Anyone with decent Wi-Fi has probably come across the rise of YouTube trend ASMR. These videos entail people whispering, scratching, crumbling, pretending to give you haircuts, massages—really doing anything that makes noise—into a microphone. Autonomous sensory meridian response—AKA a “braingasm”— is a sensation in which people experience tingling across their heads and necks in response to auditory or visual stimuli. The internet has mixed opinions on the legitimacy of ASMR because only some people can actually experience the sensation.
this is like what our cat did just nowdjsjdjsjs
“cat eating corn mukbang asmr” pic.twitter.com/MQVGqPS1H0
— sar ? (@beombarded) February 7, 2019
Creators of these kinds of videos have a knack for finding effective sensory triggers. However, little research has been done to figure out why some people get the goosies and fall into a deep slumber when they hear acrylics clank on a plastic container. The first ever peer-reviewed paper on the matter was written at Swansea University by psychologists Dr. Nick Davis and Emma Barratt. In their study of 500 people, they aimed to find the link between hearing/seeing certain stimulants and the tingly, relaxing response some people have. The study found that ASMR may be considered as a form of sound-emotion synesthesia.
Today I learned that some people with synesthesia taste words. I love brains. pic.twitter.com/8YOMqkw22B
— Mason (@two_star_human) February 12, 2019
Synesthesia is the condition in which one sense is perceived simultaneously with another. One of the most common form is colored letters and numbers. A person with this kind of synesthesia might see the word “hand” as red. Some people might taste blueberries when they hear a specific song. A synesthete can experience a combination of about any of the senses. According to Neuroscience for Kids, many people may have synesthesia and not realize what it is or that they have it and only about one in 200 to one in 100,000 people have it. If ASMR is a kind of synesthesia, that would explain why only some people can experience the sensation.
YOU KNOW WHAT MY DUMBASS JUST REALIZED. THE REASON I ASSOCIATE COLORS WITH PEOPLE AND CRY ABOUT HOW JUNGKOOK IS YELLOW AND JIMIN IS BLUE IS BC I HAVE SYNESTHESIA pic.twitter.com/lXXdoPUWmc
— ً (@rosy_bIush) February 11, 2019
I had a girl with synesthesia (the ability to see colors in music) listen to and tell me what colors she saw in my songs. Here’s what she said (and it made my day!): pic.twitter.com/HRL1gE7FI2
— Ben Myers (@BenMyersOnline) February 10, 2019
ANYONE WITH SYNESTHESIA WANNA TELL ME WHAT MY NAME TASTES LIKE
— AK (@BANDREWBIM) February 5, 2019
Research in Europe has found that genetics play a role in likelihood of being a synesthete. Psychologist Romke Rouw studies synesthesia at the University of Amsterdam. “It provides a fascinating suggestion of a link between particular genetic variations and hypoconnectivity in the synesthetic brain,” he told Science Magazine. Basically, there’s a chance that if ASMR is your mom’s jam, it may be yours too. Shenandoah University psychologist Craig Richard’s research found that 60 percent of people who are affected by ASMR reported feeling sleepy. While science hasn’t proved that ASMR can actually cause relaxation, there is possibility that it could activate the parasympathetic nervous system—like with meditation—and slow stress chemicals and brain waves. Richard also found that people can build up a “tolerance” to ASMR. After experiencing ASMR, 40 percent of people said their symptoms declined or diminished. However, rest assured, if you give your ASMR binging a break for a few weeks, you’ll be back to your braingasms in no time. Basically, no one truly understands this bizarre YouTube trend, but I hold no doubt the internet will keep watching it grow.