Do you love the sound of rain on the windows?
The popping bubble wrap?
Light tapping noises such as typing?
Ever had that weird tingling feeling in the back of your head and neck and couldn’t quite describe it or why it was happening?
Welcome to the world of ASMR – Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.
Yes. This phrase is far too long and scientific for this time of night, but it is a cool concept.
There is a whole community on YouTube committed to recreating this tingling feeling. No, this isn’t some kind of kinky fetish. People all over the world find certain sounds or “triggers” relaxing. Some insomniacs even turn to ASMR sounds to try and drift to sleep.
Now I am a little bit of a YouTube addict. I fall asleep to endless playlists of makeup tutorials and haul videos on a regular basis. I love the vloggers that I subscribe to and when one of them mentioned ASMR in a Q&A video, I decided to delve a little deeper.
A simple search on YouTube returns millions of results and a fair few channels dedicated solely to ASMR. I took the dive and clicked on the first one, then was asleep within 10 minutes.
I have previously tried those meditation apps and just sitting in silence for a while, but I have never felt quite as relaxed as I have with some of these videos.
And if you don’t fancy keeping your phone unlocked to use YouTube, there are also playlists and tracks on Spotify to help relax and send you off into a deep sleep in no time, just search ASMR and you’re on your way.
There are different “triggers” for different people, so whether you’re one for rain sounds, birdsong or a whispering voice, there will be something out there to calm you or send you to sleep in a flash.
In a chaotic world of sounds and noise, we must take refuge in sounds that are good for our bodies and minds.
Rain Playlist : https://open.spotify.com/user/chuckelliottskye/playlist/1ZdTxrh02lRcviSgCuECle?si=xQTTjj16Qu2d-3YPYQTzgA