In the past few years, a trend that is not easy to describe has gained momentum, primarily on YouTube, where it is slowly taking on more concrete shapes, although it has just begun to fight for its place among widely applied methods of massage and relaxation.
ASMR Massage
ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response, a term that generally lacks a suitable translation in most languages because it is not scientific despite its connotation, which is why it is usually used in its original English form and colloquially referred to as ‘brain orgasm’) is described as an experience typically characterized by tingling sensations triggered by specific sounds or movements that induce a feeling of pleasure on the skin, starting from the scalp down to the neck and upper spine; this sensation can also be short-lived.
In the broadest sense, ASMR is a psychological response to many different external stimuli (the most obvious being visual, acoustic, and tactile) that can manifest as tingling or waves of pleasure on the skin, calmness, euphoria, happiness, or other welcome feelings.
It’s All About the Experience
Since stimuli do not have to be direct, YouTube is full of videos that play with this relatively new concept of intentional ASMR stimulation, where a key element is a quality microphone, specifically two, to create a 3D effect that draws the viewer in more strongly. The videos usually depict some form of massage, thus a combination of touch and sound, but also just sound stimulation through the repetition of relaxing actions.
People no longer want just classical forms of entertainment and relaxation; they want a story, intimacy, and a subjective, special experience, and ASMR offers the very essence of this new thinking about tourism, although it also has solid health potential (stress, insomnia, nervousness, etc.).
What ASMR Massage Looks Like
Unlike a series of generally accepted techniques for ASMR massage, which is still an unofficial version of massage, it has a completely different guiding thread. Although it certainly does not hurt if performed by a professional, ASMR massage is not medical and does not aim to break knots, improve circulation, or perform treatments with oils, but primarily to relax. The basic element is continuous speaking in a slow, gentle, and quiet tone, where the topic is really not important, only a pleasant voice. From the person being massaged, clearly, no responses are expected, and it should be noted that soothing music is not played during ASMR.
Another element typical of ASMR massage is very light sensual movements that at times can mimic classical massage, but are much gentler and boil down to caressing or stroking the back or massaging the scalp and ears. The third specificity is the use of unusual tools for massage, such as brushes, scarves, or feathers for sensual stimulation, or the aforementioned caressing.
Just Nonsense?
There are people who engage in this, the so-called ASMR artists, but doubts arise about its actual usability despite the growing community of fans of such videos on social media and YouTube channels, as well as positive testimonials from those who have found some form of ASMR extremely beneficial for their mental health. Since this is a new phenomenon, at least in its intentional form, science is just beginning to address it. Currently available research does not fully explain why the human brain reacts this way to mostly ordinary activities and what processes are involved.
ASMR, according to what is known so far, is not a guaranteed experience and is not felt by everyone, which is also one of the main reasons for caution among those who consider the whole thing a modern nonsense or just another form of fetish.
No Guarantees
The scientific community is equally divided, paying more and more attention to ASMR. While some are very open to this idea and more focused on understanding the process to please it, others are hostile towards it because they consider ASMR ‘snake oil’, or a false remedy for serious problems like depression.
>>>First Scientific Evidence of a ‘Higher’ State of Consciousness Found
There is currently no specific research that unequivocally supports or refutes the health benefits of ASMR or warns of its harmfulness, but there are scientific articles and studies that examine this topic from various perspectives. Some sort of rough consensus among scientists is that ASMR, according to all indications, exists, that it is ‘the real thing’, but that it is not easy to measure and clearly define, at least not yet.
The Feeling of Intimacy
Among the various interpretations and speculations about the nature of this phenomenon, it can sometimes be heard that certain sounds or situations, probably on a subconscious level, evoke childhood memories, not so much in the form of concrete events but rather specific and hard-to-describe feelings that children are unable to consciously articulate, but which remain remembered somewhere.
Whether this is a passing trend or a lasting value is still too early to predict, but given that it is a pleasant and unusual experience in a time that craves such things (virtual reality is emerging as the first medium in which ASMR could explode), one can assume a longer lifespan for this phenomenon, at least among an increasing number of enthusiasts.
