The autonomous sensory meridian response also known as ASMR, is used to describe a static-like, tingling, goosebumps sensation in response to a visual stimulus or triggering audio. It is said that these sensations spread across the skull, down the spine and limbs.
During ASMR, the brain releases neurochemicals like endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin that induce deep feelings of relaxation. As a social response, it represents the deep feelings of calm, comfort, sleepiness and ease. But not all will experience ASMR. Those who do, seem to be in response to various triggers or situations which involve sight, touch or sound. This also has many variations- one person may respond to the sound of whispering while others may experience an ASMR.
A lot of people have claimed that if one regularly watches ASMR videos, it helps them calm down and relax, while others just find it useless. Since YouTube, is more of an audiovisual platform, the best ASMR artists often employ repetitive sounds like whispering when triggering the required response. The benefits of ASMR, also include a relaxed heart rate, reduced anxiety and better sleep. It is said that ASMR practitioners also reported decreased feelings of depression over a prolonged period.
Now if there is art, there is an artist. There are some experts who totally get how these sounds can behave like good tools for focus, meditation, relaxation and even transforma-tory instances. Here we list some of the top ASMR artists over the globe who know what makes their audiences calm down:
- Gentle whispering ASMR aka Maria Viktorovna - Maria is a Russian- American ASMR performer and YouTuber who is believed to be one of the top ones in her field worldwide. Her channel has over 2.21 million subscribers and she claims to "to protrude a motherly, comforting atmosphere" in her videos and make her audience feel "safe and protected." She portrays different roles in her videos, from a masseuse to a librarian in an effort to change the pace from video to video keeping her audience entertained and relaxed.
- Gibi ASMR - Gina, popularly known as Gibi ASMR is an American ASMR artist who is part Italian and part French and German. She is known to be one of the top-earning ASMR artists in the world with a reported net worth of over 2 million dollars. She has over 4.45 million subscribers where she goes from innovative to wild, all in an effort to keep her audiences coming back for more. One of her most popular videos in fact is one where she is performing a dental, eye, cranial nerve, and ear exam giving the reader both visual and sensory stimuli with her soothing well-paced voice and well-planned hand gestures.
- PPOMO is a Korean artist who initially started posting gaming content in 2013, but has now shifted to ASMR. She practices relaxing techniques through her content giving her 2.6 million subscribers a reason to lower their guard and just be in the moment with her creative techniques. Her ASMR techniques include slow breathing, face and ear brushing with inaudible whispering, ear massage, face massage, ear cleaning, tapping, scratching, hair stroking and crinkling - all in an effort to get her audiences hooked to the idea of meditative ASMR.
- CSM Relaxing - Have you ever felt relaxed while watching a slime video? Just watching the gooey, sticky, sloppy slime being moulded, turned and moved around in various shapes snd sizes can evoke the feelings of ASMR similar to maybe synthesia - an experience where you experience one sense through another for example, colour and sound at the same time. The Satisfying Slime ASMR videos have over 4.6 million subscribers proving perhaps how effective this technique is and for how many people around the globe.
- ASMR Zeitgeist- This ASMR video creator is among the very few male artists in this industry. His videos on YouTube stand out from the crowd because of his deep voice and calming yet strong presence. He often prides himself on his reputation - a 99.99% sleep guarantee. He started his channel in 2016, and currently, he has over 2.45 million subscribers with a strong and growing fanbase.
- SAS-ASMR -This channel has over 9.4 million subscribers. The videos combine the art of Mukbang, which is the South Korean trend of eating in front of the camera. The content creator shows unusual foods, such as eating raw honeycomb and aloe vera etc, to give people the best viewing experience.
- Alana ASMR - With over 200000 subscribers, Alana is known for her sensuous ASMR creations that include triggers like whispering, mic brushing, mic scratching, hand sounds, finger fluttering and so on. Her low husky voice as she takes listeners through Deep Breathy whispers or stormy tingles is what keeps her videos inviting thousands of views over a short period.
- Jojo ASMR- A 23-year-old student who says he grew up with the issues of focus and lack of sleep, Jojo keeps her viewers hooked with tingles. He also claims to get his frequent listeners off their tingling immunity with sounds of snipping, scissors, brushing, low husky tones and even going from mic to mic to let her listeners experience variations of sounds from ear to ear.
- Bob Ross ASMR - Watching a painting is healing, watching someone paint is even better it seems in the world of ASMR. Bob Ross with 1 million views on some of his videos shows us how it's done and gets us extremely relaxed in the process. From painting a barn to a mountain, the brush strokes and just the passion with which he goes are engrossing and make you forget what you were doing a while ago.
- Jocie B ASMR - A happy human creating ASMR videos, that's how Jocie describes herself to her 1.86 million subscribers. She talks in low sensuous tones with gasps and little alterations in her tone to put you to sleep. Her videos though are not the sleepy kinds. She either prepares an alien for abduction or does a Spa roleplay. Either way, her videos remind her listeners of their grandma who is caressing and cajoling them with her bedtime stories. Little wonder then, her popularity in this space.
Coined in 2010 and often called the Brain Massage, ASMR is not a one-size-fits-all technique. Nor does it conform to any one form or pattern within itself. And these artists have understood that different things relax different people and they keep innovating with different objects, tones, equipment and tools to make their readers experience an array of noises arranged in a carefully strung manner - to bring us our sensations and tingles, the ASMR way. Is it your style to feel calmer at the moment or have you not experienced it yet? We tell you what, try for yourself and see. No downside to that.
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