HBM079: The Tingles
Here Be Monsters
Here Be Monsters Podcast
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2017
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Devaan describes it as a pulsing, tingling feeling on the back of his neck. His preferred stimuli are whispers, shuffling cards, scissors, tapping noises, anything that makes a crisp enough sound to trigger his ASMR. These sounds make him feel relaxed, euphoric and drowsy.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is a physical reaction experienced by some unknown percentage of the population (to varying degrees). Due to being only recently recognized and named, ASMR is still poorly understood scientifically. Its evolutionary purpose (if any) is uncertain, though one popular theory suggests that it might serve a social bonding or grooming purpose.
Devaan’s ASMR awakening came one day at work when a co-worker whispered into his ear. He googled “Why does my brain tingle when I hear whispering?” He stumbled into the online community of “ASMR artists” (aka. “ASMRtists”) who stimulate huge audiences with their preferred triggers.
He used these videos daily to combat his mild insomnia. Soon he became reliant on them for sleep, consuming ASMR videos endlessly. He became desensitized, even to his favorite videos, and thinks that he was (and maybe still is) addicted to them.
Today, Devaan still uses ASMR videos to fall asleep, though he says he’s now more careful with his consumption.
Producer: Molly Segal
Music: The Black Spot, AHEE
Additional Sounds: Arnaud Coutancier, Richard Frohlich
Screaming: Benjamin Harper, John Hill
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, this is Herebe Monsters. |
| 0:04.0 | And just before we start this episode, two quick notes. |
| 0:07.0 | First, we've just launched the search for our next Herebe Monsters |
| 0:10.6 | T-shirt design. |
| 0:12.3 | There's more info in the credits of this episode and |
| 0:15.0 | over on our website at HBM podcast.com slash shirts. And the second thing, this is an episode about sounds and as such it would be a |
| 0:26.2 | shame to hear it in a loud place or to listen without headphones on. |
| 0:30.3 | So just keep that in mind. Okay that's it. Enjoy the show. |
| 0:35.0 | If you ask me whether or not I was dependent on it, I would probably say that I am. |
| 0:48.6 | It's not something that I need every day, but it's something that I rely on in those moments where I can't sleep, or |
| 0:56.7 | where I'm feeling particularly kind of overwhelmed with the day or what the next day is going |
| 1:00.8 | to be. |
| 1:10.0 | So I put my headphones in my ears |
| 1:17.0 | and turn on my video. and it takes a second to get going to get going. And it takes a second to get going. As the video starts, this pulsing, tingling feeling, starts. |
| 1:25.0 | This pulsing, tingling feeling starts on the back of my neck just below the line where your |
| 1:39.9 | ears would be and as the video plays the sound of different ears, it'll travel from |
| 1:48.0 | side to side, back and forth. And then then it sort of eventually |
| 1:55.0 | will wash over my head and neck |
| 2:01.0 | until eventually my whole scalp, my whole brain feels like it's tingling. |
| 2:07.0 | And then it'll sort of start to creep down my spine a little bit again with the tingling feeling. |
| 2:13.0 | When it's really working well, |
| 2:20.0 | there's almost like this ringing sensation, like when you're in a room that's purely |
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