To tackle insomnia go online
How did an online community looking to beat stress and insomnia blossom around videos of ear-to-ear whispering and hair-combing?
When 19-year-old Chicago resident Vishwesh S is struggling with stress, he knows he is going to toss in bed for hours before he doses off. Determined not to catnap the next day at sociology class, he decided to get help online.
That's where he found Maria. A pretty, soft-spoken blonde, Maria regularly uploads videos of herself leisurely applying make-up, tapping on her hairbrush rhythmically and playing teacher with a blackboard.
Vishwesh is part of a loyal following of six lakh viewers who are hooked to watching over 178 of Maria's videos.
Devoid of any sexual references (she is fully clothed when she imitates the White Queen), Maria's videos are lulling millions battling stress and insomnia to sleep using Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).
ASMR is an experimental perceptual phenomenon characterised as a distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp and spine in response to visual, auditory or cognitive stimuli. The triggers can vary from exposure to slow and unique speech patterns, watching another person complete a task (often in a diligent, attentive manner) to receiving close personal attention from another person. Haircuts or a touch from someone on the head and back are also a strong trigger, which explains the happy head feeling you experience during an old fashioned champi.
Although the term ASMR was coined in 2008 by a community of like-minded thinkers, they agree there is no scientific proof as yet to back the theory. But a burgeoning community of video recorders and viewers are vouching for its effectiveness.
"It's tricky to describe," says 27-year-old Alex Lynch from Russia, musician and creator on the ASMR Facebook page that has 13,000 subscribers. Most videos are about 20 minutes to an hour-long and feature soft tones and light with the subject performing mundane tasks repetitively. Roleplay is also popular where every day tasks are enacted with slow, purposeful motion. Combing of hair, dismantling clocks and reading out children's fairy tales seem to be big hits. For Lynch, ASMR was a term that explained something he has been experiencing all his life. "The community includes 70-year-olds too, but they tend to hide it from family because we lack scientific proof. If it makes someone feel better, and doesn't hurt anyone, it can't be all that bad," he says over mail.
ASMR artists (it's classified as an art for lack of medical proof) need not be qualified and often experiment with the content of the video. UK-based Emma or Whispers Red ASMR, according to her YouTube channel, gets 60,000-odd hits for every video she uploads. This she does at least twice a week. "Fans are very vocal about what they like and even suggest what I could do the next time around." She is currently involved with Braingasm, a Canadian docu that explores the subject.
Meanwhile, Antonio Jovanov, 19, a student at the University of Illinois, shoots and uploads ASMR videos in his spare time using his laptop. He mentions 'triggers' that can help induce relaxation. Jovanov uses a binaural microphone to whisper through each end to make it seem like the viewer has someone murmuring in their presence. This writer fell asleep during one of his videos, owing to its slow paced monotony.
"That's the point," explains 39-year-old Roberto Bordonaro, an Italian IT consultant, who is working on a device which can trigger ASMR by design. The response varies from one person to another but supporters say ASMR helps deal with depression, panic attacks and stress.
Dr Vikas Agrawal, sleep apnea expert at Asian Hospitals draws a parallel to Tinnitus retraining therapy used for those suffering from Tinnitus or a ringing in the ears in the absence of external sound, leaving them prone to insomnia. While he isn't convinced about ASMR, he says it can't hurt patients. "We ask patients to turn the radio on and tune in between two stations. The distorted air wave disturbance acts as a noise canceller to the perceived sound. There is no great science and it works without side-effects," he says, drawing a parallel.
Meanwhile, ASMR artists and fans continue to sleep in perceived peaceful bliss thanks to videos that run with a disclaimer, "this video cannot replace any medication or professional treatment"
When 19-year-old Chicago resident Vishwesh S is struggling with stress, he knows he is going to toss in bed for hours before he doses off. Determined not to catnap the next day at sociology class, he decided to get help online.
That's where he found Maria. A pretty, soft-spoken blonde, Maria regularly uploads videos of herself leisurely applying make-up, tapping on her hairbrush rhythmically and playing teacher with a blackboard.
Vishwesh is part of a loyal following of six lakh viewers who are hooked to watching over 178 of Maria's videos.
Devoid of any sexual references (she is fully clothed when she imitates the White Queen), Maria's videos are lulling millions battling stress and insomnia to sleep using Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).
ASMR is an experimental perceptual phenomenon characterised as a distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp and spine in response to visual, auditory or cognitive stimuli. The triggers can vary from exposure to slow and unique speech patterns, watching another person complete a task (often in a diligent, attentive manner) to receiving close personal attention from another person. Haircuts or a touch from someone on the head and back are also a strong trigger, which explains the happy head feeling you experience during an old fashioned champi.
Although the term ASMR was coined in 2008 by a community of like-minded thinkers, they agree there is no scientific proof as yet to back the theory. But a burgeoning community of video recorders and viewers are vouching for its effectiveness.
"It's tricky to describe," says 27-year-old Alex Lynch from Russia, musician and creator on the ASMR Facebook page that has 13,000 subscribers. Most videos are about 20 minutes to an hour-long and feature soft tones and light with the subject performing mundane tasks repetitively. Roleplay is also popular where every day tasks are enacted with slow, purposeful motion. Combing of hair, dismantling clocks and reading out children's fairy tales seem to be big hits. For Lynch, ASMR was a term that explained something he has been experiencing all his life. "The community includes 70-year-olds too, but they tend to hide it from family because we lack scientific proof. If it makes someone feel better, and doesn't hurt anyone, it can't be all that bad," he says over mail.
ASMR artists (it's classified as an art for lack of medical proof) need not be qualified and often experiment with the content of the video. UK-based Emma or Whispers Red ASMR, according to her YouTube channel, gets 60,000-odd hits for every video she uploads. This she does at least twice a week. "Fans are very vocal about what they like and even suggest what I could do the next time around." She is currently involved with Braingasm, a Canadian docu that explores the subject.
Meanwhile, Antonio Jovanov, 19, a student at the University of Illinois, shoots and uploads ASMR videos in his spare time using his laptop. He mentions 'triggers' that can help induce relaxation. Jovanov uses a binaural microphone to whisper through each end to make it seem like the viewer has someone murmuring in their presence. This writer fell asleep during one of his videos, owing to its slow paced monotony.
"That's the point," explains 39-year-old Roberto Bordonaro, an Italian IT consultant, who is working on a device which can trigger ASMR by design. The response varies from one person to another but supporters say ASMR helps deal with depression, panic attacks and stress.
Dr Vikas Agrawal, sleep apnea expert at Asian Hospitals draws a parallel to Tinnitus retraining therapy used for those suffering from Tinnitus or a ringing in the ears in the absence of external sound, leaving them prone to insomnia. While he isn't convinced about ASMR, he says it can't hurt patients. "We ask patients to turn the radio on and tune in between two stations. The distorted air wave disturbance acts as a noise canceller to the perceived sound. There is no great science and it works without side-effects," he says, drawing a parallel.
Meanwhile, ASMR artists and fans continue to sleep in perceived peaceful bliss thanks to videos that run with a disclaimer, "this video cannot replace any medication or professional treatment"
ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.
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Labels: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), Depression, head, insomnia, online, pleasure, scalp, spine, stress, tingling sensation
posted by G S Iyer at 7:13 AM
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