If you search the internet for "ASMR," you will find YouTube flooded with videos of attractive ladies speaking in a barely audible whisper. The videos might feature the tapping of fingernails, the delicate unwrapping of presents, role-playing sessions that involve dentists and travel agents, and literally hundreds of hours of people whispering about nothing in particular.
These are supposed to give some people a feel-good tingly feeling on their scalps or down their spines. This feeling now has a new name: auto-sensory meridian response. It is said only some people can experience it, and the feeling is mainly triggered by certain sounds.
What do scientists say about this new phenomenon that has 'followers' glued in front of their laptops to await the next 'braingasm'?
Steven Novella, Director of General Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine said that there is lack of scientific investigation on ASMR. There also is a lack of scientific evidence that ASMR has any general benefits or harms. Any claimed benefits are based on people's personal accounts of their experience, not on clinical trials. There is no data that can prove the general efficacy and safety of ASMR.
Sleep specialist Dr. Amer Khan believes using ASMR videos to fall asleep is not a good idea and can be habit forming. It also does not result in good quality sleep.
Despite this, the makers of ASMR videos have a huge following. Some of them, like the famous Maria, is raking in up to 300,000 'likes' per video!
