Sara Commander Sotos |
Madrid (EFE).- Videos of people whispering, tapping different objects, making noises with their mouths or even “scratching” a microphone, but also cooking or putting on makeup, with the aim of relaxing the viewer and helping them sleep well. The ASMR phenomenon accumulates hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, where it has even become a subgenre in itself, proof of its success on a global scale.
With a simple Google search of these acronyms, almost 500 million results appear, a reflection of an interest that is not alien to Spain, where the term has registered strong spikes in popularity, especially since the pandemic.
Ana Muñoz, creator of the YouTube channel ‘Love ASMR’, tells EFE that she discovered it about nine years ago, when the stress of studying made it difficult for her to sleep. She believes that people look to his videos for “a moment of disconnection after an intense day of study, work or both”.
“It has become a habit for many people and that means there are more creators and more content,” says Ana, who explains that among what her followers demand the most are the videos in which she “makes up” them or makes them feel they are in a spa.
Users put on the headphones, close their eyes, and enjoy the sensory feedback that makes them feel like someone is giving them a massage or stroking their hair, as if they were at the hair salon. The ‘youtuber’ defends that ASMR is to be used above all “at night before going to sleep or while studying”.
But what does the acronym ASMR stand for?
The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (acronym in Spanish for “ASMR”) is, according to neuropsychologist Judit Subirana-Mirete, “a response to a stimulus that our nervous system receives, processes and to which it gives a response”.
Dr. Subirana-Mirete, a researcher at CIBERSAM and the Sant Joan de Déu Health Park, specifies that the experience is characterized by a tingling sensation on the skin. This usually starts at the scalp and runs down the back of the neck and up the spine.
It doesn’t work the same for everyone.
“While some can experience ASMR with visual stimuli, others can experience it with sensory or tactile stimuli,” says Subirana-Mirete.
Regarding why some people experience it while others do not, the doctor comments that “just as some like dark chocolate and others white, the same thing happens with the stimuli in our environment: for some, said stimuli will be pleasant, triggering ASMR”, while for others they will be neutral and will not trigger any reaction. Even in some people it can generate aversion or displeasure.
Where does ASMR come from?
It is believed that the term was created in 2010 when Jennifer Allen, a girl who was trying to find a name to describe the physical sensation that came over her when she heard the rain, cut her hair or watched videos of Bob Ross painting, decided to coin it.
“The name itself is pseudoscientific and there are ongoing debates about whether or not it should be given a more technical name,” explains Clau Nader, audio engineer and researcher at York University, in statements to EFE.
Nader decided to direct his research towards ASMR because he was fascinated that it was beneficial for the mental health of millions of users. “Some time ago I had horrendous experiences with epilepsy medication and antidepressants, so I wanted to dedicate part of my work to exploring the potential it has to benefit the community and their mental health.”
How does science perceive it?
The Autonomous Meridian Sensory Response is a relatively recent trend, which explains why there is still not much research on it. Dr. Subirana explains that “there is still no well-described neurological basis for the phenomenon, but surely some neurotransmitters may be associated with this process as they are crucial brain substances when it comes to inducing the associated sensations of pleasure.”
The doctor emphasizes that the studies carried out so far allow us to glimpse interesting results, but the number is small and their replicability is still difficult.
For Clau Nader, it is comparable to practices such as meditation or mindfulness exercises. “Little by little there is more research and evidence on the subject, from eye observation to magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalograms, but there is a long way to go before we can understand the phenomenon,” she points out.
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The success of ASMR has grown so much in recent years that it has managed to permeate outside the Internet. She has jumped on stage with the likes of Amy Atkins, who adapted videos of her into live theater by inventing a character called Letitita Lickkit. In this way, the experience goes from the intimacy of the spectator’s home to something collective.
ASMR: A growing trend
As google searches on ASMR reflect, this type of content is booming. “The search for pleasure is intrinsically linked to our species, so that any stimulus that leads us to obtain these pleasant sensations will have great potential to be exploited,” reasons Dr. Subirana-Mirete.
For his part, Nader points out that it is now easier to create this type of content and also access it: there is more and better Internet access globally, to which is added the ease of acquiring professional recording equipment.
The engineer and researcher links the rise of this type of content with the oversaturation of health systems worldwide, which causes many to see it as a last resort: “Either because the waiting lists for therapy are eternal or because the side effects of certain medicines are counterproductive for some, many have found” in ASMR an alternative.