CHAPTER
1

Hooked on a Feeling

In This Chapter

• ASMR: one tingly sensation
• Is ASMR real?
• The science behind tingling
• How ASMRtists stimulate the senses
• Misophonia: like fingernails on a chalkboard

Did you ever have a teacher or a friend whose voice was so melodic that just listening to him talk was enough to put you into a trance? Are there certain noises that you find sonically satisfying and that help you relax almost instantly? Have you ever watched fish swim in an aquarium only to become so mesmerized by the monotonous movement and gentle sounds of the filter that your eyes grew heavy and you longed to take a nap? Does the mention of certain activities such as hair brushing, light massage, or a manicure cause your brain to get a warm, fuzzy feeling?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, there is a good chance you have experienced ASMR in the past or are capable of experiencing it in the future. It’s a question of finding the right content to support your particular triggers.

In this chapter, we take you on a journey inside the mind to learn more about this unique phenomenon that is helping countless people de-stress and get to sleep at night and causing the scientific community to sit up and take notice.

What Is ASMR?

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a semi-scientific term for a perceptual phenomenon characterized by a pleasurable, tingly sensation that begins in the head and scalp and moves throughout the limbs of the body, causing them to relax. It is an involuntary event that occurs when someone is provoked by visual, auditory, olfactory, and/or cognitive stimuli, such as whispering, tapping, or hair brushing. These provocations, whether they happen in real time or are merely suggested, trigger a subconscious reaction that is very difficult to explain to those who do not experience it.

DEFINITION

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a perceptual phenomenon characterized by a tingly feeling in the brain or scalp caused by the experience or suggestion of external stimuli.

ASMR is not new; however, it is new to the mainstream. Thanks to coverage in local, regional, national, and international media, those who have experienced ASMR all of their lives have learned that not only does the sensation have a name, but that others feel it, too, and make up a thriving online community ready to trigger their tingles.

Devon King is typical of those who first experienced ASMR as a child but didn’t know what the sensation was or whether anyone else could feel it. After receiving confused looks and head scratches from those he described the strange feeling to, he gave up trying to explain it. He presumed he was endowed with the same special “Spidey senses” that affected his favorite comic book hero. However, unlike Spiderman’s superpower, King’s tingles did not arise in response to nearby danger. His occurred when he was most at ease and could be caused by a variety of events, such as face painting, watching someone draw or paint, listening to a story, or having his breathing monitored.

Unsure as to whether or not he had a sixth sense or some kind of mental disease, King began to research his condition. However, vague descriptions and imprecise keywords yielded few results. Eventually, he stumbled across an online subculture of people who not only claimed to have experienced the same sensation that he did, but had even given it a name.

The Origins of the Name

Due to the various terminologies used to explain the ASMR experience, it is impossible to know for certain when the subject was first introduced online or whether it has another name that has not been identified. What we do know is that one of the earliest descriptions of the sensation appeared on the Steadyhealth.com message board in 2007. A user created a post in which he asked about “weird head sensations” that occurred intermittently and caused a euphoriclike state within him. The post, which was filed under “nervous system disorders and diseases,” prompted a number of responses from those who reported a similar feeling whenever people spoke slowly and carefully or made deliberate gestures with their hands.

Others claimed to be triggered by certain sounds or by watching people complete everyday tasks in a concentrated way. As these people searched for a clinical explanation to the phenomenon, they assigned a variety of names to the condition, including attention-induced head orgasm (AIHO), the weird head sensation (WHS), and the unnamed feeling (UNF). However, in 2010, Jenn Allen of New York coined the term that has been adopted by tingle heads everywhere, as well as the community at large: ASMR.

DEFINITION

A tingle head is a colloquial name for someone who experiences ASMR.

Although it has not yet been recognized as an official term by the clinical community, some scientists feel it provides a fairly accurate description for the experience it describes:

• Autonomous: A behavior that an individual has no control over
• Sensory: The type of nerves that transport information to the brain
• Meridian: A term from Chinese medical practices; the life energy that flows through the body from its central core
• Response: How the body reacts to a specific stimulus or thought

Real or Imagined?

Early on, ASMR skeptics and critics considered the ASMR phenomenon to be nothing short of New Age hokum with a clinical-sounding name. However, today’s scientists are less inclined to dismiss it so easily. The sheer number of individuals who have come forward independently and described the same syndrome with uncanny similarity lends credence to its plausibility, even if the condition itself has yet to be conclusively established.

Dr. Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine and author of the NeuroLogica blog, examined the ASMR phenomenon in March 2012 and concluded that its concept is similar to that of a migraine headache in the fact that they are said to exist based on the fact that so many people have experienced them over the years. However, he was quick to point out that due to the highly subjective nature of the ASMR experience, it is an inherently difficult field to study. Because it is a sensation that can’t be seen and is felt and reported by only some, it falls into a scientific blind spot similar to other conditions thought to be myth until someone develops a way to measure them.

While there is much we don’t know about ASMR, we do know that there are two types of ASMR episodes that occur among those who experience the sensation:

• Type A: These are spontaneous episodes caused by the experiencer without the help of external stimuli. They occur through specific thought patterns, which are unique to the individual. For example, remembering or thinking of something significant and pleasant to you may cause ASMR tingles.
• Type B: These are triggered by external stimuli and are affected by one or more of the senses, as well as the thought patterns connected to the triggering event. For example, the sound of scissors cutting may be something your brain empathizes with, leading to a tingly sensation.

DEFINITION

In ASMR terms, a trigger is the stimulus that causes the ASMR feeling to occur.

Triggers can vary wildly among those who experience ASMR. We will go into more detail about these triggers in Part 3; however, the most common external triggers include the following:

• Slow, soft, well-enunciated, and/or unique speech patterns
• Educational narrative
• Soothing, empathetic attention from another person
• Music and other pleasurable sounds
• Careful and deliberate task completion
• Hair play, massage, and other touch-based sensations

No matter what the trigger, the result is the same—a silvery, sparkly feeling that creates a euphoric feeling in the body. It is this brain buzz that some believe can help alleviate headaches, relax someone who is stressed, and even put the person to sleep.

But how and why does it work? That is the question that researchers have yet to fully uncover; however, there are a number of emerging theories about how it works, why people experience it, and what areas of the brain are involved. While researchers understand that ASMR includes elements of other clinically proven and often-used stress-management techniques (which will be explored more fully in Part 2), what they can’t account for is the goose bump–like feeling that distinguishes an ASMR event from something that is merely relaxing.

Over the years, researchers have suggested that the ASMR sensation may be anything from a small seizure brought on by auditory stimuli to a way of activating the brain’s pleasure response. Others speculate that the ASMR phenomenon engages an uncontrollable, primitive area of the brain that reacts to triggers it finds particularly soothing. When the trigger meets with that specific area of the brain, the connections between a person’s consciousness and thoughts are separated, which then allows the individual to focus on the sensations he finds innately pleasurable.

Regardless of what is happening in the brain at the time the ASMR feeling occurs, it is possible that some people are simply hardwired to get an extra shot of pleasure from sounds, visuals, and events they find exceptionally satisfying.

TINGLE TIP

ASMR is not the same as goose bumps, although goose bumps may occur during an ASMR experience. Goose bumps are a physiological phenomenon that humans retained from their hairier ancestors, when raising body hairs helped to insulate the body or to make it appear larger when threatened by danger. Humans continue to experience goose bumps in response to different triggers, as well as to the memory of the trigger. The ASMR experience is similar but tends to be more internal in nature and does not always result in raised skin.

Does Everyone Experience ASMR?

Not everyone seems to experience ASMR, although some researchers believe everyone has the potential to experience it, provided they can identify the stimuli that trigger their ASMR experience and recognize the feeling once it occurs.

Generally speaking, the ASMR community is comprised of three groups of people:

• Those whose first ASMR experience occurred in childhood and have had it occur periodically throughout their lives
• Those who thought they were incapable of feeling ASMR but experienced the sensation during their teen years or in adulthood and have continued to do so ever since
• Those who recognize ASMR content as something that is relaxing and soothing but who are incapable of achieving the tingly sensation associated with it

People Who First Experienced ASMR When Young

The people in the first category typically have their first ASMR experience at a young age and often describe a feeling of calm serenity when, for example, their mother played with their hair, a friend lightly tickled the inside of their forearm, or they listened as a teacher carefully and patiently explained the day’s lesson. It is a phenomenon that follows them throughout their lives, and when they “discover” the ASMR community, they tend to seek out videos that re-create these real-life experiences.

At least one researcher does not think this early and continued form of experiencing ASMR is a coincidence. Craig Richard, PhD, an associate professor of physiology and cell biology at Shenandoah University in Virginia, an ASMR experiencer, and the founder of the ASMR University blog, suggests the ASMR phenomenon may be something everyone is born with but some are more sensitive to it than others. In July 2014, he published his ASMR Origin Theory in hopes that it would encourage ongoing conversation about the phenomenon, inspire future studies and research, and give theories for further investigation.

Richard believes the physiological response associated with ASMR (the brain tingles) is something that is present at birth and remains with people throughout their lives. He sees a direct connection between the triggers that stimulate the ASMR experience and those that happen naturally through the pathways of interpersonal bonding, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

After studying countless ASMR role-plays online, Richard noticed that all of them contain certain triggers that have been used over the centuries to stimulate and soothe infants and small children, such as the following:

• A raised vocal pitch
• Soft speech and eye contact
• Gentle mannerisms
• Careful movements

He says that regardless of whether the creator of the ASMR video is acting out a medical exam, salon service, or other type of experience, the video contains many of the same elements as those listed previously, and because people are already conditioned to be calmed and nurtured by this kind of stimuli, those triggers continue to work into adulthood, even though they may appear to be entirely different scenarios. Each event being acted out is designed to build trust and to connect individuals to one another.

Richard says that when people experience the ASMR feeling, they may also be releasing endorphin molecules, which can stimulate pleasure relaxation and sedation. These endorphins may also be responsible for the feeling of euphoria associated with the ASMR experience because the brain is receiving information it believes to be safe, trustworthy, and preferable. Endorphins are known to be a powerful stimulant for dopamine release. This, according to Richard, “helps you recall, recognize, and focus on things in your life that trigger endorphins, whether it is a yummy food, the comfort of a parent, your best friend, or a romantic partner.”

Endorphins are also known to stimulate oxytocin, another molecule that may be central to the ASMR process. This neurotransmitter and hormone is often called the love drug. Oxytocin is most likely responsible for the sense of comfort and relaxation and decreased stress levels that occur during the ASMR event.

DID YOU KNOW?

Oxytocin also stimulates serotonin, which gives individuals a sense of satisfaction and well-being and is also part of the ASMR experience. Dr. Richard notes that most anti-depression medications boost serotonin levels; therefore, the mood-lifting experience reported by some in response to ASMR experiences could be due to the oxytocin-stimulating serotonin production.

People Who First Experience ASMR Later in Life

The second category of ASMR tingle heads are those individuals who come to the sensation a little later in life and whose ASMR episode may have happened by accident. During this kind of event, the individual is suddenly triggered by a combination of sights, sounds, and actions that create an ideal environment for the ASMR experience, even if it’s never happened before. Those who fall into this category may include individuals who have recently changed doctors or who interact with hair dressers or other service professionals whose vocal timbre, hand gestures, and environmental noise can set the stage for an ASMR event. When an ASMR episode occurs by surprise, it can be unsettling for someone unaccustomed to it.

At its core, this ASMR category employs the same elements associated with the first category and may be connected to infancy and endorphins, as Dr. Richard suggests. Somehow, though, the connection gets lost for a period of time until the person comes back into contact with something that triggers him later in life.

People Who Do Not Experience ASMR

The final category is made up of those who find the soothing voices and white noise associated with ASMR calming and who may even be able to go to sleep to the content. However, their experience does not include the tingly, sparkly sensation affiliated with the event. It is this category that gives experts pause and causes them to wonder whether some people are simply immune to the ASMR phenomenon or merely have yet to find a trigger that causes the tingles to occur.

Richard speculates the reason some people simply can’t experience ASMR is that their body may not produce the appropriate amount and types of molecules and receptors involved in the ASMR sensation. This biological difference may also explain why some infants are harder to soothe than others, or why some people are hypersensitive to sounds, textures, and other stimuli.

“In addition to genetics, these molecules and receptors could be influenced by the environment, diet, disorders, toxins, drugs, and even childhood experiences and cultural norms,” he says.

TINGLE TIP

Not sure what ASMR feels like? Consider purchasing a head-massaging tool that looks like an open-ended egg beater (also known as a head scratcher). This tool has been known to create the tingle sensation for those who may never have experienced ASMR and can re-create it for those who have.

Stimulating the Senses

No matter where you fall on the ASMR spectrum, it is an extremely personal event. In order for the ASMR sensation to occur, the individual must make a connection to the sensory stimuli on a neurological and emotional level, even if he has no connection to the creator. (Sometimes this connection also happens in the unconscious mind, so the viewer might not even be aware of the connection while watching or experiencing this even in real life.)

This fluctuates greatly from one person to another and is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The sounds must hit the right frequency in the brain, visuals must be pleasing to the eye, and the experience must be one that enables the individual to open up and trust. When a viewer is able to trust the ASMR atmosphere, he can surrender to the sensation and let the tingles take him away.

The Role of ASMRtists

In order to help individuals achieve the ASMR sensation, content creators known as ASMRtists strive to create the perfect blend of sound, image, and suggestion that will cause viewers to succumb to relaxation or a peaceful slumber. The resulting content ranges from simple sound assortments to full-blown role-plays complete with elaborate scenery and special effects. No matter how intricate or modest the content may be, it tends to fall into one of the following categories (which we will explore more fully in Part 3):

• Vocal: These tend to be word heavy and feature whispered/soft dialogue along with slow, deliberate speech patterns, mouth sounds, and enunciation.
• Art and music: These can stand alone or complement another experience, but are designed to stimulate individuals on a multisensory level through the audio/visual combination.
• Nonvocal sound: Similar to a white noise machine, sound-only content offers an array of auditory stimuli, including scratching, tapping, page turning, water pouring, and more.
• Visual: These feature slow, careful hand gestures and soft gazes, and can include educational tutorials, household tasks, and craft construction, among others.
• Personal attention: These can come in a variety of forms, but usually include a soothing one-sided conversation in which the ASMRtist offers the viewer plenty of TLC.
• Tactile: These typically re-create the sounds and sensations associated with a specific touch or event and may include medical examinations, grooming, light touch, and more.

This content is created by a diverse group of men and women from all over the world who donate their time and energy to this unorthodox relaxation technique, and their efforts have won them legions of fans. However, there is one individual who rises above the rest and is considered to be the “original” ASMRtist, even though it was never his intention to put his audience to sleep: Bob Ross, host of the long-running PBS series The Joy of Painting.

Ross holds a special place in the hearts of tingle heads everywhere, and many consider his show to be their first introduction to the ASMR experience. However, before he waxed poetic about “happy trees” on his wildly successful show, the mild-mannered landscape painter was a brusque military man who made his troops scrub latrines and screamed at them when they were late for work.

When Ross retired from the Air Force after 20 years in the service, he vowed never to raise his voice again. He turned his attention to his artwork and the wet-on-wet technique that would earn him a place in television (and ASMR) history.

The Joy of Painting debuted in 1983, and right from the start, it was the perfect storm for an ASMR event. Throughout the 30-minute show, Ross treated his audience to a symphony of sound triggers, including brushing, flapping, scraping, tapping, soft-spoken words, positive affirmations, slow and deliberate movements, and periods of silence that often led viewers to experience anticipatory tingles.

DEFINITION

An ASMRtist is someone who creates content in the hopes it will trigger the tingle in another person. Anticipatory tingles is an ASMR term used to describe the sensation one can achieve while waiting for the next (unpredictable) trigger and not knowing when it will come or what it will be.

Ross had the rare ability to be intimate without being intrusive. Along with his quiet voice, gentle demeanor, efficient brushstrokes, and canvas-tapping techniques, he offered that ideal combination of meekness, personal attention, and careful methodology that works like a tonic on tingle heads. Ross possessed all the behaviors and traits that are central to Richard’s ASMR Origin Theory.

Ross’s artistic appeal and personality were the comfort “food” that kept his viewers coming back for more, whether it was an art lesson or a good nap. Even though Ross died in 1995, reruns, DVDs, and YouTube clips abound and remain popular with ASMR experiencers. In fact, it is this type of milk-and-cookies content that ASMRtists hope to create in their audio and visual offerings. They want to create an atmosphere conducive to an ASMR event, and in each episode, build a relationship with their audience that will put their minds at ease so they can open their minds, relax, and let the sensations stimulate them.

Not the Sexual Kind of Pleasure

One of the biggest misconceptions about the ASMR experience is its supposed connection to the fetish community and exactly what kind of release ASMR content is supposed to inspire. For years, those who have caught glimpses of an ASMR video featuring an incognito person along with a close-up of someone’s hands or mouth understandably concluded there was something of a sexual nature going on.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. While ASMRtists strive to arouse viewers on a multisensory level in order to achieve a feeling of relaxation or braingasm, the ASMR experience is not about sex. This is not the kind of stimulation we are referring to when it comes to the ASMR sensation, and the term braingasm is a little misleading when describing the overall tingly goal of a traditional ASMR video.

DEFINITION

A braingasm is the term given to the tingle release that occurs during an ASMR experience, even though it is not sexual in nature.

Sexual release is the result of the overstimulation of the pleasure senses coupled with compounded tension in the sexual organs. Richard says this heightened physiological state of excitement during the brief moment of orgasm misrepresents what the ASMR experience is.

What an individual is experiencing during ASMR is similar to the sensation that occurs after the orgasm, when the person is relaxing. This is known as resolution, and it is a phase that includes euphoria; muscle relaxation; feelings of well-being, comfort, and trust; a desire for closeness and cuddling; and increased sedation—but an overall lack of sexual desire. These feelings during the phase of resolution have been shown to be due to increased release of endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin, the same molecules proposed by Richard to be responsible for ASMR. “This physiological state of relaxation after an orgasm is similar to ASMR,” he states. “But it is not the same as an orgasm.”

Misophonia: The Opposite of ASMR

Just as there are certain sounds that can lull people into a deep feeling of relaxation, there are also sounds that have the opposite effect on individuals. Misophonia, which literally means “a hatred of sound,” is a hypersensitivity to auditory triggers that may go unnoticed by others.

Misophonia is caused by a condition known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome, and those who experience this phenomenon are not merely irritated or annoyed by seemingly innocuous noises such as chewing, nail clipping, or coughing; they actually become enraged by them.

DEFINITION

Misophonia is the hatred of sound as a result of a condition known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome.

First identified by American neuroscientists Pawel Jastreboff and Margaret Jastreboff, misophonia is characterized by extreme emotional responses to auditory triggers that are not connected to known hearing disorders such as tinnitus or hyperacusis. For those who suffer from it, misophonia is a very difficult condition to deal with. Not only can it affect someone’s daily routine, but it can cause an individual to withdraw from his loved ones, friends, and society in an effort to escape the sounds that cause his nonvoluntary negative (and sometimes violent) reaction.

Like ASMR, misophonia is a relatively new phenomenon that has been studied only in recent years, but they are polar opposites of one another. Experts suggest that misophonia is less of a disorder and more of a physiological irregularity. Aage R. Moller, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, suggests that misophonia is hardwired into an individual being, similar to being right- or left-handed. It is a condition that comes out into the forefront only when it is activated by a trigger. Moller says that at present there is no known treatment for misophonia, and many patients often go from doctor to doctor throughout their lives searching for relief.

According to the Misophonia.com website, sound triggers vary based on the individual but may include the following:

• Mouth and eating noises: Chewing, crunching gulping, gum chewing and popping, kissing sounds, nail biting, slurping, licking, smacking, spitting, and grinding teeth
• Breathing or nasal noises: Loud or soft breathing, sniffling, snorting, snoring, sneezing, congested breathing, hiccups, yawning, nose whistling, and wheezing
• Vocal sounds: Muffled talking, nasally voices, overused words such as “um” or “ah,” singing, gravelly voices, soft whisperlike voices, and whistling
• Environmental sounds: Plastic water bottle squeezing, rustling of plastic and paper bags, machinery, animal noises, electronic devices, tapping, and clicking
• Body movements: Cracking one’s knuckles, neck, or back; foot shuffling or tapping; finger snapping; foot dragging; high-heeled shoes; flip-flops; and fingernail biting

As you might have noticed, some of the same triggers that affect tingle heads in a positive way affect those with misophonia negatively. In fact, some people experience both conditions with slight variations between the two depending on the situation. Both are highly subjective experiences and in chapters to come, we will explore how these sounds, along with the various practices, have all had a hand in the development of ASMR and are now being used to help people throughout the world get a good night’s rest.

DID YOU KNOW?

Most people can experience a negative form of ASMR when they hear or are reminded of a sound that’s inherently unpleasant, such as fingernails on a blackboard, even if they do not experience the more pleasurable and relaxing ASMR sensation. However, this negative ASMR sensation does not always lead to a violent reaction.

The Least You Need to Know

• ASMR is a perceptual phenomenon that not everyone experiences.
• ASMR is associated with a tingly feeling in the brain that some find similar to goose bumps.
• There are many triggers associated with ASMR. No matter what the trigger, though, the result is the same—a silvery, sparkly feeling that creates a euphoric feeling in the body.
• Painter Bob Ross is considered to be the first ASMR content creator.
• Misophonia is the opposite of ASMR and describes a hypersensitivity to sound that can lead someone to become enraged by even the most innocuous noises.