Have you heard of ASMR videos? If you’re an anxiety sufferer and you’ve never heard of this type of video, you need to know.
The acronym ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. These videos usually have visual and, mainly, audible sensory stimuli. The focus is usually on the person’s face, as if they were making the video especially for you, giving that feeling of closeness and intimacy. They calm, relieve the effects of anxiety and induce sleep, especially for those who tend to have insomnia.
What stands out most in ASMR videos is the voice of the speaker, which is paused and low, sometimes even whispering. There are also other sound stimuli, such as objects passing over surfaces and hands moving objects with different textures. ASMR may also have pleasant tingling sensations in the head, scalp, back of the neck, and peripheral regions of the body.
How do ASMR videos work?
We talked to psychologist Lizandra Arita, who has been working since 1998 in self-development training and especially in the treatment of diseases such as anxiety and depression. She clarified some doubts about ASMR and what reactions these videos cause.
Lizandra says that ASMR videos work as a relaxing medium that brings sleepiness and tranquility. A drop in anxiety levels has also been observed in individuals after watching these videos. “ASMR videos reproduce a series of noises that we hear throughout our daily lives. It’s fingers hitting a box of paperclips or masking tape being taken off the roll, for example.”
For the psychologist, the secret of these videos is in the noises: “Noises cause this tingling in the brain, relax mental structures and, as a consequence, the person leaves the alert state, and can fall asleep”. She also makes it clear that, although the videos are very successful, it is not a foolproof formula for falling asleep: “For some people, this feeling of relaxation caused by the brain’s response to noise makes them sleep. It’s not for everyone, but it can work for a lot of people.” So don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t work for you, but the attempt is always worthwhile.
6 ASMR videos for you to watch and relax
You know those days when insomnia is your main bedtime company? Save these videos that will help you relax and consequently fall asleep.
ASMR to make you relax and sleep, by Gaúcha ASMR
In this video, the author starts by “talking” to the viewer, speaking slowly and lightly, which will help you sleep. She makes mesmerizing techniques, sounds and movements that are able to make you relax deeply.
ASMR: Binaural Relaxing Sounds, by Sweet Carol
Here, Carol makes several sounds that are true massages for the brain. The tuc tuc, which is a characteristic sound of ASMR videos, really has the relaxing power and apparently your followers love your videos, just read the comments.
Beautician: taking care of your skin for you to sleep (ASMR), by Mari Santarem
A session of aesthetic treatments is always relaxing, and that’s what Mari Santarem simulates in this video. She makes you relax while she talks about your skin and explains which treatments she’s going to perform, all with a very soft voice and relaxing sounds.
Intense ASMR: Hand Movement and Mouth Sounds, by Monique Always
Monique is famous on YouTube precisely for the intros of her videos, which always have lots of hand movements and mouth sounds. In this video she decided to use only these techniques that are highly praised by her followers. The result is extremely relaxing and can help on those sleepless days.
ASMR Binatural – Putting You to Sleep, by Sabrina ASMR
In this video, Sabrina uses the technique of personal attention, that is, personal attention. At the beginning of the video she enters a room, as if you were lying in bed, and starts talking to you, speaking words of comfort in a soft voice and making other relaxing sounds on different objects.
ASMR – technique to sleep in 60 seconds, by ASMR Lá Nas Alturas
The 4 – 7 – 8 breathing technique is well known and promises to make you fall asleep in 1 minute. In this video, the author teaches this technique along with ASMR concepts, which makes it even more effective. The result is deep, deep sleep.
See how relaxing these videos are? Depending on how anxious, sleepy and tired you are, you may not even fall asleep, but you will certainly feel relaxed.
Testimonials from those who know ASMR
See testimonials from those who watch these videos and can feel their effects:
- Rodolfo, 25, student: “I discovered ASMR videos about a year ago, just when I was looking for techniques to relax and calm down. I listen more than I watch and they help me at bedtime… I save my favorite videos and watch them when I need to. ASMR also helps me stay calm after anxiety attacks.”
- Ana, 25 years old, lawyer: “I got to know ASMR for real a short time ago, but before that I already had some videos that I watched and that I felt super relaxed, either because of the person’s soft voice, for some specific noise, until In the comments, things started to pop up about it and I went looking for it, since then I’ve been addicted. All the effects happen to me, that ‘tickling’ on the back of my neck, feeling of relaxation, I can fall asleep much faster, which is great for me because I’m one of those anxious people who think about life before going to sleep. So at least at night I feel it helps a lot!”
- Bernardo, 22, communicologist: “When I found out about ASMR videos, there were still no Brazilian channels on YouTube, and I really liked it. To this day I watch it when I’m nervous and/or anxious and can’t sleep, or after lunch to rest.”
- Brenda, 22, teacher: “I’ve been watching ASMR every night to sleep for about 5 months. In addition to the anxiety, I was going through a very stressful period with the end of college, so it took me hours to fall asleep. I’ve always had trouble sleeping, since I was a child, I would stay awake for at least an hour after I lay in bed to sleep and now, on my worst days, I spend at most half an hour watching the videos and I’m already asleep. I get goosebumps on my scalp and legs, then I feel a lot calmer.”
ASMR videos divide opinions but without a doubt their effects are very curious and deserve our attention. Is that you? Have you ever watched an ASMR video?