experiencing individuals relax. What exactly is this content? Well it's based on what triggers that sought-after brain tingle and these triggers can roughly be divided into two types: sounds and role-plays.

Sounds can be anything and the ASMR artists (ASMRtists for short) are finding new things that trigger watchers every single day. Things like lint rollers being rolled across clothes, a hair brush gliding through hair, the pages of a book being turned and fire crackling are just a few examples of sounds that trigger tingles.

In role-plays, the ASMRtist will take on the role of a relaxing and usually caregiving person such as a doctor, masseuse, therapist, compassionate and attentive friend or relaxing and caregiving service provider such as a librarian, shop assistant or hairdresser. The YouTuber will act in that role, pretending to interact with the individual, providing care and positive affirmations.

ASMR role-plays are often accused of being sexual. In fact, it's almost the opposite. The vast majority of individuals who experience ASMR appear to be deeply sensitive people who are more attuned and empathetic to the world around them. For this reason, they can experience a lot of emotions on a daily basis. ASMR therefore helps them switch off and enjoy soothing and relaxing sounds and the feeling of someone else taking care of them, for once.

It appears to be that some of the people who don't experience ASMR, who view the low, soothing voices and kind and reassuring words as a sexual act. On the contrary, individuals who experience it often say it feels like a mother or friend taking care of them.

Although the science behind ASMR is as of yet unknown it appears to be gaining increasing traction in the world. Several YouTubers have now racked up over a million subscribers with each video having hundreds of thousands of views. Almost all major news outlets have reported on the phenomenon within the past year and one ASMRtist was even invited to perform an ASMR calming session at the South Bank Centre's Changing Minds Festival in 2016.  Whatever the disparaging views on ASMR, one thing is clear - it is giving millions of people around the world a good night's sleep and I'm sure we can all agree, that that is priceless.