From Tap to Tingle: What Is ASMR?

You’re scrolling social media and stumble on a video. Maybe it’s someone mixing paint or tapping their fingernails. Chewing a hamburger, mouth open, into a microphone. Even pretending to do their taxes on camera.

You’ve strayed into the realm of ASMR. What’s going on here, and who is it aimed at? Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, breaks it down.

What is ASMR?

Autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, is a sensory experience triggered by certain sights, sounds or sensations. It causes a pleasant tingling feeling in your scalp that travels down the back of your neck and throughout your body.

Like getting chills or goosebumps, an ASMR response is involuntary. It’s sometimes referred to as a “brain massage” or even a “brain orgasm,” though most ASMR fans consider the feeling soothing rather than sexual.

“What’s interesting about ASMR is that it makes people feel both relaxed and excited at the same time,” Dr. Albers says. “It’s a paradoxical reaction.”

So, what causes this phenomenon? Scientists still aren’t sure. The working theory is that it triggers specific regions of the brain associated with relaxation. A 2018 study found that this type of content lit up regions connected to reward and emotional arousal.

It also releases feel-good chemical messengers called neurotransmitters:

• Endorphins excite you and boost your mood.
• Oxytocin makes you feel warm and connected.
• Dopamine reduces stress and promotes calm.

Dr. Albers says ASMR even changes your brain waves. Specifically, it increases the strength of your theta waves, which also tend to go up when you’re focused or engaged in mindfulness exercises like meditation or prayer.

ASMR triggers

While it’s a deeply personal experience, research suggests some triggers are more popular than others. A 2018 study shared a list of actions identified as possible triggers. They were, in order of popularity:

• People speaking softly
• Having your hair played with or brushed
• Whispering
• Close personal attention
• Getting a haircut
• Interaction with your face or head
• Tapping on hard surfaces
• Watching people do focused work
• Scratching sounds
• Water/fluid sounds
• Lip-smacking
• Watching or listening to someone eating

As the list shows, not all kinds of ASMR stimuli are sound-based. Other common types of triggers are:

• Personal attention: These are videos that usually involve a content creator looking directly at the camera, speaking soft words of affirmation or care.
• Clinical: These are videos that are often shot from the recipient’s point of view. For example, a creator may role-play as an aesthetician giving a relaxing facial or as a doctor performing an exam.
• Tactile: The French word “effleurage” comes up frequently in ASMR research. It describes a light touch, like in the context of massage. Some common tactile ASMR triggers include being gently tickled with a feather or playing with slime.

ASMR videos often include binaural sound — an audio recording technique that provides greater depth of sound. The idea is that when you listen through headphones, the sounds closely mimic real-life interactions.

“There’s a lot of trial and error,” Dr. Albers notes. “Certain sounds and sensations are pleasurable to certain people and not to others. So, you have to find the stimuli — if any — that you particularly respond to.”

Who experiences ASMR?

Only an estimated 10% to 20% of the population experiences ASMR. And research has shown some common characteristics of people who experience the phenomenon.

“A 2022 study found that people who have this sense tend to score higher than average on the personality traits of openness and neuroticism,” Dr. Albers points out. “In other words, the more anxious you are, the more likely you may be to have and enjoy the ASMR experience.”

On the other hand, she notes that many people can’t stand this type of content. You may be more likely to find it overstimulating, annoying or even upsetting if you:

• Have misophonia, a decreased tolerance to specific sounds
• Are a highly sensitive person (HSP)
• Have autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Does ASMR help?

ASMR was only identified in 2010, so all research into it is fairly recent. Right now, it isn’t an approved clinical treatment for any physical or mental health disorder, but many people use it to do things like relax and cope with stressful situations. It may:

• Boost mood: A 2022 study found that ASMR can decrease feelings of depression. “It’s particularly helpful — and healing — if you don’t feel motivated to do something active because ASMR can be very sedentary,” Dr. Albers says.
• Improve sleep: The same study that looked at ASMR and depression found that ASMR videos may help relieve symptoms of insomnia.
• Lower heart rate: Multiple studies have found that listening to or watching this type of content can help slow your heart rate — even if you’re not sensitive to it.
• Relieve pain: Participants in a 2015 study reported an improvement in symptoms of chronic pain during and for a few hours after an ASMR session. It may also provide headache relief.
• Improve concentration: ASMR shares features with the concept of flow, which is when you feel deeply focused and “in the zone.” People with more triggers may be more likely to hit a high level of flow.

“Research is still in the beginning phases, but it’s already clear that there’s a reaction happening on a physiological level,” Dr. Albers reports. “Understanding it better could eventually lead to it becoming a clinically recognized treatment for a wide range of medical conditions.”

Are there any risks?

There are millions of free ASMR videos online that you can explore any time, day or night. But is it safe to do so?

“The upside of ASMR is that there are no negative side effects,” Dr. Albers says. Still, there are a few concerns worth knowing about:

• Unregulated content: “Online videos aren’t clinically tested or reviewed, so they vary widely in terms of production and content,” Dr. Albers cautions.
• Immunity: If you tune in to ASMR content too often, you may eventually become less sensitive to it. This is also called habituation.
• Not a standalone treatment: ASMR shouldn’t be used as a treatment or way to manage medical conditions like depression or insomnia. If you’re experiencing these concerns, talk to a healthcare provider about your options — and use ASMR only as a complementary therapy.

Should you try ASMR?

According to Dr. Albers, the only way to know for sure if you can experience ASMR is to try to expose yourself to lots of different triggers.

“If you take the time to uncover your triggers and find creators you enjoy, you may find that ASMR is an easy and entertaining way to build self-care into your daily routine.”