To the uninitiated, the social media spread of images of people tapping on surfaces, crumpling paper, and whispering into microphones may seem odd, but many people are experiencing a phenomenon called Autonomous Sensory Mood Relief (ASMR) — a “flow-like” mental state that causes a tingling sensation on the scalp and back of the neck while listening to or watching videos of people making such sounds.
Some ASMR content can be as artful as a chef making a Philadelphia cheesesteak and fries, with each step creating a pleasurable sensation for some people.
Other content is interesting, too, like this ASMR imitation of a Philadelphia barber, in which Pepe, “an artist passionate about creating relaxing, immersive experiences for his audience,” whirs clippers, sprays water, combs hair, and uses scissors.
ASMR has been a hot topic online since at least 2007. In 2010, a woman named Jennifer Allen finally mentioned her experience in a Facebook group. By 2019, the phenomenon had become so well-known it was the subject of a Super Bowl commercial. Five years on from that moment, it’s clear that ASMR is no mere fad: there’s some science to back it up.
According to the National Institutes of Health, ASMR is widely reported to reduce anxiety, induce relaxation, and produce a sense of well-being. A 2023 literature review concluded that ASMR can reduce stress and anxiety, but acknowledged that more research is needed. Studies measuring physiological responses to ASMR have shown that it reduces heart rate and blood pressure. Neuroimaging has revealed that ASMR activates brain circuits associated with stress relief and relaxation.
Viewers and creators say ASMR helps them easily find mental health support for anxiety or insomnia online, plus it gives them a sense of community. James Lavino, a Philadelphia-area counselor and certified music therapist, said ASMR videos help people calm down.
“I think part of ASMR is that it’s able to regulate the body in a way that’s calming,” Rabinow said. “‘Back to the present moment. Forget about what it could be, what it should be, how things are. Back to your breath. Back to your body.’…If ASMR is having some deeper effect on the central nervous system and regulation, I think it’s going to be something that’s going to last for people, rather than just being a fad or a passing trend.”
Content creator Preston Watt was attending university online during the COVID-19 pandemic and found it hard to fall asleep, so he started watching ASMR videos to help him relax.
“I don’t really know how to explain it,” Watt said.
When you talk to people who don’t believe in ASMR, they think it’s “weird,” Watt said, but “if you actually experience it, it feels really good, it helps you fall asleep, and it puts you in a relaxed trance-like state straight away.”
Watt found ASMR so satisfying that he decided to join the movement about three years ago. He uploaded some ASMR videos to TikTok, then posted videos to YouTube, with the first one to go viral being one he made with his father.
Now, the 22-year-old Salt Lake City suburban resident has quit his job at a company that makes trophies and medals for the 2022 Olympics to make ASMR videos full time. Last month, his videos were viewed more than 8 million times, earning him $3,600 across TikTok and YouTube.
Watt said there’s an entire world of ASMR creators out there who people become friends with and collaborate on content, sometimes even flying to different countries to visit.
“I met a lot of people through hosting together,” he says, “and for me it was just on the surface, but a lot of people found their best friends that way.”
Finding companionship may be one of the keys to ASMR’s enduring popularity, Watt says.
“People who work from home might feel lonely if they don’t have many people to talk to during the day, so I think it’s nice to have someone to listen to,” Watt said.
ASMR isn’t for everyone. People with misophonia, a condition that means aversion to sound, go into fight-or-flight mode when they hear sounds that other people don’t notice, like chewing, yawning, or breathing. For people with this sound sensitivity, ASMR habits like tapping, scratching, and whispering can be unsettling rather than soothing.
Lavino said that while she doesn’t personally respond to ASMR, as a music therapist she knows that “sound has the power to affect us in deep, systemic, fundamental ways. So, while we may not yet understand the mechanisms or effects of[ASMR]it’s not the least bit surprising that some people respond strongly to these sounds, which appear to help them regulate their emotions and their bodies.”
For Watt, ASMR has become a form of time-consuming therapy that has been rewarding both financially and in peace of mind.
“I talk a lot,” Watt says, “and I whisper a lot into the microphone. I don’t say anything to anybody, I just ramble on to whoever’s listening. It calms me down…it makes me feel like, ‘OK, now I’ve got this weight off my chest, I can go to sleep.'”
