You can find just about anything on YouTube — even, as it turns out, channels upon channels of people whispering, sorting paper or folding towels and sheets.
These video hosts are tapping into a phenomenon called autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR (as-mur). People with ASMR may get goose bumps, or feel a pleasant, tingling sensation when they hear certain, typically soft noises.
But the phenomenon is understudied. An organization called ASMR Research and Support says triggers are varied. They can include slow, accented or unique speech patterns; viewing educational or instructive lectures; or watching others complete tasks, such as filling out forms.
Although there is much to learn about the phenomenon, experts believe the sensations people experience while listening to or watching these videos is indeed real. But figuring out what happens in the brain to cause them could be more difficult.
Experts say the sounds that trigger ASMR all engage the part of the brain that interacts with other people or the world. A Yale University neurologist hypothesizes that ASMR could be associated with small seizures, which are often pleasurable and can be triggered by sound. He also speculates that ASMR might simply be a different way of activating pleasure.
Researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse have explored whether ASMR triggers a release of dopamine, which is involved in the brain’s rewards system.
If you’re one of the people who does respond to gentle whispering — whether by human or by paper — you’re not alone. One quick look at TheWaterwhisper’s YouTube subscribers shows there are at least 126,329 more people just like you.