BY LISA MARIE BASILE
One day, when I was about 17, I was sitting in science class during a test. The windows were open; the light was soft and the breeze was cool and everything was sort of quiet except for the whir of air. As our teacher passed out our exams, the papers slipped against one another in this very smallish, quiet, barely-there way, and I shuddered. The sound made me shudder. Here — I'll put it to you another way: something external caused a physical reaction in my body. It was like someone's hands in my hair; I felt a "tingle," as we call it, up and down my spine, deep in the roots of my hair and around my waist. It was odd and beautiful and totally involuntary.
Years later, it happened again — this time, at an internship. People behind me were cleaning up a beauty product shelf, shifting items to the left and right, softly placing glass bottles on the shelves. Because our office was so quiet, the interns were too — gingerly moving things about, making the tiniest of noises. It was barely perceptible, and yet, somewhere in my mind, the sounds created that same feeling. I had no words for it, but now I do: ASMR — Autonomous Sensory Meridien Response, defined as, "a euphoric experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine, precipitating relaxation. It has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia."
Nowadays, it's a phenomenon many people claim to experience — and the numbers don't lie. Millions of comments and views on YouTube ASMR videos show just how amazing ASMR is. It can set babies, dogs, veterans, the chronically ill, the mentally ill at ease — and it also just feels good. If you experience ASMR, or even if you just like chill (but sometimes very weird, TBH) videos that help turn your brain right off, and if you're a magical lady like myself....these videos are for you.