Many have us have heard of it, but not all of us have jumped on the ASMR train just yet. Some people believe that it can be the perfect way to relax as tingleheads can’t seem to get enough of the videos. At last, there is finally some science behind the trend that is taking over the planet one audio clip at a time.
The idea
So just what is ASMR? The autonomous sensory meridian response is a way that many people relax. They often involve videos or audio clips of subtle noises, such as folding towels, whispered voices, haircuts, or even eating. Millions of people across the world have uploaded their own clips to the internet, with plenty more fans flocking to the clips to get a release that many explain as tingles starting from their head and traveling all the way down their body.
Plenty of money
It turns out there is a lot of money to be made from ASMR videos. In fact, many professionals have been able to quit their full-time careers to work on their new adventure. Many people say they have felt the tingles associated with the sounds since their childhood, but ASMR didn’t become mainstream until the last few years. Now, people who have been looking for the clips all their life have a constant supply of uploads while people who have never got to enjoy the wonder before can learn what it’s all about.
Creating an experiment
Although ASMR has been taking over the internet for the last few years, it seems as though no one has looked into the science of the sensation – until now. The University of Sheffield set to uncover whether these sounds really do help people relax or if there is more to the story. They created an experiment that would put it to the test. They gathered a group of people to watch two ASMR videos and one control video that had no relation. Half of the group admitted to sensations from the clips while the other half fit into the average age.
Noticing the differences
It wasn’t long before the researchers noticed there were plenty of differences between the two groups. The group who experienced tingles from the ASMR videos were shown to have much lower heart rates and stress levels when watching the two related videos compared to the control. However, the half of the group who said they had no reaction to the videos had barely any changes in their stress or heart rate between all three clips.
Health benefits
It appears as though ASMR videos really can have many health benefits on people who feel pleasure from the clips. However, the same can’t be said for everyone in the world. The study appears to show that people who react to ASMR have slightly different wiring in their brains as different sections work together in different ways and therefore cause the reaction. However, the world of researchers knows there need to be a lot more studies before they are able to pinpoint the exact reasons.
ASMR is something that many of us have heard, but not all of us have gotten on board with. It turns out that it might not be down to our personal preferences after all. In fact, there could be something in our brain that makes us seek out the tantalizing clips.
