CHAPTER
2

ASMR and the Science of Sleep

In This Chapter

  • The function and stages of sleep
  • Insomnia and its link to other sleep disorders
  • ASMR’s role in helping people fall asleep

If you are someone who has trouble getting to sleep at night, take heart—you have plenty of company. Statistics say that as many as 70 million people in the United States alone suffer from a sleep disorder.

While some people use prescription sleep aids, others have sought out more-natural remedies, which is where ASMR comes in. In recent times, people who have trouble falling asleep have turned to ASMR content to help them rest and relax.

In this chapter, we give you a better understanding of the process people spend one third of their lives doing, plus information on why so many consider ASMR to be the cure for sleep disorders such as insomnia.

What Is Sleep?

Sleep is a period of reduced activity in which individuals assume a relaxed position and allow themselves to transcend into an altered state of consciousness. During this state, they are less responsive to external stimuli, but not so far gone as to enter a state of hibernation or coma.

While science has yet to prove exactly why people sleep, they do know the human sleep/wake state is controlled by nerve-signaling chemicals known as neurotransmitters that influence different groups of neurons in the brain. Neurons connecting the brain stem to the spinal cord produce increasing amounts of specific neurotransmitters in order to let the brain know when it is time to be alert and awake. Other neurons, located in the back of the brain, act as a shutoff valve to the others and tell the brain when it is time to go to sleep.

DEFINITION

Neurotransmitters are the brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body and relay signals between nerve cells called neurons.

There is also research to suggest that the body produces a chemical called adenosine that builds up in the blood throughout the day and causes drowsiness. It is believed that adenosine breaks down during the sleep state, causing a person to wake up. Once awake, adenosine starts building up, starting the process all over again.

The sleep cycle is divided into two major alternating phases:

  • Slow-wave sleep or nonrapid eye movement (NREM)
  • Paradoxal sleep or rapid-eye movement (REM)

Slow-Wave Sleep (NREM)

Slow-wave sleep, also known as NREM, is comprised of four stages of relatively high-voltage, low-frequency brain waves that progress from light sleep (stages 1 and 2) to deep sleep (stages 3 and 4).

NREM Sleep: Stages 1 and 2

The first stage of sleep is a very light one. During this stage, individuals drift in and out of consciousness, their eye and muscle movement slow down, and they can be awakened fairly easily. If aroused during at this stage of rest, the individual may retain memories of fragmented images and disjointed thoughts. Some people also experience hypnic myoclonia, a sudden muscle contraction that follows a sensation of falling.

DEFINITION

Hypnic myoclonia is a sudden muscle contraction that occurs during the first stage of sleep and is typically preceded by a sensation of falling. It is similar to the jump that occurs when someone is startled.

In stage-2 sleep, an individual’s eye movements come to a halt and brain waves slow down even further. However, they are interrupted by bursts of activity known as K-complexes and sleep spindles:

  • K-Complexes are large waves that occur in response to environmental stimuli (for example, the whirring of a ceiling fan, a dog barking, or noises in the bedroom).
  • Sleep spindles mediate sleep-related functions, such as combining new information with a person’s existing knowledge and remembering and forgetting.

Those who are awakened in the first two stages of sleep may not believe they have been asleep at all even if, from a clinical standpoint, they have.

NREM Sleep: Stages 3 and 4

Sleep as people traditionally think of it is more commonly associated with stages 3 through 4 and beyond, which tend to offer deeper periods of rest.

Stage-3 and -4 sleep is characterized by the presence of very slow, high-amplitude delta waves. During these stages, there is no eye movement and little muscle activity, and it is more difficult to arouse individuals from their slumber. When they are awakened from these stages, individuals tend to be groggy and disoriented, with a feeling that they were asleep for some period of time, even if they aren’t sure for how long.

DEFINITION

Delta waves are high-amplitude brain waves that happen during stages 3 and 4 of NREM sleep. Disruptions of delta waves are commonly associated with sleep disorders.

Paradoxal Sleep (REM)

Most individuals spend the first 60 minutes or so of their sleep state moving through stages 1 through 4 of NREM before entering the deepest phase of slumber: paradoxal sleep, or REM.

REM begins approximately 70 to 90 minutes after people close their eyes and includes the darting eye movement that gives this stage its name. REM is a sleep state that is characterized by muscle paralysis, rapid breathing, an increased heart rate, and a rise in blood pressure.

DID YOU KNOW?

Have you ever wondered why some people can remember their dreams while others cannot? A recent study by Perrine Ruby of the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center suggests that high dream recallers have more spontaneous activity in the temporal-parietal junction, an area of the brain known to play a part in the filtering of internal and external information. This increased spontaneous activity (which occurs in both the sleep and awake states) may explain why they are better able to encode their dreams into their memories than low dream recallers.

Although people spend about 25 percent of their night in REM sleep, the exact function of this phase is not well known. Some people believe it is the period of time in which the memories consolidate and catalogue information, while others think that REM sleep is critical to the development of the central nervous system or gives the brain a chance to re-energize other neurotransmitters such as the monoamine receptors (which are involved in regulating emotion, arousal, and other types of memory). However, what makes this phase of sleep so physiologically different from the other four is the presence of fanciful narratives known as dreams and nightmares.

In My Dreams

Dreams are the images, thoughts, and emotions experienced by individuals during periods of REM sleep. They can be detailed or vague, full of exciting emotion or terrifying imagery, and make perfect sense or be completely irrational.

Like the act of sleep itself, science knows what a dream is, but it has yet to conclusively prove why people do it and what purpose it serves. While some researchers believe that dreams are nothing more than random, meaningless images and ideas, others believe that dreams are far more psychologically significant and an essential part of our overall mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

Some dream theories suggest that dreams do the following:

  • Allow people’s brains to interpret external stimuli during the sleep state
  • Allow the brain to clean up, file, and process information in preparation for the next day
  • Serve as a form of psychotherapy in which individuals work through their feelings and emotions in a safe environment
  • Are mentally generated thoughts and ideas that have loose connections and are guided by the emotions of the individual dreamer

Welcome to My Nightmare

While the term dream is usually associated with a pleasant or surrealistic sleep narrative, on the opposite end of the spectrum is a series of images that result in feelings of fear, terror, and anxiety. These narratives may involve real-life or surrealistic events, can occur once in a while or on a fairly regular basis, and may happen after watching a scary movie or for seemingly no reason at all. They are nightmares.

Although they are not pleasant, a nightmare is a fairly common and ordinary phenomenon that occurs by the age of 10 at the latest and then intermittently throughout people’s lives. Researchers say that nightmares are a normal reaction to stress and a way for individuals to deal with traumatic events. However, they are not considered a disorder unless they interfere with your ability to function in society and the workplace.



The Lucid Dream

Deep within the realm of REM, there exists an unusual state of consciousness in which individuals know they are dreaming and are able to maintain some amount of control over the experience. It is known as the lucid dream.

DEFINITION

A lucid dream is any dream in which a person knows that she is dreaming.

First coined by Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in 1911, the lucid dream is a unique event characterized by seven conditions of clarity:

  • The person is aware she is asleep during the dream.
  • The person is able to make coherent decisions while in the dream state.
  • The person tends to be able to recall more memories and details associated with her individual dream.
  • The person retains awareness of her identity in the dream.
  • The individual is aware of her dream environment.
  • The individual has a clear understanding of her dream’s meaning.
  • The individual has the ability to concentrate, focus on, and influence the dream’s narrative.

There are two ways in which the lucid dream can occur. The dream-induced lucid dream (DILD) is one that begins as a traditional dream until a point where individuals realize they are dreaming. Perhaps they notice a color and remember the adage that most people do not dream in color. They may find themselves incapable of moving their legs or blinded by sunlight and in their frustration realize they must be dreaming in order to be so helpless. In the wake-induced lucid dream (WILD), individuals are able to transition from a period of wakefulness into a dream state seamlessly with no lapse in consciousness. They are in control of the dream right from the very start.

Lucid dreaming is not a new concept, but like ASMR, is it not one that is fully understood. For some, the ability to experience lucid dreams happens organically, while others have to work harder at it in order to recognize the dream state as it occurs. Some people believe that the chances of lucid dreaming can be enhanced with guided meditations, sound vibrations, hypnotic suggestions, and other content found in ASMR videos.

TINGLE TIP

Lucid dreaming is of particular interest to the ASMR community, with several ASMR websites suggesting that lucid dreaming enables one to control their sleep state, go on fantastic adventures, and even helps combat common sleep disorders. In Part 2, you will examine some of the practices associated with the lucid dream, such as meditation and hypnosis, and learn how those practices have crossed over into the realm of ASMR in order to help folks achieve to sleep.

Sleep Disorders

The average sleep cycle lasts between 90 to 110 minutes in length, which means that if people are getting the recommended 8 hours of rest, they should move through 4 to 5 sleep cycles during that time. However, that is rarely the case. According to national polls, about 20 percent of the population reports they get less than six hours of sleep at night, and those who used to achieve a full eight hours is on the decline.

There are a number of reasons for this lack of rest. There are a number of serious medical conditions that disrupt the sleeping pattern of individuals and, if severe, can interfere with their normal state of functioning. Some of the more unique sleep disorders include nightmares, night terrors, sleep walking, sleep talking and teeth grinding (known as parasomnias). However, most people are familiar with the more common afflictions, such as the following:

  • Sleep apnea: Also known as chronic snoring, it is a fairly common condition characterized by lapses in an individual’s breathing pattern during the sleep state.
  • Narcolepsy: A brain disorder in which individuals struggle to control their sleep/wake cycles. Narcoleptics can typically fall asleep anywhere and at any time.
  • Restless leg syndrome (RLS): An uncomfortable neurological condition in which a person experiences unpleasant sensations in the legs coupled with the overwhelming desire to move them.

While some of these conditions require medication, therapy, and occasionally even surgery in order to manage them, there is one commonality. Most of them result in the one sleep disorder that is most commonly connected to the distractions, disruptions, and diversions that plague people’s 24/7 lives: insomnia.

DEFINITION

Insomnia is a disorder characterized by a person’s inability to go to sleep or to stay asleep at night. It is usually diagnosed by a clinician because it compromises the work, education, health, and/or relationships of the individual.

Wide Awake

Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or both during the night. It is the number-one sleep disorder of all time, is often a byproduct of other conditions, and is the disorder that is most commonly associated to the ASMR phenomenon. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, insomnia is a condition that affects a significant percentage of the population, with 30 to 35 percent of people suffering brief periods of sleeplessness, 15 to 20 percent enduring short-term sleep loss, and approximately 10 percent of the population dealing with chronic insomnia that occurs at least three times a week for three months or longer.

When people suffer from insomnia, they never feel adequately rested; this lack of rest can then have a negative impact on their health and everyday life. While some people do not require as much sleep as others, a long-term deprivation of what feels normal to them can lower their energy level, depress their mood, and decrease their performance level at work and at home. According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of insomnia may include the following:

  • Difficulty falling asleep at night
  • Awakening during the night
  • Awakening too early
  • Not feeling well rested after a night’s sleep
  • Daytime tiredness or sleepiness
  • Irritability, depression, or anxiety
  • Difficulty paying attention, focusing on tasks, or remembering
  • Increased errors or accidents
  • Tension headaches
  • Distress in the stomach and intestines (gastrointestinal tract)
  • Ongoing worries about sleep

So what is keeping everyone awake at night? Experts say that it is a condition caused by stress, anxiety, depression, underlying medical conditions, poor sleep habits, current medications, or a change in work or living environment. Insomnia is something that has a tendency to increase with age and often occurs more in women than in men. It can also be more prevalent in people over the age of 60, those who have a history of behavioral health issues, folks who travel great distances on a regular basis, individuals enduring pressures, or those who work on a schedule that is not conducive to sleep.

The first step in alleviating any sleep disorder is to adopt healthy sleep-hygiene habits, such as creating a sleep schedule and avoiding naps. However, sometimes the solution to sleeplessness is not as simple as making a few lifestyle adjustments, and that’s where ASMR and YouTube come into the equation.

How ASMR Can Help

Science has concluded that sleep is an important component to people’s overall health and well-being. Researchers know that a good night’s sleep can improve mental and physical functioning, quality of life, and the ability to learn new things.

The inability to sleep is a nightmare (pardon the pun). If you’re one of those people who eschews chemical solutions to their sleeplessness and longs for a more natural (if unconventional) remedy, ASMR is a viable alternative.

For example, Emily Hanson is just one of the many tingle heads who claim that ASMR videos have helped her deal with chronic insomnia. In an interview with ABC News, she said that she didn’t want to have a glass of wine or turn to pills in order to relax and that over the years, she never found meditation to be particularly helpful.

After turning to ASMR videos on the internet, Hanson said she found her cure for sleeplessness. She became hooked on the YouTube content, which enabled her eyes to grow heavy and her brain to relax. She said that she became so connected to the sounds, images, and vocal suggestions that she was able to fall asleep quickly without medication, adverse side effects, or the chance of succumbing to an unhealthy addiction. “I just conk out,” she said.

Those who use ASMR videos to get to sleep attribute their effectiveness to the mundane and monotonous activity found within them, which enable them to get some shut-eye. Others say it is the idea of being the center of the ASMRtist’s focus and attention that knocks them out at night. Still others claim it is the sounds and activities in the videos that connect them to the pleasant memories of their past. Whatever the reason they are drawn to the content, it seems to be working for them, and many of the top ASMRtists on YouTube have over 100,000 subscribers attesting to their videos’ success.

Anecdotal evidence aside, the scientific jury is still out on the subject and is unsure as to exactly why and how these videos work on the subconscious. (At least one study on ASMR has been conducted, though as of this writing, its findings have not been published.) Still, while there have been skeptics of the practice in the past, in recent months, experts have weighed in and expressed support for ASMR. Dr. Mehmet Oz has endorsed the practice, calling it a “safe and natural way for you to fall asleep without medication” and Dr. Carl W. Bazil, a sleep disorder specialist at Columbia University, says ASMR videos are not very different from other practices known for helping folks calm down at night.

“People who have insomnia are in a hyper state of arousal,” he said. “Behavior treatments—guided imagery, progressive relaxation, hypnosis and meditation—are meant to try and trick your conscious into doing what you want it to do. ASMR videos seem to be a variation on finding ways to shut your brain down.”

Although there is ASMR content on the internet specifically designed to help with insomnia, various trigger videos have been known to do the trick. The following are a few to try:

KEEP IN MIND

While ASMR videos can be an effective way to help you get to sleep, they should not be used to escape any underlying problems or issues in your life.

The Least You Need to Know

  • Individuals spend one third of their lives asleep.
  • A lucid dream is one in which an individual knows she is dreaming.
  • Sleep disorders affect tens of millions of people and range from the common to the more unusual, with one thing seemingly in common: insomnia.
  • ASMR content is being used to help those who have trouble falling asleep and in recent months has been endorsed by some individuals within the medical community.
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