Episode 6 Transcript: What ASMR Really Is and How to Use ASMR for Better Sleep and Soothing Anxiety and Depression
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Good morning y buenos dias. To my lovely friends all over the world welcome to the Noggin Podcast, a cozy mental health advocacy podcast with me, Kyarra Keele. It genuinely means so much to me that you’re here.
On this podcast we provide a safe, loving space advocating for diverse mental health dialogue in the community for people of color, educating about marginalized mental illnesses, and providing resources for mental health recovery. If that's what you’re looking for, welcome home.
If you’ve already listened to me introduce myself briefly in a different episode, you can skip ahead about 40 seconds because I value your time. But, if you’ve never stumbled across me before, again I’m Kyarra Keele. I’m a 4-time published author, healthy lifestyle blogger of 6 years, and an aspiring polyglot currently learning 4 languages, which are Spanish, and American Sign Language and I’m also gradually learning French and Arabic. I’m a mental health ambassador working as a liaison between the community and my local health center to educate, support and progress the mental health dialogue. I’ve been navigating the mental health system for about a decade now and I’m extremely passionate about mental health service and advocacy because I believe that no one deserves to be hurting or feeling alone in this universe. I hope this compassionate podcast will cheer you along on your good days and offer a cozy and supportive haven for you on your more difficult days.
Bueno, last week’s episode was an encouraging and informative discussion for students with mental health struggles; All about resources for surviving and learning to thrive through high school or college and reach graduation while maintaining at least the majority of your sanity. Now, today’s episode will be all about what ASMR really is and how you can use ASMR for better sleep and soothing anxiety and depression. For all of you skeptics who are under the impression that ASMR is only people whispering weird things or chewing ice in your ears, I bring you this episode that I hope will be fascinating and informative, so that we can explore together through both a personal and scientific lens how this tool can improve our mental health.
Before we continue today, many of you already know what time it is...it’s time for our Noggin Nurturing Segment where we take a quick break from the episode to do one thing to nurture and invest in ourselves. As I always say, a plant collector, I’ve learned that much like plants, our minds need gentle encouragement. So, For example, you might use this pause to motivate yourself to leap out of bed, make yourself a cozy cup of tea, take a soothing shower, do some gentle stretching...You could make a phone call to someone you love, or make that brave call to make your first or next counseling appointment, journal, make your to-do list for the day, or plan out a healthy breakfast. You could take a short 5 or 10 minute walk or if you’re on medication, you can use this time to take your meds. If you’re in the car or bus commuting you could try listening to a song that makes you feel uplifted, or planning out your day ideal mentally. If you can’t try any of those examples for the segment, you can still participate, so don’t worry! I’d like you to make a pledge to yourself of what you’ll do to nurture yourself as soon as you finish your commute. I truly understand that sometimes even the most simple tasks can feel like they take all of your energy, so please pick a task that’s gentle and kind to your body and mind. For myself, today I’ll spend the segment by trying hot yoga for the first time at my local yoga studio. I’m a complete novice at yoga, don’t own a yoga mat, and I despise the chair pose, but we’re going to give this a try because it seems like a good mental and physical detox. Okay? Comment below to share with me and everyone in our home how you’ll spend the break for the Noggin Nurturing segment…
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Welcome back and bienvenidos! Okay so, let’s start with the more obvious and major questions: What exactly is ASMR and why bother listening to it? I’ll try to answer this while dispelling some of the weird misconceptions surrounding this concept as well. Then I’ll offer some advice about delightful ASMR videos that I recommend for you if you want to get started trying out this out for yourself.
Bueno, ASMR stands for something unnecessarily long which is...Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. In a 2018 research article titled “More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology”, The National Institute of Biotechnology explains ASMR better than I ever could so let me give you their definition: “(ASMR) is an anecdotally reported, pleasant, tingling, calming sensation that some people experience in response to specific audio-visual triggers such as whispering and careful hand movements (and I would add other noises such as nature sounds like rain on a rooftop or the sounds of a city street at night). Compared to other similar sensory phenomena such as awe and music-induced chills, ASMR has received relatively little scientific attention”. This lack of scientific attention is curious to me considering the fact that millions of people listen to ASMR videos. For example, just one popular ASMR video on Youtube has gained well over 80 million views and 502 thousand likes. So ASMR isn’t just for weirdos in the corner as some may think, it’s for anyone and everyone to relax to and enjoy.
Regarding Studies 1 and 2 from the same scientific article as mentioned above from the National Institute of Biotechnology, I'll read you a little snippet of summary results: “We found consistent evidence that ASMR videos elicit tingling sensations and promote positive affect such as calmness. In Study 2, we showed that ASMR extended beyond self-reported feelings to physiological measures: specifically, reduced heart rate level in ASMR participants while watching ASMR videos. The results from both studies—at both a self-report and physiological level—are consistent with the idea that ASMR is a pleasant, calming”
Chances are high that you’ve actually run across ASMR videos before and perhaps didn’t realize it - you may have heard of white noise or noise machines or even channels on TV dedicated to background noise which is similar. It’s also possible that you ran across one very specific type of ASMR inducing sounds and didn’t particularly like the type you heard, which is okay. Everyone in the ASMR community has their preferences and you can simply learn what sounds are relaxing and comforting for you by experimenting and trying out some of the suggestions I have for you coming right up.
My absolute favorite to fall asleep to and ease sleep troubles would have to be the a video called Fireplace Sounds Medieval Tavern Inn Ambience by The Guild of Ambience channel. Close your eyes with me and imagine walking into a warm, cozy tavern on a brisk, cold evening. Immediately, the warmth and safety of the space envelopes you. It’s a place you know well, a second home of sorts. Hanging lamps on the ceiling and delicate candles cast a sweet halo glow that sets a peaceful ambience. The fireplace crackles and flickers audibly in the center of the room. The tavern isn’t too loud or crowded (shoutout to those of you who have social anxiety), in fact the few people there are speaking gently, so that the words blur together and only the occasional twinkle of laughter can be distinguished. The waitress is practically an old friend; she already knows your order. The food arrives steaming hot and fragrant with spices; food for the soul. As your meal winds down, you feel content, sleepy, and safe. That is what I fall asleep to every night.
I’ll mention that I was not asked to make this episode by any of the ASMR video creators I’ll be mentioning, particularly the Guild of Ambience. I just simply wish to share the valuable tools that I’ve stumbled across and to give some of these ASMR video creators the acknowledgement they deserve. I also really enjoy (now write this down): on Youtube or The Magical Tearoom ASMR Ambience by Miracle Forest, also on Youtube. But if tavern noises as I just described or magical tearoom white noise aren’t your style, there are so many more options and examples to fit what comforts and soothes you. To give you a better idea of just what you can find on Youtube (and some of these may surprise you) let me give you some more examples. You can find ASMR videos featuring the sounds of typing, soap carving, writing with different types of pens, page turning, sounds of a library (and by that one I highly recommend the two hour library sounds study ambience video by Guild of Ambience). You can find the sounds of a coffee shop, the sounds of someone making a meal (for example you can find videos of someone capturing the noises of pasta being made from scratch from a video called ASMR MAking Pasta Noodles - No Talking), the sounds of a farmer’s market on a Sunday morning, the sounds of a cat cafes filled with purring little kittens, the sounds of hair washing and showering, or the hum of spaceship. The best spaceship ASMR video that I’ve found so far is called Spaceship Bedroom Ambience - Sleeping Quarter Stargazer by The ASMR Geek. You can enjoy the sounds of a pirate ship, or a medieval town, the sounds of a bustling seaside harbor, or an apothecary potion shop.
If nature sounds relax you, you can try an ASMR video that has rainy day sounds with thunder or no thunder if you’re afraid of storms. Swamp noises with frogs and crickets is also an option. If you enjoy forest sounds, I highly recommend one called Woodland Ambience Bird Song Nearby Village by Guild of Ambience which is a beautiful 3 hour piece for background noise or sleep.
If you do find the concept of someone speaking or whisper gently to you comforting, there is a plethora of videos that exist out there for that. Whispering videos aren't for everyone but some can be fairly relaxing if done right. Also, perhaps look into Binaural ASMR which is basically the alternating of those gentle sounds from your right and left ears. It’s a fascinating sensation and might be calming for you.
ASMR videos can be exceptionally helpful for anxiety surrounding studying and academics in general. There are dozens of ASMR dedicates to capturing the sounds of studying, and often these videos lasts several hours long so that you can study along with the person on the screen which really helps if you need a quiet partner who won’t distract you. If you want a video without an actual person but just with the background noise, again, I recommend the two hour library sounds study ambience video by Guild of Ambience to help you study. If you would like me to make a separate episode about dealing with study anxiety, please drop a comment below to let me know!
For my much-loved hard of hearing and deaf community, transcripts in english are now available on the new Noggin Podcast website and for my Latinx community transcripts in español will be coming very soon on website for you all as well. Also, if you enjoy this podcast and value the cozy space it provides, you can support the podcast by donating. Simply visit https://anchor.fm/thenogginpodcast/support. Even one dollar donated means a lot to me and is greatly appreciated.
If you made it here to the conclusion of this episode, I’d like to say thank you so much. Muchisimas gracias. If you’re interested in learning more information about The Noggin Podcast you can visit our website and subscribe to be a part of our cozy home with new episode releases every other Monday morning. See you in the next episode! Nos vemos en el próximo episodio.