[ASMR Biology]

6-23-15 Update: The 2015 ASMR Convention has been canceled.

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

The event was scheduled for Saturday, September 19th, 2015 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, USA.

Unfortunately, the event has now been canceled.

Tickets sales for the event were being done through Kickstarter.  This means that if the fundraising goal is not met then the event or project usually does not occur.

The initial rate of tickets sales for the event started off too slow to show a strong probability of meeting the fundraising goal.

The organizers of the event, Paige Towers and Bryan Shigekawa, provide some insight about the challenges with the event planning, as well as their heartfelt apologies for canceling the event.

The link to their explanation is below.

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The first ASMR Convention will be held this year in Fall of 2015

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Imagine over 1000 people at a convention. Every person is there because they share an appreciation, a passion, a commitment, and/or a genuine curiosity for ASMR.

The attendees are expected to be ASMR artists, ASMR fans, health professionals, scientists, researchers, and all those with a deep interest in ASMR.

The activities will most likely include Q&A with popular artists, round tables on the art and culture of ASMR, panel discussions on mental health, presentations with results of ASMR research, and demonstrations of the best equipment and technology for creating and enjoying ASMR.

Desiring something more interactive and deeply relaxing? This opportunity for live group ASMR sessions will probably not go wasted.

And of course, expect to mingle, meet, and get to know the heart of the ASMR community.

I started with “imagine” because it has not happened yet. The ink (and sweat) has just dried on getting the venue booked, the dates set, and the website created.

Want to know more details?  Read on.

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ASMR is one of several ways to improve your sleep

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

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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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.

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

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

/ Dr. Richard / 6 Comments

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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ASMR research publication helps ASMR artist to keep his YouTube channel

/ Dr. Richard / 4 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversitySensorAdi (his online identity, not his real name) is an ASMR artist on YouTube. He has been creating and posting ASMR videos on his channel “SensorAdi ASMR” since 2013.

He has posted over 150 soothing videos of himself painting, making gentle brushing sounds, softly scratching and tapping on wood, walking through leaves, and performing relaxing clinical role-plays.

It is obvious from the comments that most of his YouTube followers find his videos helpful for relaxing and falling asleep.  A comment on his most popular video from one viewer reflects the sentiments from most other viewers, “I had to listen to this right before I went to sleep and I am at complete ease and peaceful.”

He told me that one viewer even wrote to him from the hospital to let him know that his videos were helpful to him while he was getting treatment for an infection.

Knowing that his videos are helpful to others is important to SensorAdi, “It is very nice and motivating feeling to me.”

But SensorAdi is not just an ASMR artist, he is also a school teacher in Poland.

He has been teaching High School students (ages 15-19) in his current position for the past 7 years.  I asked him what makes him a good teacher and he replied, “I am honest, authentic.  I am interested in the issues and problems of students.”

Recently though, SensorAdi has had his own issues and problems.

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Part 3: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Meaning of the data & next steps.

/ Dr. Richard / 7 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThis is Part 3 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 authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis and was published on March 26th, 2015 in the journal PeerJ.

This post is going to focus on the meaning of some of the data, as well as highlight how future studies could build on the helpful foundation provided by the authors of this paper.

This post is mostly for students and researchers looking for ASMR research ideas.  Just look for the sections in this post marked “Next steps” for potential ASMR research projects you could do.

Let’s begin by reviewing and understanding the methods and the participants, this will help to keep the overall meaning of the data in an appropriate scope.

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Part 2: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Significance of the paper

/ Dr. Richard / 6 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThis is Part 2 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 authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis and was published on March 26th, 2015.

This post is going to focus on the significance of this first peer-reviewed research paper about ASMR.

Lets begin with asking: what does it mean when a paper is “peer-reviewed?”

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Part 1: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Summary of the data

/ Dr. Richard / 10 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThe first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR has been published in the journal PeerJ.

I am highly excited about this event and very proud of the authors of this paper.

The paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state” and is authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis. The authors are members of the Department of Psychology at Swansea University in the United Kingdom.

The publication was officially published as a peer-reviewed publication on March 26, 2015, but was initially published as a “PrePrint” on December 18, 2014.

The study was reviewed and approved by the Swansea University Department of Psychology Ethics Committee prior to the initiation of data collection.

This is such an important achievement that I will cover this event in several blog posts. This first post will simply focus on summarizing the data in the publication.

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