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Dutch biology student and ASMR artist shares her views on the evolutionary origin of ASMR

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityJolien Morren has her Bachelor’s degree in Marine biology and Ecology & Evolution and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Biology and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Jolien also creates ASMR videos for her YouTube channel, RelaxingSounds92, and for her blog, Sepiola.

I was very interested in talking with Jolien about ASMR after reading the subtitle of her blog, “Biologist and science communicator in the making, ASMR YouTuber, blogger”.

I knew she would have some valuable biological, evolutionary, and other related thoughts about ASMR.

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What can politicians learn from ASMR artists?

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityGood politicians and good online ASMR artists have a similar metric; their ability to connect with their audience is usually reflected in their number of followers.

Most ASMR artists understand that connecting with your audience is not just about having appealing and appropriate content for their target audience, but also about how the artist conveys that content through their behaviors which include eye contact, hand movements, vocal tone, facial expressions, and verbal pacing.

Politicians have a similar challenge of having appropriate content and behaviors, but it seems they are more likely to remember what to say and less likely to remember the importance of how they say it.

A recent publication in the journal Communication Monographs looked at the behaviors of politicians in U.S. presidential debates.

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Meet Sue Dorrens, the founder of the ‘I Love ASMR’ Facebook page and the author of an upcoming book about ASMR

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversitySue Dorrens is currently living in Edinburgh, UK and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.

She worked as a Physical Education teacher for 14 years but now spends her time on other endeavors including several past, present, and future ASMR resources.

At present, she is very active with posting about the latest ASMR news, events, and related stories on her I Love ASMR Facebook page.  She has also created an ASMR video website and is currently working on an upcoming book about ASMR.

In my interview with Sue she shares how ASMR has helped her, her creation of what might be the first ASMR video website, her observations about changing trends in ASMR, the focus of her upcoming ASMR book, and more.

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What would you want in a real world ASMR spa?

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityI have previously written an article about an in-person ASMR spa in Canada.

Well, the lucky citizens of Ireland may also be getting a new ASMR spa for their real world tingles and relaxation.

Amanda Rose Doherty is a product manager at a pharmaceutical company in Dublin, Ireland and received her Business Studies Degree in Marketing at Dublin City University.

Amanda is also interested in opening up an ASMR spa in Dublin.

Her keen marketing education and wisdom is guiding her to make informed decisions about her spa vision.  To help her do this, she has created a survey to gather input from those within the ASMR community.

In my interview with Amanda she shares her inspiration for an ASMR spa, her goals for the survey about the spa, her perceived challenges of bringing her idea to reality, her wonderful vision of an ASMR-enriched future and more.

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‘The ASMR Podcast’ showcases a diversity of ASMR artists

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityGerry Parks is a Project Manager at a software development company in Glasgow, Scotland.  He has his BA degree in Business and his MSc degree in Information Technology.

Gerry also has a new podcast called, ‘The ASMR Podcast.’

Although he created this podcast, you won’t hear his voice on it…at least not yet.  Gerry initially created the podcast as an audio-only platform to help launch new ASMR artists and to help established artists reach new audiences.

In my interview with Gerry he shares the ASMR artists featured so far, his inspiration for creating the podcast, tips for starting a podcast, and more.

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Voices of ASMR: Project launch (podcast episode #4)

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian ResponseI have launched a new project called, ‘Voices of ASMR’.

It will be a diverse collection of ASMR experiences submitted by visitors to my website and by listeners to my podcast.

The project is a way for individuals to share their ASMR experiences with the world, and it is a way for the world to explore the ASMR experiences of others.

I believe that having an organized repository of the ASMR experiences and testimonials from many individuals will be helpful to those whom are:

  • learning about ASMR for the first time
  • curious to know how others experience ASMR
  • writing articles or papers about ASMR
  • creating research projects about ASMR

I’m launching the project with 12 initial questions.  Individuals who experience ASMR can submit their specific answers to any or all of the questions.

Here are the 12 initial questions:

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Meet the married couple who created SleepPhones, those comfy headphones popular for falling asleep to ASMR trigger sounds.

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityA common question I have seen on the ASMR subreddit and at other places is, “What are the best headphones for ASMR?”

There is no unanimous decision, but there is one brand of headphones which I see the most often recommended, they are called ‘SleepPhones’.

I know my wife would agree because she borrowed my SleepPhones a month ago and has refused to give them back.

These headphones are a plush headband with flat speakers hidden inside – quite ideal for falling asleep while listening to ASMR trigger sounds or any other type of audio.

I have noticed that the company which creates these headphones, AcousticSheep LLC, seems quite aware of the ASMR community.

So I reached out to them to find out more about the people behind SleepPhones, the development of their products, and their thoughts about ASMR.

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Has Dove Chocolate created the first ASMR-inspired commercial?

/ Dr. Richard / 12 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityDove Chocolate has recently released two videos in China which appear to purposely have ASMR triggers in them.

The following statement was posted on November 5, 2015 on the Facebook page for the marketing company, BBDO Worldwide,

“To modernize the Dove Chocolate ads typically used in China, BBDO Beijing created films to trigger ASMR, which it describes as “a physical sensation characterized by a pleasurable tingling that typically begins in the head and scape, and often moves down the spine and through the limbs.”

The Facebook post then linked to an article on the website creativity-online.com which included one of the videos and a link to the other video.

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Some spas are now offering ASMR sessions

/ Dr. Richard / 8 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityMany ASMR videos on YouTube include spa role-plays because the attention and services provided in spas are some of the strongest ASMR triggers.

And traditional spa services are great at triggering ASMR because some of the core biology of ASMR may be rooted in feeling safe, being relaxed, and being cared for.

So there is something deliciously meta about a spa offering ASMR sessions.

In 2013, Michelle Joni wrote a blog post for spaweekly.com on this very topic.  She began with an explanation of ASMR and concluded with this question, “Is an ASMR massage experience something spas should consider incorporating into their menus?”

I recently came across a spa which actually has incorporated ASMR experiences into their menu.

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