"מאַרך אָרגאַזם": וואָס זענען ASMR ווידיאס אַזוי פאָלקס?

What is ASMR

For several years now, scientists have been studying this phenomenon — pleasant sounds help people relax. Each of us at least once experienced this pleasant feeling caused by a light breath in the ear, the sounds of a lullaby or the rustling of pages. When a pleasant tingling is felt on the back of the head, back, head, hands.

As soon as they do not call this state — “stroking the brain”, “tickling the brain”, “braingasm”. This is ASMR, literally — autonomous sensory meridian response («Autonomous Sensory Meridian Responses»). But why does this sensation have a calming effect on us?

The nature of the phenomenon is still unclear and has no scientific explanation. But there are many who want to relive it again, and their army is only growing. They watch special videos where various sounds are imitated. After all, it is still impossible to transfer touches and other tactile sensations over the Internet, but sound is easy.

This is what the creators of ASMR videos use. There are «breath» fans, «click» fans, «wood tapping» fans, and so on.

New Youtube stars are ASMR players (people who record ASMR videos) using special highly sensitive equipment and binaural microphones to record sound. They tickle the «ear» of a virtual viewer with a fluffy brush or wrap it in cellophane, depict the sound of beads knocking against each other or popping chewing gum bubbles.

All the characters in the video speak very quietly or in a whisper, move slowly, as if plunging you into a meditative state and making you anticipate those very “goosebumps”.

Surprisingly, such videos really help to relax. So ASMR videos may well replace meditation and become a new anti-stress. They are even recommended as part of therapy for sleep disorders or severe stress.

ווי עס אַרבעט

Actually, the sound is one of many triggers — stimuli that cause a certain reaction: someone is hooked by a foreign language or words in Russian pronounced with a foreign accent. Every fan of ASMR videos has their own thing: someone feels a «tickle in the brain» thanks to a breathy whisper in their ear.

Others melt when they hear the sound of nails tapping on textured items or the sound of scissors. Still others experience «braingasm» when they become the object of someone’s care — a doctor, a cosmetologist, a hairdresser.

In the United States, ASMR was first talked about in 2010, when an American student, Jennifer Allen, suggested calling the pleasant sensation of sound a “brain orgasm.” And already in 2012, this frivolous, at first glance, topic was highlighted at a scientific conference in London.

This autumn, a congress dedicated to braingasm was held in Australia. Now a whole group of Australian scientists will study this phenomenon and its impact on people.

Russia has its own asmrists, clubs of asmrists, websites dedicated to the phenomenon. On the video, you can not only hear sounds, but also be in the role of an object that is “touched”, massaged, and read aloud. This creates the illusion that the author of the video communicates only with the viewer and does it specifically for him.

פּראַל אויף ימאָושאַנז

Despite the provocative name, ASMR has nothing to do with sexual pleasure. This pleasure is caused mainly by visual, auditory and tactile stimuli that «excite» our brain. Such an irritant can be found anywhere: on the street, in the office, on TV. It is enough to hear someone’s pleasant voice, and you feel pleasure and peace from hearing it.

Not everyone can experience

Perhaps your brain will not respond to any of the triggers at all, but it happens that the reaction comes instantly. From this we can conclude that the phenomenon is uncontrollable. What can this feeling be compared to? If you have ever used a head massager, you will be able to understand that the sensations are similar, only in this case you are “massaged” by sounds.

Each of us reacts to stimuli differently and with different intensity. The more sensitive a person is by nature, the more likely they are to enjoy ASMR.

Why do users create videos? Usually these are those who themselves enjoy the sounds and want to share it with others. They do this to help people relieve stress and overcome insomnia. If you turn on this video before going to bed, then you definitely won’t have problems falling asleep.

Another group of fans are those who like personal attention and care. Such people experience pleasure in the hairdresser’s chair or at a beautician’s appointment. These videos are called role play, where the asmrtist pretends to be a doctor or your friend.

How to find videos on the Internet

A list of keywords that you can easily search for. 90% of the videos are in English, respectively, the keywords are also in English. You need to listen to the videos with headphones to achieve a brighter effect. You can close your eyes. But some prefer to have the sounds accompany the video.

Whisper/whispering – שושקען

Nail tapping – clatter of nails.

Nail scratching – scratching nails.

Kiss/kisses/kissing/kiss sounds – kiss, the sound of a kiss.

ראָלעפּלייַ — role-playing game.

Triggeurs – גיט.

מילד - gentle touches to the ears.

Binaural – the sound of nails on the earphones.

3D-sound – 3D sound.

Tickle – tickling.

Ear to ear – ear to ear.

Mouth sounds – the sound of a voice.

Read/reading – לייענען.

לולאַבי - וויגליד.

French, Spanish, German, Italian – words spoken in different languages.

Card trick – shuffling cards.

Cracklings — crackling.

Psychology or pseudoscience?

The phenomenon is being studied by psychologists Emma Blackie, Julia Poerio, Tom Hostler and Teresa Veltri from the University of Sheffield (UK), who collected data on physiological parameters that affect ASMR, including pulse rate, respiration, skin sensitivity. Three of the study group experience ASMR, one does not.

“One of our goals is to try to draw attention to ASMR as a topic worthy of scientific research. Three of us (Emma, ​​Julia and Tom) experienced its effect on ourselves, while Teresa does not recognize this phenomenon, psychologists explain. — It adds variety. It’s no secret that some scientists call these studies pseudoscientific. The fact is that there are those who speculate on a little-studied topic in order to make a name for themselves.

“We ended up collecting data that 69% of respondents got rid of the effects of moderate and severe depression by watching ASMR videos. Still, more work is needed to determine whether ASMR can be a therapy in cases of clinical depression. Be that as it may, this phenomenon is interesting for psychologists, and we plan to study it further.”