Does the sound of paper crinkling make you feel good? Do you find a breathy, whispering voice calming? Or maybe the click-clack of a mechanical keyboard gives you a satisfying, tickling feeling inside your head? If you’ve ever found yourself strangely attracted to mundane, everyday sounds most people pay no attention to — much less find delight in — you might be an ASMR-sensitive person.
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Without going into technicalities, ASMR is basically a pleasurable, physical sensation one gets from certain noises or sounds such as the pages of a book being turned, scissors snipping, or fingers tapping a plastic jar. Anything, really.
In a (literally) quiet little corner of YouTube resides an entire community of ASMRtists, devoted to creating oddly satisfying videos of every sound and activity imaginable to keep you calmly stimulated (an oxymoron, I know) indefinitely. If you want to get in on this unusual trend, here are six videos to get you started. Enjoy. And don’t forget to put your headphones on.
If you don’t see the point of these videos, chances are, you’re not ASMR-sensitive. Otherwise, enjoy your braingasm.