Brain Tingles – the book

“Brain Tingles” is the first How-To Guide for stimulating ASMR, relaxation, and sleep.  The book is written by Dr. Craig Richard, published by Simon & Schuster, and available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Learn all about ASMR and how to stimulate  that blissful feeling of relaxation in those around you – with your gentle voice, light touch, hypnotic actions, and caring behaviors.

Lull a child to sleep, soothe a stressed family member, relax a friend or romantic partner, create ASMR videos, or add it as a relaxation technique to your spa, health studio, wellness center, or counseling sessions.

This book will help you to understand and apply the techniques, tools, and secrets for every ASMR trigger type, along with hundreds of examples.

Content of the 10 Chapters:

  • Chapter 1: covers the sensations, trigger types, history, and the potential biology and health benefits of ASMR.
  • Chapter 2: goes through all the considerations when trying to stimulate ASMR in someone who is in the same room as you.  This includes mindsets, permission for light touch, the influence of the immediate surroundings, and the flow of the session.
  • Chapters 3 to 10: these eight chapters each highlight a different type of ASMR trigger by explaining the principles, key techniques, and helpful tools for each one.  Foundations, tips, techniques, and tools are explained for using your voice, sounds, light touch, demonstrations, activities, and creating role-plays.

Below are seven examples of how the book will help you to use person-to-person ASMR to benefit others:

Example #1: Soothing an infant.  Most parents already know to soothe stressed infants by speaking to them softly, holding them gently, and using distracting hand movements.  What about making tapping sounds, crinkling sounds, mouth sounds, repeating specific words that strongly trigger ASMR, or using other ASMR triggers?

Example #2: Lulling a child to sleep.  My mother somehow discovered that the magic trick to getting me to lie still and fall asleep at night was to run her finger lightly on the inside of my arm.  There may be lots of ASMR triggers that parents may not think of when helping a restless child to fall asleep.  Parents could whisper a story instead of reading it aloud, slowly turn the pages to accentuate the sound, trace the illustrations with their fingers, repeat words with ASMR triggering sounds, and attempt many other ASMR triggers at nighttime in search of that one magical trick that works best for that child.

Example #3: Relaxing a friend, family member, or partner.  When someone tells us they had a rough day at school or work, we often offer sympathy and support – which are important and helpful.  But what about offering a little ASMR session to de-stress the person?  You could have them sit down and then you could play with their hair, trace letters on their back, create trigger sounds with objects, read them a story in a whisper, or use whatever triggers they prefer the most.

Example #4: Offering expert ASMR services.  When you want the best haircut or massage, you probably seek out an expert rather than a friend or family member.  This may be the same when you want the best in-person ASMR experience.  Spas already have the environment and personnel for blissful relaxation – adding ASMR sessions could be a welcome option for their clientele.  Yoga studios and wellness centers may also find creative ways to incorporate ASMR sessions.  Creating a service that focuses only on ASMR sessions is another option for bringing ASMR triggers directly to individuals.  Melinda Lauw, the co-founder of Whisperlodge and the founder of Whispers-on-Demand, has created two great examples of what expert ASMR services could be like.  She also provided valuable consultation on the content of the book and wrote the foreword.

Example #5: Incorporating ASMR into health care.  If proper clinical trials consistently demonstrate health benefits from experiencing ASMR, then it is likely that ASMR triggers will be incorporated into treatment plans as a relaxation technique.  Counselors, therapists, and clinicians will want to know how to best use their light touch, soothing voices, and appropriate dispositions to stimulate ASMR in their clients and patients.

Example #6: Optimizing ASMR research.  As researchers investigate the potential health benefits of ASMR,  they will want to use experimental procedures, techniques, and settings that allow and stimulate ASMR, rather than accidentally inhibit it.  Whether research participants are watching videos online, watching videos in a room with the researchers, or being touched lightly to stimulate ASMR, the researchers need to understand the key principles, techniques, types, and environmental influences for experiencing ASMR to conduct a proper study.

Example #7: Creating ASMR content.  ASMR videos and podcasts are recorded simulations of how ASMR triggers occur in the real world.  The tips, techniques, and tools in the book for stimulating person-to-person ASMR should also be helpful for reenacting those moments for the creation of ASMR videos and podcasts.

The book also contains three helpful, printable forms for those looking to create structured and optimized ASMR sessions:

  • ASMR Trigger Menu: A complete list of triggers to review for inclusion or exclusion from ASMR sessions (peek HERE).
  • ASMR Personalization Form: to record consents, preferences, and allergies of the ASMR session participant (peek HERE).
  • ASMR Session Plan: A form for mapping out the trigger plan for each ASMR session (peek HERE).

Read some sample portions of the book:

Watch a promo video and enjoy six delightful ASMR trigger samples:

Recognition & Feedback:

  • Reviews
    • “Brain Tingles doubles as a brief history of the phenomenon and the first book-length how-to guide for provoking ASMR in others … its timing is perfect.” – Newsweek
    • “Offering a host of tools, tips, and easy-to-use exercises, Brain Tingles shows that not only is it possible to stimulate good feelings, but ASMR is a powerful technique available to anyone, at anytime.” – PsychCentral
    • “We highly recommend ‘Brain Tingles’ as the time and expertise gone into making a book that straddles both the practical and scientific aspects of ASMR so effortlessly is worth shouting about. That, and we think it’s a fabulous way to help talk to your uninitiated friends and family about ASMR.” – TingleTastic.com
    • “Whether you’re completely new to the world of ASMR or you’ve been ‘in the know’ for years, I unreservedly recommend this book—it truly has something for everyone.” – JellyBeanGreen, ASMR artist
    • “I absolutely love the way it’s written and I even learned a few things that I keep in mind for videos now!” – Tony Bomboni, ASMR artist
    • “This book should be given to anybody who wants to take care of loved ones. You will find the best ways to relax someone and to trigger ASMR. It will also be really helpful for the ones who want to open an ASMR YouTube channel.” – Flo/Paris ASMR, ASMR artist
    • “ASMR from the point of view of science. Just what the ASMR community needs to help dispel some of the misunderstandings and wrong labelings of this amazing and indeed euphoric sensation.” – Somni Rosae, ASMR artist (watch her video about the book)
  • Featured selection
    • Selected by Barnes & Noble as a featured book on the New Paperbacks tables (for 130 Top Stores during 9/4/18 – 9/17/18) and in their Health and Wellness feature displays (for all stores during 9/11/18 – 1/14/2019).
  • Interviews

Outline of the book:

  • Part 1: Learn about the background and principles for stimulating ASMR.
    • Chapter 1 What Is ASMR?
      • Discover the sensations, triggers, history, biology, and benefits of ASMR.
    • Chapter 2 Preparing for ASMR
      • Understand the importance of partner selection, location preparation, and open communication for ASMR.
  • Part 2: Learn about the specific techniques and tools for creating and using each ASMR trigger type.
    • Chapter 3 Velvety Voices
      • Using gentle voices and whispers
    • Chapter 4 Soothing Sounds
      • Creating trigger sounds
    • Chapter 5 Feathery Fingers
      • Using fingers and light touch
    • Chapter 6 Tingly Tools
      • Using head tinglers, feathers, and more
    • Chapter 7 Tranquil Treasures
      • Displaying items as show-and-tell
    • Chapter 8 Assuaging Activities
      • Demonstrating skills and tasks “like a Bob Ross”
    • Chapter 9 Hands-On Role-Plays
      • Creating scenarios with light touch
    • Chapter 10 Hands-Off Role-Plays
      • Creating scenarios without light touch

Availability