Every other Friday, the Outside/In team answers one listener question about the natural world.
This week's question comes from Maria calling from Seattle.
"When I was a kid, occasionally my dad would whisper in my ear, and I would get the most intense ASMR tingles down my spine. I was always really curious why that was. Is it certain frequencies? Is it a certain volume? Anyway, I'd love to know what you think."
Producer Felix Poon looked into it.
Transcript
Felix Poon: Maybe you’ve seen the videos. They can seem a little bit strange to some.
@CelainesASMR: I just got my new nails so I’m first gonna scratch your scalp a little bit. I bet that feels nice.
Felix Poon: The whispering, the tapping, the crinkling plastic. But to others, they make total sense.
Craig Richard: If you have ASMR, the minute you start seeing that, you start feeling those waves of relaxation or those brain tingles.
Felix Poon: That’s Craig Richard. Craig is a professor of physiology at Shenandoah University, where he studies ASMR. He also hosts his very own ASMR podcast. It’s called Sleep Whispers. So, according to research, 20% of the population experience ASMR, including Craig.
Craig Richard: I would probably start with describing what is not because it is easily confused with goosebumps and chills. So it's not that, but it is similar. It's a little more under the skin. Some people will describe it as in their brain. and they'll describe these tingles as light and sparkly.
Felix Poon: In fact, before it was called ASMR, people referred to it as “brain orgasms.” Because you’d feel the tingles and sparkles, and then you’d feel really relaxed. A leader in the community named Jennifer Allen eventually coined the term Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, often shortened to ASMR, in hopes that the scientific community would take it more seriously—"autonomous" because it’s involuntary, like a reflex, "sensory" because it’s triggered by sight, sound, or touch, and "meridian—"
Craig Richard: "Meridian" was her slight subtle nod to the word “orgasm.”
Felix Poon: —since meridian can mean peak or high point. But, to get to our listener Maria’s question, why did she feel these tingles when her dad whispered in her ear? Craig says everyone can have different triggers for what sets off their ASMR experience. For Maria, it was her dad’s whispers. For Craig it was Bob Ross videos.
Bob Ross: I think everybody should have a friend, even a tree. Even a tree needs a friend.
Felix Poon: But the common theme is that ASMR triggers tap into a sense of closeness and being cared for, which is maybe why the most common ASMR trigger in real life is touch.
Craig Richard: If you've ever had someone just lightly touching your hair, say you're sitting on the couch and you're sitting next to someone, they're just lightly playing with your hair while you're watching TV. And if you find that relaxing, then chances are you're experiencing ASMR.
Felix Poon: While ASMR videos don’t have the element of physical touch, they often simulate it—the person reaches to the camera as if to brush your hair, or they whisper as if they're mere inches from your ear.
@marlenaasmr481: Go ahead and just close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close your eyes.
Craig Richard: And what that is also simulating is trust.
Felix Poon: ASMR experiences are actually measurable in the brain. Craig has done studies where he had people watch ASMR videos while they were inside MRI scanners. And he observed certain parts of the brain lighting up, the parts that had to do with dopamine release, and oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical.”
I personally don’t experience ASMR, so all this talk of brain tingles and oxytocin left me feeling kind of jealous. Like, is it just something you’re born with? Craig says it could be just genetic variation, the same deal why cilantro tastes good to some people, but to others it might taste like soap. But Craig says it could also have to do with our early life experiences. Like, maybe growing up, you had someone close to you whisper in your ear like Maria did. But—
Craig Richard: if you were in, say, a school system and there were some mean kids and they would lean over and whisper mean things into your ears, then that might not trigger ASMR for you later in life.
Felix Poon: Whatever the reason, Craig says that people are drawn to ASMR videos because it relaxes them and feels good.
