Psychologist gives tips
“ASMR can help you fall asleep better, reduce sleep disorders, relieve depression”
In videos, so-called ASMR influencers sit in front of microphones and provide the soothing sound. The star spoke to a psychologist about the social media trend.
A young woman holds a wooden heart in her hand and taps it for about a minute. The sound is reminiscent of rain pattering. When she talks, she whispers. She spells out the heart’s inscription “Sweet on you.” It’s the 30-minute YouTube video “ASMR Valentine’s Day Triggers” by influencer ASMR Darling, also known as Taylor Darling. She whispers over and over into the microphone, grabs objects, and creates noises with them. What sounds bizarre at first is actually a real trend on social media. But why?
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ASMR stands for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” – translated: Autonomic sensory meridian response. Exactly, no one still understands that! That’s why translations like “head tingling” or “head orgasm” are circulating in the German-speaking world. The terms refer to a phenomenon that causes a pleasant tingling or tingling sensation on the skin and in the head. This can be caused by certain audiovisual stimuli such as voices, noises or touch. Influencers have been celebrating success with this phenomenon for years.
ASMR microphone records sounds and the process is filmed
ASMR videos are usually available on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram & Co. and show a person performing certain triggers to trigger the reaction in viewers. And YouTuber ASMR Darling is apparently pretty good at that. With over 2.5 million subscribers, she is one of the most famous ASMR artists. She began producing ASMR videos in 2014 and has since amassed a large following. The Hamburg psychologist Christine Geschke is also convinced.
“I didn’t know about the phenomenon and came across it on Instagram. I then realized that I really liked the videos,” says Geschke in an interview with star. “I took it in as a completely new experience and thought it was really great.”
Geschke is a consultant and therapist in Hamburg. She studied psychology and neurology. Her focus is on clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience. The therapist with her own practice in Hamburg-Eppendorf knows how people Perceiving and processing signals from the environment.
“The ASMR videos only involve two sensory modalities, the visual and the auditory. Only two sensory stimuli are experienced, so you only have to concentrate on two,” says Geschke. “Many people then experience a tingling sensation in the back of the scalparea and this is then transmitted through the neck and back to the whole body,” says the psychologist. ASMR videos can be compared to meditation – as with meditation, concentration is limited to one or two senses. In the case of ASMR: seeing and hearing. If you want to record ASMR videos yourself, there is one thing you should pay particular attention to.
ASMR microphone – this is what you should pay attention to when recording
The most important gadget for recording ASMR videos is a . The quality depends on several factors related to sensitivity, directivity, frequency response, signal-to-noise ratio, low distortion and construction. A good microphone should offer high performance in all of these areas to ensure a high-quality recording.
These criteria make an ASMR video particularly pleasant:
- Sound quality is the most important aspect of ASMR. The audio is in high quality with a recorded to provide a clear and pleasant sound experience.
- The is soft and comfortable. It creates a relaxed atmosphere.
- ASMR videos often use certain props, such as .
In 2022, a study on ASMR was published in the “Journal of Research in Personality.” British researchers found that people who are susceptible to ASMR are also better able to perceive internal and external signals from their body. The results show that no one perceives all five senses – hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch – in the same way. Some are more sensitive to smells, others to touch, others to visual stimuli, and so on. According to Hamburg psychologist Christine Geschke, the reactions to ASMR triggers that are perceived as pleasant can have some positive effects.
ASMR has these positive effects on the psyche
“ASMR can help you fall asleep better, reduce sleep disorders, and relieve depression. For some it also helps with panic attacks. In any case, it lowers the heart rate,” says Geschke. Previous experience has shown that ASMR can be helpful for mental illnesses. However, the method is still very unexplored. Based on her many years of experience in cognitive psychology, Geschke has a sobering suspicion about the long-term effects of ASMR: “There is a risk of a so-called Habituation, i.e. a habituation effect. Now ASMR is perceived by the brain as new and exciting, but at some point the positive effect could disappear,” says Geschke.
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Deb
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
