ASMR

ASMR. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

The first time  I encountered this phenomenon was when College Humor produced a YouTube spoof about ASMR. It was funny and it did show what an ASMR video would consist of: a bit of whispering, things being brushed against surfaces, and a lot of silence.

I encountered the phenomenon again lately when Digg pointed to a Washington Post article featuring Maria, a Russian expatriate who is an ASMR advocate. Maria had several ASMR YouTube videos which were meant to give a sense of relaxation and calm to its viewers.

Intrigued, I viewed her most popular video and was promptly relaxed to boredom. Because of the whispering, her words blended to a pleasant background noise. Her props' sounds, the hairbrush being  scraped and the paper being crumpled, brought back childhood memories of lazy Sunday afternoons just dozing on the banig ("mat") listening to nothing but the drone of tree branches rustling.

After several minutes, I had to stop listening and get back to work. I wasn't feeling light and easy after but maybe that's because I wasn't in an ideal disposition to savor the sounds. 

But, definitely, the phenomenon is alive and well despite no scientific study confirming its efficacy or even its existence. Again, maybe, ASMR is just one of those neurological mysteries that science has yet to grasp.