Whispers, mouth sounds, rubbing on the microphone: the ASMR trend quickly became a phenomenon on Youtube, much to the delight of insomniacs.

These sounds are said to have the ability to relax, to help fall asleep quickly, or even to provoke... cerebral orgasms!

HoomBand therefore did not hesitate to add them, in different ways, to its hypnotic sounds and stories.

Because there are as many sleeper profiles as there are sleepers, the Livlab app (available on iPhone and Android) aims to be as comprehensive as possible, to provide a customizable solution, depending on each person's mood or sensitivity.

In this article, we try to understand why ASMR has today become essential for millions of sleepers worldwide.

Summary:

• 1- What exactly is ASMR?
• 2- Its effectiveness on the quality of your sleep
• 3- ASMR sprinkled in our stories and sounds

1- What exactly is ASMR?

ASMR comes from the English Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

It is an auditory stimulus created by a person, causing a relaxing effect.

Generally, these are whispers, chewing noises, crackling, rubbing of hands. The human imagination is the only limit to this trend.

We are not all equal when it comes to ASMR! Some people feel very intense sensations, like shivers along the spine, tickling at the back of the head. They talk about a “trance state.”

And for other people, these sounds only cause discomfort or auditory unease...

So you have to try to see if you are sensitive to it.

 

2- Its effectiveness on the quality of your sleep

ASMR being a recent trend, few studies are available on this curiosity.

A study conducted in 2015 shows that 80% of participants who listened to ASMR noted a clear improvement in their mood, or even their possible depressive state. [1]

ASMR fans say that listening to these sounds can indeed relieve anxiety, insomnia problems, and chronic pain.

Researchers proved in 2018 that ASMR could even facilitate access to a state of “mindfulness.” [2]

For some researchers, this comes from the fact that focusing on these sounds would distract from oneself and no longer focus on one's thoughts (or pain). The state of rest is therefore more easily reached.

One might also think that these particular sounds remind us of familiar noises or even our childhood, which would make us feel confident and allow us to relax more easily.

 

3- ASMR sprinkled in our stories and sounds

The Hoom app does not offer soundtracks with only ASMR as can be found on Youtube.

On the other hand, we have chosen to include ASMR (with binaural frequencies) in many hypnotic stories to multiply their relaxing power.

This cocktail would actually be particularly effective. A study shows that ASMR combined with binaural frequencies would increase sleep quality and facilitate falling asleep. [3]

Here is an example of a story containing ASMR available on The Livlab app (available on iPhone and Android):

Our library of sounds and stories is frequently updated. Every night, its own atmosphere!

With your headband well adjusted and your story, there is little chance of disturbing your appointment with Morpheus.

Discover the other ingredients of HoomBand to help you fall asleep:

Sources

[1] Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state, Emma L. Barratt and Nick J Davis, Peer J, 2015

[2] Mindfulness and autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), Beverley K Fredborg, James M Clark, Stefen D Smith, PeerJ, 2018

[3] Possible Effect of Binaural Beat Combined With Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response for Inducing Sleep, Minji Lee et al, FRont Hum Neurosci, 2019