Our nervous system works tirelessly, receiving information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Part of this information is interoceptive, that is, it comes from the interior of our body: heart signals, lungs, intestine and other viscera, which keep us aware of how we are inside.
However, a large part of the data we process are exteroceptive, come from the outside world. And this is where our five great allies come into play: ear, view, touch, smell and taste. The senses. Its importance is that they are our main tool to interact with the environment and, above all, to guarantee our survival.
Sensory pleasures
However, the senses not only work to protect us, they also provide us with pleasant experiences that make our lives happy. Through sight, we enjoy spectacular landscapes that fill us with amazement. The ear gives us relaxing sounds, such as the sway of the waves of the sea. Taste delights us with flavor explosions at each meal. Smell seduces us with aromas that arouse memories and emotions. And the touch, perhaps the most comforting of all, connects us with others, either through a hug, a caress, or, simply, for the pleasure provided by the sensation of the fresh breeze during a summer afternoon.
Under normal conditions, we need a close stimulus for our senses to be activated. Thus the sensory stimulation has always worked. Or, at least, until the arrival of ASMR, acronym for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (Autonomous Meridian sensory response). If it is the first time he listens to him, he wishes for YouTube and Tiktok and will verify that it is an audiovisual genre for himself. Let’s see why.
Relaxation and tingling
ASMR describes a surprising phenomenon: a sense of relaxation accompanied by pleasant tingling. It is, therefore, an “response”, a reaction of the body to one or more stimuli; “Meridiana”, which originates a peak of pleasure; “Sensory”, since it is caused by sensory stimuli such as soft and “autonomous” sounds, because it occurs involuntarily without the person who experiences it consciously controls it.
The term ASMR was coined in 2010 by Jennifer Allen. Although many people already experienced these “strange sensations that generate well -being”, there was no specific name to describe them.
Sensations as a tingling that, beginning in the head, extends through the neck, back and other parts of the body. It is an experience that can remind us of what we feel when someone caresses our skin or whisperly whispers with our ear. In this case, however, the feeling of pleasure occurs without the physical presence of another person.
Hundreds of millions of visualizations
But how is this achieved? Through videos, mainly on social networks. In them, a person uses a special microphone to produce soft sounds, such as delicate whispers or voices, or generate repetitive noises such as the rhythmic boured fingers on a surface, creak of a paper or the rubbing of a fabric.
Although these stimuli are virtual, in some people they manage to trigger a deeply relaxing and pleasant sensory experience. And it seems that they actually work, judging by the hundreds of millions of visualizations they have; Especially at night, when many use them to reconcile sleep.
Thus acts in the brain
ASMR has both emotional and physiological effects on the brain. A greater activation in the limbic system, a region of the brain involved in emotional regulation and the feeling of well -being has been observed. Therefore, it could work similar to other pleasant stimuli, such as listening to music.
In this sense, ASMR seems to stimulate the production of neurotransmitters such as oxytocin, associated with the feeling of calm we experience during affectionate physical contact; Dopamine, which is related to reward and pleasure; or serotonin and endorphins that help reduce stress and encourage relaxation.
At the physiological level, scientific studies, in which the brain activity of the participants has been monitored by means repose. And at the same time, an increase in beta waves has been observed, which are related to the concentration and alert state.
This suggests that ASMR is not only relaxing, but can also induce a state of attention and absorption, similar to when we are very focused on a pleasant task.
To these purposes is added those that revealed an investigation carried out in 2018, where the participants exposed to ASMR presented a decrease in heart rate, something similar to what happens during mindfulness or meditation activities. Participants also experienced an increase in the sensation of calm, along with a reduction in stress and sadness.
And finally, others studies They suggest that ASMR can reduce feelings of depression in people sensitive to this phenomenon.
Therapeutic potential
At the moment, there are not many studies on the beneficial effects of ASMR in the brain, although several of them suggest that this type of sensory stimulation could have therapeutic potential, helping to relieve anxiety, insomnia and even chronic pain.
In addition, the results Available so far indicate that, to experience these sensations and take advantage of their possible therapeutic effects, it is necessary to have some predisposition, linked to factors such as personality, sensitivity and certain emotional features.
If you want to experience the pleasure of a tingling that runs through your body without the need for another person’s physical presence, try to open your mind to new experiences, foster your empathy, work your emotional susceptibility and enjoy these joyful sensations, which for now are free.
This article was originally published in The Conversation. You can read it here.
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