ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response” and is defined as “the sensation people get when they watch stimulating videos or take part in other activities — usually ones that involve personal attention.”

Or maybe we should just call them “the brain tingles.”

Either way, ASMR has become very popular on social media, so let’s dig into some facts about it!

1. It all started on Facebook.

A computer scientist named Jennifer Allen coined the term ASMR  in a Facebook post in 2010. And when Allen said “autonomous sensory meridian response”, she meant for the word “meridian” to mean “orgasm”, FYI.

2. That special feeling.

People who experience ASMR report feeling brain tingles and “brain orgasms”, but some also say they experience feelings of pleasure and even relaxation.

Is there a s**ual component to ASMR? The jury is still out…

3. Triggered.

There are many ASMR videos on YouTube and elsewhere online where people speak in certain ways or do things to try to get reactions from viewers.

These actions can include whispering, typing, and crumbling paper. And there are also some folks who roleplay when they create ASMR videos and dress up like doctors and other characters.

Oh, boy!

4. Top four.

A survey of 475 people who experience ASMR revealed the top four triggers:

1. Whispering

2. Personal attention

3. Crisp sounds (fingernails tapping, foil being crinkled, etc.).

4. Slow movements

98% of people surveyed say they watch ASMR videos to relax and 82% use them to fall asleep.

5. Not only videos.

Some people experience ASMR in real life, too.

Examples include getting a haircut or getting a manicure. Makes sense, right?

6. It’s all pretty new.

According to Dr. Craig Richard, a professor at Shenandoah University, wrote a book called Brain Tingles and he says that a 2007 conversation between users on the website SteadyHealth.com started the whole ASMR conversation.

One person wrote “weird sensation feels good” and that got the ball rolling.

7. Now it’s everywhere.

As of 2021, there were more than 13 million ASMR videos on YouTube and more than 10 million ASMR videos on Instagram.

Sounds like ASMR isn’t going anywhere anytime soon…

Check out the video below to get more facts about this interesting phenomenon.