Month: May 2015

Postdoctoral researcher at King’s College investigating the online culture of ASMR

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Dr. Rob Gallagher is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of English at King’s College in London. He has his Ph.D. in Humanities and Cultural Studies and is involved with a group research project investigating the influence of the internet on identities.

Dr. Gallagher is specifically looking into how the culture and language of ASMR developed, how people integrate ASMR experiences into their online identities, and how those who feel “tingles’ describe their experience.

Dr. Gallagher explains how interviewing ASMR artists gave him great insight into the art of ASMR, gives examples of how the media and academics approach ASMR differently, and shares information about a forthcoming podcast about ASMR.

Below are my questions in bold, followed by his replies in italics.

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ASMR is one of several ways to improve your sleep

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I was searching online to see which sites were reporting about the first peer-reviewed publication on ASMR.

One site I came across was http://www.sleepsherpa.com.  The website is run by Ben Trapskin out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and focuses on products for better sleep.

I was impressed that he reported on the ASMR publication and I found his site well organized and informative. He provides insight on mattresses, pillows, bedding, sleep aids, and even books that he feels can improve sleep.

Many individuals report that ASMR is helpful to them because it makes it easier for them to fall asleep. But for anyone, whether they utilize ASMR to fall asleep or not, it can be beneficial to know about additional products and suggestions helpful to a good night’s rest.

Ben shares his tips and experiences with improving his own sleep, information about a pillow that plays sounds which won’t wake your partner, the advantages of using a sleep tracking device, his thoughts about ASMR, and more.

Below are my questions in bold and his replies in italics.

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“The ASMRtist Show”, the first podcast about ASMR artists.

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Jose Prendes, a filmmaker in Los Angeles, has recently started a new podcast about ASMR called, “The ASMRtist Show.”

Jose records his podcast in his home studio and already has completed several episodes. I was honored to be the first guest on his show. Jose was a terrific host and it was quite an enjoyable interview.

I sent Jose some questions to learn more about him and his new podcast.  Now I get to turn the table and ask Jose questions.

Jose shares why he wanted to kick off his show with a scientist, offers insight about what makes a good ASMR artist, gives some tips for starting your own podcast, and spills the beans on which ASMR artists you will hear in his next five episodes.

Below are my questions in bold followed by his replies in italics.

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Could ASMR be used at work to decrease stress?

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The workplace can be a stressful environment for most professions.  Work-related stress can result in poor performance, job dissatisfaction, and missed workdays.

One field that struggles constantly with job-related stress is health care, especially for those who work in surgical Intensive Care Units (ICU).

The word “intensive” is practically a synonym for the word “stress”.

Here is a crazy experiment: give these ICU workers one hour off in the middle of their workday to meditate, perform yoga, enjoy relaxing music, and watch soothing ASMR videos – then see if that helps their stress.

Well, one team of researchers almost did that exact experiment and just published the results in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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The book “Idiot’s Guide: ASMR” is now available for purchase.

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThe book is authored by Julie Young and Ilse Blansert.

Julie is a freelance writer and author, and Ilse is a popular ASMR artist known as TheWaterwhispers.  Together they tackled the topic of ASMR from every angle to create the most comprehensive book yet about ASMR.

Does the book include scientific theories about ASMR?  You bet.

What else can be found in the book?  A whole lot more.  See below.

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Part 4: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Interview with the authors

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThis is Part 4, and the conclusion, of my blog post series on the first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR.

As a refresher, the paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”. It was published on March 26th, 2015 in the journal PeerJ.

This post is an interview with the authors of the paper, Emma Barratt and Nick Davis.

Dr. Nick Davis has his PhD in Psychology from the University of Birmingham (UK) and is currently working in the Department of Psychology at Swansea University (UK) as a Lecturer in Psychology.

Ms Emma Barratt is the lead author of the paper and has her MSc in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University (Wales).

The authors share their inspirations for beginning the research, challenges with writing the paper, and Ms. Barratt finds out a shocking fact about her co-author.

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