Why ASMR is SOOOO…Fascinating

The Conversation

You’ve seen it all over social media; Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, you name it. Those videos of quiet whispers, sliding objects across surfaces, subtle tapping with finger nails, and my personal favorite, anything to do with slime. To some people, those sounds send people into a state of euphoria.

The trend of ASMR has skyrocketed over the past decade and some change. ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response”. It’s an observed phenomenon that typically makes some people heal much calmer.

But why?

Science doesn’t really know either.

As the very term ASMR is still relatively new, there hasn’t been a lot of conclusive studies as to why it works. During one of the first peer-reviewed studies of the phenomenon in 2015, it was noted that there was an overlap between what we call ASMR and synesthesia-which is a neurological condition where multiple senses activate at the same time. Synesthesia is a rare condition where people have unique sensory abilities that cause some brain sensor to be trigger at the same time. While 2-4% of the population has some form of synesthesia, a reported 5% that experience ASMR also have some form of synesthesia (sleep.org, 2020). 

ASMR is a sensory issue, which is subjective. What one finds appealing to their senses, another might find appalling. To those who can experience it, ASMR creates an instant audio stimuli that help calm your nerves that can help you fall asleep, or keep you at ease during an anxiety attack (sciencetimes.com, 2020)

Tenor

Speaking from my own experience, textures and sounds are a huge ASMR trigger for me. And slime is one of my favorite things in the world because of it. As a 28 year-old grown woman, I have amassed quite the collection of slime, ranging in all kinds of textures that makes soothing sounds.

Over the past year, with everything in the world going on and also dealing with personal life issues and life changes, the ASMR sensation my slime creates has helped me tremendously. The texture is soothing, the sound is calming; it helps me relax and think-while keeping me calm enough to keep me from overthinking.

References:

ASMR: Defintion, the science, & examples. Sleep.org. (2020, November 20). Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.sleep.org/what-is-asmr 

Google. (2020, May 3). Why is ASMR so effective for sleeping and anxiety? Google. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencetimes.com/amp/articles/25556/20200503/why-is-asmr-so-effective-for-sleeping-and-anxiety.htm 

7 thoughts on “Why ASMR is SOOOO…Fascinating

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