A-S-M-R: Why I Love It

ASMR, or formally called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, has become one of my favorite things since quarantine began. Essentially, ASMR consists of feel-good sounds, whispers, and other pleasing sounds or visuals that leave you with brain tingles. A study was done on the benefits of ASMR and found that those who experience those pleasant sensations are actually about the same thing as practicing mindfulness.

A major finding of the study though was those who had a large frequency of ASMR sensations were also the ones to be most excited or calm. Additionally, they would have the lowest experiences with sadness and stress. When I first started to listen to ASMR, I began with makeup destruction videos. I didn’t really know the benefit of watching these videos besides them being aesthetically pleasing. Eventually, I started to venture out to watching mukbangs, a type of eating show where the streamers eat a large amount of food that first and first became popular in South Korea. Once I realized that I would rather eat my own food than watch others, I started to check out some podcasts on Spotify.

As of now, I found my favorite Spotify ASMR Podcast: ASMR Garden. Meli is the voice of the ASMR Garden and does bed-time stories, rambles, cooking, and so on. I was looking for a channel to stay consistent with and I believe what made me stay with this one was because of the guided meditation episode “Four Seasons.” This is my favorite and I loved the sound of the seasons along with the meditation.

Another channel I love is ASMR With Yadi. Previously having Yadi as a Zumba instructor, I immediately began to follow along with her ASMR channel to support her. From the other ASMR videos I’ve seen, she’s definitely unique. Her ideas, like the “Christmas Squishes & Decorations,” are very refreshing and fun! Additionally, she is bilingual so that means double the relaxation. She is new to making ASMR while I’m fairly new to listening to it. I feel like this made me connect more to her because we’re both on a new journey together. 

Overall, I would highly recommend getting into ASMR because of the calmness it can bring. Being a student among a pandemic can be difficult to navigate, but it truly is the little things that can turn things around. For me, ASMR really helps me stay focused, engage in calmness, and find something fun to stay consistent with.

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