The shushing sound of voices whispering, or clothes rustling—and then a tingling feeling begins on the scalp, and spreads down into the neck, shoulders, and limbs, and along with it comes a state of calm, or even euphoria.This is how people who experience autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, describe the peculiar phenomenon. ASMR is “similar to the deep relaxation someone might feel if they’re getting a massage,” Craig Richard, a professor of biopharmaceutical sciences at Shenandoah University, in Virginia, says. Others say that it’s a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia; still others call it, simply, “brain tingles.”
The sensation can be triggered by a multitude of seemingly ordinary, everyday sounds—fingers tapping, pencils scribbling, pages turning, plastic crinkling. And it’s one that Maria, the YouTube personality behind the popular channel Gentle Whispering ASMR, calls “quite intoxicating.” “I could call myself obsessed with ASMR,” she says. The Internet is full of videos containing the sounds that cause the response, such as in clips of calligraphers at work, “Oddly Satisfying” activities, or even the raspy canvas-brushing in Bob Ross’s “The Joy of Painting.” Commenters online claim that ASMR has helped them treat their stress, anxiety, insomnia, and even P.T.S.D.
In this video, the latest installment in our “Obsessions” series, we look at people’s personal experiences with ASMR and the meaning and science (or lack thereof) behind the sensation. “No one’s been able to unravel the biochemistry or the exact physiological experience that people are having,” Richard notes. Perhaps the strangest thing about ASMR is that the same sounds, such as chewing or whispering, that are so soothing to some people may provoke an angry reaction in others—possibly a condition called misophonia, which Richard describes as “an extreme dislike of some sounds.” “How can a sound be so relaxing for Group A but then really make Group B angry?” he asks. Recent data, he says, point to a genetic link to misophonia; this could mean that there’s one to ASMR, too.
Whether you find the sounds of the video above trance-inducing or merely interesting, the wide range of our individual reactions is a testament to the wonder and weirdness of our senses.
Sourse: newyorker.com
