ASMR, a brain relaxation therapy session known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is classified as a genre of content designed to induce calmness and subjective euphoria.
Still, quite don’t understand what ASMR is. Well, let’s explain…
Have you ever experienced the feeling your body gets when someone slightly plays with your hair? The shivers and goosebumps that run down your spine with the ultimate feeling of pleasure and tingling sensations? In simpler terms that same sensation that starts near the scalp and moves down to the lower part of the body is known as ASMR. A “passive brain massage” if you would say
Why it starts in your brain is due to a neurological response when hearing delicate sounds that are usually induced by touch to activate the body’s senses. Known as ‘ASMRtists’, content creators typically post their ASMR–triggering videos to YouTube to intentionally stimulate the soothing effects associated with the practice. Given that ASMR has exploded into its own genre, here are the top five most popular channels on YouTube for all the best crinkly sounds, soft whispering, brushing the hair, or just hearing sleep-induce noises.
5. Gentle Whispering ASMR
If you are looking for the ultimate videos to make your eyes droop heavily, fighting the urge to not fall asleep, and loving the sensation that soft whispering can create then one of the original ASMRtists, ‘Gentle Whispering’ should be on your must-list to watch. Maria Viktorovna is a Russian practitioner who paved her way into the scene through her sleep aid videos.
Viktorovna also simulates different roles in her videos, from a masseuse to a hairdresser in an effort to change the pace from video to video and give her audience a variety of relaxing videos that best fit their liking. Maria’s popularity is thanks to providing her audience with a sense of tranquility in her videos to elicit a calming sense of well-being — thus seeing her channel reach almost 700 million views since its inception.
4. ASMR PPOMO
In need of a head massage? Or what about having someone play with your hair? PPOMO is a Korean ASMRtist who practices relaxing techniques in a bid to induce those all-important forty winks. Her most popular video showcases various scalp massaging and hair brushing techniques through the use of her hands, brushes, and shampoo. Hearing shampoo bubbles burst right into your ear will definitely mimic a spa-salon-like hair therapy session.
3. Gibi ASMR
Young, beautiful, and already a star in the making ASMRtist, Gibi ASMR is known for her soft-spoken roleplay and makeup videos. Gibi’s initial dabble into the world of ASMR, ventured as someone who absorbed content to alleviate her recurring sleep issues, before deciding to post her own take on her YouTube and Twitch channels. Gibi also has a strong passion for cosplay, something that is reflected in the creation of characters that she uses during her roleplay videos.
2. ASMR Darling
Taylor ‘ASMR Darling’, started her move into the new-found genre back in 2014. Popularized by her use of ear-to-ear whispering, Darling specializes in sleep-related ASMR which is achieved through various noises (such as whispering, tapping, and scratching). Her videos also take on various role-play content such as up-close and personal facials, examining your skin, or doing your make-up in a slow fashion all to create that scalp-loving sensation.
1. SAS-ASMR
Before you judge, rid your mind of any preconceived ideas that you may have seen on social media making fun of ASMRists eating food. The internet is filled with jokes regarding food eaters and the strange odd noises that can stimulate listeners, but who they haven’t listened to is SAS-ASMR. Specializing in food-related ASMR, SAS-ASMR currently ranks as the number one ASMRtist in the community by some margin. Having become renowned for her ‘mukbang’ shows, where people indulge in copious amounts of food all in a civil, clean, and relaxing manner.
SAS’ most popular video has amassed over 50 million views, which shows her eating an “extremely sticky” honeycomb for over 12 minutes.
While the scientific support behind the use of ASMR is somewhat lackluster, it is evident that the notion has captivated a huge (and still growing) audience. Plenty of anecdotal evidence surrounding the benefits – alongside an ever-expanding fanbase – suggests that ASMR and its relaxing inductions are here to stay.
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