What to Know About ASMR for Sleep
ASMRtist Be Calm With Becca ASMR feeling sleepy
Do you count yourself among the thousands of people who enjoy ASMR, the deeply relaxing experience in which certain sounds trigger a tingly feeling in your body?
ASMR - which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response - can be triggered by something as simple as listening to someone brush their hair, whisper, or crinkle paper. (Or watching Bob Ross paint–some people call the late painter the original ASMR artist!)
ASMR may sound rather niche, but is becoming more popular all the time. Top ASMR artists have millions of followers. Meanwhile, singer Cardi B recently shared that she's an ASMR fan.
Beyond the Sound: The Science and Soul of ASMR
If you've experienced it, you absolutely know the sensation. It's that warmth that starts at the tip top of your head and travels down your neck and spine. For some it's a subtle wave and for others a heavy, intense tingling. While it might seem like a strange, new thing, for anyone who struggles to unplug at night, ASMR feels more like a biological reset and less like a trend.
For some it's tempting to attribute these sounds as mere background noise, but a real physiological mechanism is at play. When you encounter a specific trigger such as the rhythmic pace of a soft whisper or the tactile sound of a brush against a microphone, your body shifts. This shift seems to happen mostly in the nervous system. Most of us spend our days stuck in "fight-or-flight" mode and that hyper alert state can stay with us at night. This might be why you stare at your ceiling at 3 am, unable to sleep. ASMR might actually help transition you from a "fight-or-flight" state to one of "rest and digest" by reducing your heart rate and helping your muscles finally unknot. It essentially signals your brain that it's safe to power down.
It's important to remember that the response to ASMR is personal, so there's no one-size-fits-all approach. I always tell customers it's less about finding "sounds" and more about finding their own sensory signature.
The sounds texture is what really matters. Some folks need something crisp like the sharp crinkle of foil or rapid tapping on a table. Others prefer more personal attention such as a soft whisper or the muffled sound of hair being brushed. Yet others just need steady, ambient rhythms like the muffled woosh of falling rain. It is all about finding the specific frequency for you that allows the rest of the world to just disappear.
How ASMR Helps You Sleep
Fans of ASMR like it because it provides a natural way to unwind. Many also use ASMR to sleep. In fact, a recent study revealed that 60 percent of people reported feeling sleepy after experiencing ASMR.
ASMR usually starts as a tingly feeling in the scalp or neck that can then spread elsewhere to the body. You'll often hear ASMR referred to as a "braingasm" for this reason. As the body relaxes, it becomes much easier to set the stage for sleep.
It's not totally known how ASMR helps you sleep and relax. But one guess links ASMR with synthesia, a condition in which one sense (such as hearing) is simultaneously perceived by one or more additional senses (such as taste). With synthesia, you could taste cookies every time you saw something like a bridge. Whether you can experience synthesia is controlled by genes. Likewise, whether you can experience ASMR may also be controlled by your genes.
How to Use ASMR to Help You Sleep
It's not hard to find high-quality ASMR content online these days... ASMR to help you sleep is so popular that there's even an "ASMR Sleep Sounds" compilation on Spotify. Other options when it comes to sourcing ASMR to help you sleep include YouTube, the Tingles app, or our ASMR For Sleep playlist.
It's recommended that you relax in a quiet space with minimal distractions when listening to ASMR to help you sleep. It's also recommended that you slip on headphones for ASMR. Quality headphones will help block out ambient noise and let you tune into the often subtle sounds of ASMR.
Thousands of ASMR enthusiasts have found SleepPhones® headphones to be the perfect headphones for ASMR. That's because they feature flat speakers in a super soft headband. These "pajamas for your ears" are comfortable enough to let you sleep on your side. What's more, the sound quality is crisp and clear.
SleepPhones® headphones come in four models to fit your taste and budget. The newest model is SleepPhones®: ASMR Edition. This first of its kind product features eight hours of exclusive ASMR content pre-loaded into it. This means you can listen to ASMR created by top ASMRtists anytime, anywhere, with no need for any external devices.
Enjoy ASMR to the fullest by investing in the right headphones for ASMR. Check out our models below to find just the right ones for you!
Find more information at our resource page dedicated to ASMR.