Hoom secret #3: ASMR

Whispers, mouth sounds, taps on the microphone: the ASMR trend has quickly become a phenomenon on YouTube, to the delight of insomniacs.

These noises are credited with a capacity to relax, fall asleep quickly, or even lead to ... cerebral orgasms!

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

Because there are as many sleeper profiles as sleepers, the HoomBand application (available for Android and Iphone) wants to be the most complete possible, to provide a customisable solution, depending on the mood or sensitivity of each.

In this article, we try to understand why ASMR has nowadays become essential for millions of sleepers around the world.

Summary :

1- What exactly is ASMR?

ASMR means Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

It is an auditory stimulus created by one person, and creating a relaxing effect.

Generally, they are whispers, chewing noises, crackling, and hand rubbing. The human imagination is the only limit to this trend.

We are all equal when it comes to ASMR! Some people experience very intense sensations, such as chills down the spine, tickling at the back of the head. They speak of a “trance state”.

And for others, these sounds only cause embarrassment or auditory discomfort...

Thus you need to try it to see if you are sensitive to it.

2- Its effectiveness on the quality of your sleep

ASMR being a recent trend, little research is available on this curiosity.

A study carried out in 2015 shows that 80% of participants having listened to ASMR note a clear improvement in their mood, even their possible depressive state. [1]

Fans of ASMR say that listening to these sounds can effectively relieve an anxious state, insomnia problems and chronic pain.

Researchers have proven, in 2018, that ASMR could even facilitate access to a state of “full consciousness”. [2]

For some researchers, this comes from the fact that being focused on these sounds would allow you to distract yourself and no longer focus on your thoughts (or your pain). The state of rest is therefore more easily reached.

We could also think that these particular sounds remind us of familiar noises or even our infancy, which makes us confident and allows us to relax more easily.

3- ASMR sprinkled in our stories and sounds

The Hoom application does not offer soundtracks with only ASMR, as can be found on YouTube.

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

This cocktail would be particularly effective. One study shows that ASMR paired with binaural frequencies would increase sleep quality and make falling asleep easier. [3]

To recap

ASMR and your HoomBand are therefore especially effective:

  • if you are particularly sensitive to noises for you to fall asleep
  • if you have trouble entering into a deep relaxed state

Here is an example of a story containing ASMR, available in the HoomBand application (available for Android and Iphone):

hoomband-asmr

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

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

Discover other HoomBand secrets for you to 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