With the increasing amount of stress many teenagers face daily, methods to relieve some of the pressure have been introduced, and one of them is ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response).

ASMR videos center around creating satisfying or relaxing sounds intended to relax the listener. It was first introduced in 2007 when a user in an online messaging board described their experience getting “tingles” when listening to people whisper.  More and more people followed suit and started watching these videos and soon the term ASMR was coined. 

  Listening to ASMR can trigger a neurological reaction, releasing oxytocin and endorphins which can provide listeners with a sense of relaxation. It can also be felt as a tingling sensation, called paresthesia, which usually begins on the scalp and moves down your neck and feels like tingling or prickling. 

Besides giving you a tingling feeling, ASMR can be beneficial to your mental health. According to a study conducted at the Department of Psychology at Swansea University in 2015, some people reported that listening to ASMR can relieve feelings of depression and anxiety, and some even reported an improvement in their chronic pain. Since ASMR relaxes you, many people fall asleep to ASMR or use it to help them rest, studies have shown that improving your sleep time directly correlates to bettering your mental health.

The term ASMR has over 13 million videos on Youtube and countless podcasts and accounts on numerous platforms, making it easy to access. Videos usually center around triggers like tapping or whispering carried out by an ASMRtist (ASMR content creator) and can prompt the tingling sensory response. 

ASMR isn’t just exclusive to bettering your mental health, but can also help improve your physical health as well.

In a study performed at Anglia Ruskin University in 2018, researchers invited ASMR experiencers and non-experiencers to watch ASMR videos and then recorded their physiological responses. After analyzing the results, the researchers found that the heart rate of ASMR experiencers had a significant decrease, and an increase in skin conductance levels.

According to WebMD, both a reduced heart rate and higher skin conductance levels in your body lead to better relaxation and finer sleep. 

Since ASMR induces relaxation in the body, it helps a lot of people fall asleep, but many students also listen to it throughout the school day when taking tests or at home while studying.

“I like to listen to rain and tapping sounds while studying and it keeps me from getting overwhelmed,” Sophomore Analia Guevera said.

So, should you listen to ASMR? Well, ASMR videos can range from eating honeycomb to talking about true crime to various role-plays. Remember different triggers work for different people. Finding a trigger that works for you can help with stress and induce relaxation in your body and it’s up to you whether you’d like to delve into the world of ASMR and try out something different.