This 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?”
The 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.
One of the best compliments someone can give to a new discovery is, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
I just read about a new research tool which deserves that compliment.
A group of scientists have recently published a paper in the journal PLOS ONE which describes a simple way to measure sleep quality.
Their simple idea could make research studies on the influence of ASMR on sleep quality much easier than current research methods.
This new method is so simple that I can describe it in two words:
Helping people to fall asleep is one of the most widely reported uses for ASMR videos and ASMR triggers.
This is bad news because it highlights the fact that many people are having difficulty getting the right quantity and/or quality of sleep.
And yet, it is also good news because sleep is so important and ASMR could someday be widely supported by clinicians as a sleep aid.
This post will cover several recent research studies about the recommendations, challenges, and problems related to getting a proper quantity and quality of sleep.
And it will conclude with an example of how someone might construct a research study to demonstrate if ASMR can help improve sleep quality.
Lets begin with this question: Do you know how much sleep you should be getting each night?
Giulia Poerio, Theresa Veltri, Emma Blakey, and Tom Hostler are graduate students in the Department of Psychology at The University of Sheffield in the U.K.
They have combined their expertise in psychology, physiology, and emotion to investigate the idiosyncratic characteristics of ASMR.
The research group shares their motivations and several unanticipated challenges and reactions that have occurred thus far with their project.
Below are my questions in bold, followed by their replies in italics.
It is always a challenge trying to explain ASMR to others.
Especially when there does not seem to be another bodily sensation that can be helpful to compare ASMR to.
But perhaps there is.
And similar to ASMR, many people have never heard of it.
The sensation is called “mittelschmerz”.
Click HERE to participate in the ASMR Research Survey
Click HERE to participate in the ASMR Website Polls
Click HERE to participate in the Voices of ASMR Project
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Amy Huffenberger is an undergraduate student in the Neuroscience department at Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio.
She is doing her senior thesis project on ASMR, under the guidance of Professor Grit Herzmann Ph.D.
Amy shares her motivations, research objectives and challenges, and also offers insightful suggestions to future ASMR researchers.
Below are my questions in bold, followed by her replies in italics.
Relaxing music and ASMR triggers have their similarities and their differences.
Similarities include: both can induce relaxation, both have strong auditory component, and both can induce a type of chills or tingles.
Differences include: music is almost all auditory (vibrations can be another sensory input method), the type of chills induced are slightly different, and music may have a stronger emotional component.
And then there is the biggest difference of them all.
Update:
A research study came out this week that is relevant to one of my prior posts (pasted in below).
This research supports the concern that the light from an electronic device can interfere with sleep.
The study is published in PNAS, a well respected journal.
The authors showed that reading from an iPad (compared to a printed book) increased the time it took to fall asleep, reduced melatonin secretion, and reduced morning alertness.
Click HERE to access the research abstract.
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