Sleep

Participate in a research study about ASMR, Mindfulness, ADHD, & Autism.

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Megan Griffin and Alisha Swindley are undergraduate psychology students in their final year at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Their dissertation is investigating the impact of ASMR and Mindfulness audio-visual clips on reducing anxiety and stress in people who have ADHD, Autism and who are neurotypical, with a secondary focus on ASMR experiencers.

Their thesis is titled: “The Effectiveness of ASMR/Mindfulness on the Reduction on Stress and Anxiety in Participants with ADHD/ASD Compared to Participants without ADHD/ASD”

This study has been approved by the University of Lincoln’s School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee (Ethics approval code: 2025_19310).

The study will take no longer than 35 minutes, via QuestionPro online.

The study will include questions on ASD, ADHD, anxiety and stress. In addition, they will ask you to watch a 10-minute ASMR or Mindfulness video. All information gathered is anonymous.

If you have ADHD and/ or ASD, please consider taking part as they are particularly interested in this population.

A link to participate, along with more details, is below. Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about ASMR, misophonia, and sound pleasantness.

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Mathilde Bauer is a graduate student, pursuing an MSc. in Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London (UCL) in England.

Her research thesis is investigating the experiences of listening to pleasant sounds (e.g., ASMR) and unpleasant sounds (e.g., misophonia).

Her thesis is titled: “An exploration into sound-induced touch: spatial representations, pleasantness, and visual imagery”.

Mathilde’s faculty advisor for the study is Prof. Sophie Scott, Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL.

Mathilde is looking for participants to take her online survey, which has been reviewed and approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee (Approval ID Number: 1584/002).

The survey is open to individuals who are 18 years or older and have no hearing impairments.

The survey is fully anonymous, will take about 20 minutes to complete, and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

A link to participate, along with more details, is below. Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about the potential links between ASMR and attachment styles (UPDATE: now open to English speakers or French speakers)

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Manon B.C. is a graduate student, pursuing a Master’s degree in developmental psychology at the University of Paris 8 in France.

Her research thesis is investigating the potential links between ASMR and attachment styles.

Manon’s faculty advisor for the study is Dr. Laurence Martel, Professor and researcher at Paris 8 University.

The survey is open to individuals who are between 18 and 60 years old, and who experience ASMR or who at least consume ASMR content regularly.

English-speaking or French-speaking individuals can participate.

The survey is fully anonymous and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Below is a link for more information and to participate. Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about the potential links between ASMR and attachment styles (French-speaking participants required)

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Manon B.C. is a graduate student, pursuing a Master’s degree in developmental psychology at the University of Paris 8 in France.

Her research thesis is investigating the potential links between ASMR and attachment styles.

Manon’s faculty advisor for the study is Dr. Laurence Martel, Professor and researcher at Paris 8 University.

The survey is open to individuals who are between 18 and 60 years old, who experience ASMR or who at least consume ASMR content regularly, and who speak French, at least fluently if not natively.

The comprehension of French is necessary, as it would ensure participants understand the questions and the consent they’d need to give to participate in the first place.

The survey is fully anonymous and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Below is a link for more information and to participate. Continue reading →

Undergraduate student shares completed dissertation on ASMR, aesthetics, sensory perception, and sensory phenomena

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityAndrew Smith is an undergraduate student at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at The University of Dundee, Scotland.

He focused his final year dissertation project on ASMR to fulfill the requirements for his Bachelor of Design degree (with Honors).

Andrew’s completed dissertation was 47 pages (~10,000 words), was titled, “An investigation into the interconnected nature of aesthetics, sensory perception and sensory phenomena” and weaved together the following topics:

  • ASMR
  • The Golden Rectangle (a shape linked to art, design, and architecture)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (a therapy for trauma patients)
  • Brain Wave States, Hypnosis, & REM, Sleep
  • Brain Default Mode Network & Synaesthesia
  • Interpersonal bonding
  • Senses, Sensory Processing Disorder, & Autism

Continue reading →

Health benefits of ASMR for anxiety, insomnia, depression, and more.

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityI’ve created a new page for the website titled, “Health Benefits of ASMR.”

The page has a list of conditions which may be improved by experiencing ASMR.  Each condition includes supporting resources such as; published research, ongoing research, testimonials, and supportive articles.

Unfortunately, it will take a lot more research, especially clinical studies, before the potential clinical application of ASMR will be understood.  This new page just highlights some of the initial support that will hopefully assist and inspire other researchers and clinicians to do more studies.

If ASMR has helped you somehow, you can share your experience at the Voices of ASMR project and it will automatically be included to this new page.

If you know of a resource which highlights how ASMR has helped someone, then please send a link to asmruniversity@gmail.com and I’ll add it the page.

A current list of the potential health benefits of ASMR (with links to supporting resources) is below.

Continue reading →

An explanation for why the light from ASMR videos might not interfere with sleep?

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityResearch has shown that the light emitted from mobile devices can interfere with sleep.

This is a concern for individuals who are watching ASMR videos to relax their minds and fall asleep more easily.

Yet there are still plenty of online reports that watching an ASMR video does help many people to fall asleep more easily than not watching an ASMR video.

A recent research study published in PLOS Biology may help to explain this conundrum.

Continue reading →

ASMR and plant-based products to help with sleep

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityPeople often stumble across ASMR when searching for natural methods and products to help them sleep.

And on the flip side, some people who have temporarily lost their ability to experience ASMR or do not experience ASMR may seek out other natural methods and products to help them sleep.

One popular category of natural sleep products is ‘plant-based products’, which also may be referred to as ‘nutraceutical sleep therapeutics’, or ‘herbal sleep supplements’.

I recently came across a very well written review article on nutraceutical sleep therapeutics and I wanted to share it (a link to the article is provided below).

The products covered in the article include L-tryptophan, chamomile, cherries, kava kava, valerian, and marijuana.

Continue reading →