A soft voice close to the microphone. Fingernails tapping on a wooden box. Someone pretending to give you an eye test, in a whisper. To some people this is baffling. To others it produces a delicious tingling that starts at the scalp and runs down the spine, followed by deep calm.
This is ASMR, and its videos draw enormous audiences. It looks a lot like hypnosis. How similar are they?
What ASMR is
ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, a name invented in an online forum around 2010 by people trying to describe a feeling they had had since childhood and assumed everyone shared.
It is a pleasant tingling, usually beginning at the crown of the head and sometimes spreading down the neck and back, set off by particular sights and sounds. Common triggers are:
- Whispering and soft speech
- Tapping, scratching and crinkling sounds
- Slow, deliberate hand movements
- Close personal attention, as in a pretend haircut, medical examination or make-up session
- Watching someone carry out a careful task
Not everyone experiences it. Surveys suggest a substantial minority do, though estimates vary widely.
What the research shows
Scientific study only began in the mid-2010s. One of the first controlled investigations was published in 2018 by researchers in Sheffield and Manchester.
In two studies, people who said they experienced ASMR, and people who did not, watched ASMR videos and ordinary control videos.
- Mood. ASMR videos increased pleasant feelings, but only in people who experience ASMR.
- Heart rate. Those who experience ASMR showed a significantly greater fall in heart rate while watching, on average about three beats per minute, comparable to other relaxation methods.
- Skin conductance went up, a sign of arousal.
That combination is interesting. ASMR is calming and stimulating at once, which matches how people describe it: relaxed and tingling.
The authors concluded that ASMR is a reliable, physiologically rooted experience that may have benefits. Later research has explored its use for sleep and mood, and brain imaging studies have reported activity in regions linked with reward and social bonding. The field is young, most studies are small, and little is known about long-term effects.
What it shares with hypnosis
- A soft, slow voice and unhurried pacing
- Narrowed attention on one thing
- Absorption. The room fades.
- A sense of being looked after by a calm, attentive person
- Relaxation, and for many, sleep
- Individual differences. Some respond strongly, some not at all.
- A link with absorption as a trait. People who experience ASMR tend to score higher on measures of absorption and openness.
It is no accident that many ASMR creators make “hypnosis” videos and that many hypnosis recordings have an ASMR feel.
How they differ
| ASMR | Hypnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| Main ingredient | Sensory triggers | Verbal suggestion |
| Aim | The tingling feeling, relaxation, sleep | A specific change |
| Suggestions | Usually none | Central |
| Your role | Receive | Take part and imagine |
| Eyes | Often open, watching | Often closed |
| Tingling | The defining feature | Not expected |
| Evidence base | A few years of small studies | Decades, with clinical trials |
The core difference is purpose. ASMR offers an experience that is its own reward. Hypnosis uses a focused state to do something: reduce pain, change a habit, rehearse a situation.
One is a pleasant bath. The other is a bath in which you are also doing physiotherapy.
Can ASMR be used as an induction?
In effect, yes. Anything that settles the body and narrows attention can serve as the way in. An ASMR-style opening followed by clear, relevant suggestions is a perfectly reasonable hypnosis recording, for those who enjoy the style.
For people who dislike whispering and mouth sounds, and there are many, it will have the opposite effect. Some find those sounds intensely irritating, a reaction called misophonia.
Things to be aware of
- Check what is being suggested. A video labelled “ASMR hypnosis” may include suggestions. Listen to it fully awake first.
- Quality varies. Anyone can upload one. Be wary of health claims.
- Not a treatment. ASMR may help you unwind. It is not therapy for insomnia, anxiety or depression.
- Relying on it for sleep. If you cannot sleep without a video, the screen and the habit may become part of the problem. Audio only, with the screen off, is better.
- Volume. Keep headphones low, especially overnight.
- Tolerance. Some people report that the tingles fade with heavy use and return after a break.
If you do not get tingles
You are in the majority, and nothing is wrong. You may still find the videos relaxing, or you may find them annoying. Either is normal. The absence of ASMR says nothing about how you will respond to hypnosis.
Which should you use?
- To unwind or drift off, and you enjoy the sensation: ASMR is fine.
- To change something specific: hypnosis, or another method with evidence behind it.
- Both: an ASMR-style recording with suggestions you have chosen.
The bottom line
ASMR is a real, measurable response that some people have to soft sounds and close attention. It shares the gentle voice, the absorption and the calm of hypnosis, but it stops at the pleasant feeling, where hypnosis goes on to give suggestions for change. Enjoy it for what it is.
Next in the series: Hypnosis for an Overactive Bladder
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.