You’ve probably already heard about ASMR, or seen a video in your Youtube recommendations – but do you really know what ASMR is? Did you know how it can help you easily and quickly relax, without spending a single penny?
Well – that’s why I compiled this intro to the world of ASMR.
Being able to relax and wind down is always important, but maybe now more so than ever before.
Quarantine might have made a lot of us less active than usual, but that doesn’t take away from the stress and pressure that the state of the world has given us. And, because of quarantine – we can’t go get a massage or in some cases, even go for a haircut or a long walk!
But what does getting a massage or a haircut have to do with ASMR? Is my phone gonna give me a massage? Haha, no (even though that would be pretty great!). But, by listening to ASMR through a good pair of earphones you can kind of feel like you are getting a massage.
How? In ASMR-videos, the content creator typically makes sounds by using objects, such as combs, scissors, cotton pads, and other textured items. For example, in an ASMR-video made to mimic the experience of getting a haircut, the content creator might shampoo and wash a wig, and use scissors to cut and style the hair.
By recording these sounds through 3D-microphones, the listener can hear the sounds as if they are right there in real time. This experience can both relax the listener and also give them “tingles” (as referred to in the ASMR community) – a sort of electric feeling that comes from hearing the 3D-sounds, which relaxes a lot of listeners.
My recommended ASMR-videos for beginners:
I know, it might sound pseudoscientific but – it’s relaxing and it’s free! If you feel interested in listening to some relaxing ASMR but don’t know where to start I’ve made a shortlist, containing some of my favorite ASMR videos. In no particular order:
- Sleep-inducing Haircut ASMR by Gentlewhispering
This is a haircut-ASMR by one of the most famous ASMR content creators on Youtube, Maria aka Gentlewhispering. This video mimics the sounds of getting a haircut, from start to finish. Shampoo, conditioning, cut and styling – this video can put anyone to sleep!
- Pure Tapping (NO TALKING) by ASMRMagic
This is an ASMR-video without any talking or whispering. Instead of hearing the creators’ voice, you can listen to the calming sounds coming from tapping different items with various textures. This video might be suitable for beginner listeners who sometimes can feel that a voice in the background distracts them from relaxing.
- Skincare Specialist CourseㅣVisual Triggers by Dana ASMR
Want to hear some background talking without having to feel distracted? Try listening to ASMR in another language! In this video, you hear the sounds of a skincare pampering session talked through by the creator, Dana, in Korean.
ASMR sound interesting? There’s a whole world out there to discover!
Lastly, there’s a whole community of ASMR-creators out there that create videos for EVERYONE’s taste. Saying that there is an ASMR-video for everything is nowhere near exaggerating.
There’s cooking ASMR, cleaning ASMR, skincare ASMR, and even astronaut roleplaying (yes, really) ASMR! If you want to try out relaxing with ASMR but find that the aforementioned videos aren’t quite up your alley, I can assure you that there’s a ASMR-video out there that caters to exactly your interests.
