This generation of young people rely on "sound massage" to help them sleep

Difficulty falling asleep, shallow sleep, dreaming and waking up early... In the busy urban life, more and more young people have sleep disorders due to work and life pressure. At the same time, some beautiful and pleasant "trigger sounds" on the Internet and social media - ASMR videos have gradually become a sleep "partner" for this group of people. Some people can't fall asleep without listening to them, and they feel sleepy when they listen to them. Today is World Sleep Day, let's talk about how the magical ASMR can coax you to sleep.

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01 What exactly is the addictive ASMR?

Tapping cups or keyboards, rubbing papers, opening a Coke bottle, even mixing paint, scraping wall paint, repairing donkey hooves... these strange sound videos actually give people a sense of comfort and relaxation to some extent, making people call it "decompression". These videos also have a common name: ASMR videos.

The full name of ASMR is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response , which refers to the pleasant and unique stimulation produced by the human body in the skull, scalp, back or other parts of the body through visual, auditory, tactile and other sensory stimulations. ASMR stimulation is mainly divided into several types such as sound, vision, touch , etc., which aims to stimulate and induce a special response of the human body by creating a sound environment such as whispering, tapping, and light touching, such as tingling scalp and body relaxation. The frequency and rhythm of these sounds help our brain enter a state of relaxation.

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The history of contemporary ASMR can be traced back to 2007. It was first proposed by some members of online discussion groups on forums. They learned more about this kind of perception by sharing their personal experiences and related concepts. Today, ASMR is so popular, to a certain extent, because the Internet provides a fertile soil for its growth. People began to use video platforms to make ASMR videos and formed communities to discuss and communicate with each other. After fermentation and spread over time, ASMR came to China, and set off ripples in the middle of the night when more than 300 million Chinese people suffer from sleep disorders.

Searching for "ASMR" on the well-known domestic video community "Bilibili", the number of views of a single video is as high as 29.9 million.

(Screenshot source: BiliBili)

02 Some people are obsessed with it while others are disgusted by it. Has the effect of ASMR in “lubricating people to sleep” been exaggerated?

The subjective experience of ASMR is usually accompanied by a sense of calm and relaxation, which helps us relieve stress and improve sleep. Therefore, ASMR has become the only choice for some people to relieve stress and promote sleep, and even become an essential and important activity before going to bed.

However, some people are skeptical about ASMR, viewing it as a "tax on intelligence", and some even think that the sound of ASMR is harsh and unpleasant. Can ASMR really help us relieve stress and help us sleep?

ASMR is not for everyone . Some people don't like or even hate the sound of ASMR. This is mainly because of the differences in each person's brain structure and nervous system, which leads to different reactions to the sound. Everyone has different auditory sensitivities, and has different perceptions of the frequency, volume, rhythm and texture of the sound, and thus has different reactions to the effects of ASMR. Some people have relatively sensitive nervous systems, and ASMR may cause them to have a faster heartbeat, become more agitated, and feel uncomfortable or painful.

In addition, over-reliance on ASMR may cause people to become less sensitive to sound, or even "immune". The same sound is becoming less and less effective, and the sleep-inducing effect is greatly reduced, and eventually people fall into a sleep "vicious circle": spending a lot of time watching ASMR videos every day, and not being able to fall asleep without watching them, which makes them more anxious instead of relieving their stress. What's more serious is that some listeners claim that they have tinnitus after listening to ASMR for a long time, and it is likely that ASMR causes noise-induced tinnitus. Therefore, when using ASMR, we must be moderate and avoid over-reliance. If you already have a similar "addiction" situation, you can try to gradually reduce the daily viewing time, increase the time interval between viewings, or find other fun in life.

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03 Let sleep return to nature: a "self-help" guide for insomnia

ASMR is just one way to relieve stress. There are many other ways to help us relieve stress, help us sleep, and improve sleep quality.

(1) Stick to moderate intensity exercise such as jogging and walking . This can not only improve blood circulation and metabolism, and deliver more oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body, but also stimulate the brain to release endorphins, improve mood, create a sense of pleasure, and make it easier to fall asleep.

(2) Spend more time in nature . Being close to the sounds of nature, such as birdsong and streams, can make us feel peaceful and relaxed. Scientific research also shows that the sounds of nature can help reduce psychological stress and improve mood. Soft music and white noise as background music can also help us concentrate, improve our mood, and increase work efficiency.

(3) The bed is only for sleeping . Lying in bed all day is not good for your health. Over-resting will make you more tired. Do not do anything unrelated to sleep in bed, such as looking at your phone, watching TV, or reading.

(4) Maintain a peaceful state of mind . Even if you occasionally have trouble sleeping or insomnia, do not be too anxious. Trust your body, treat things around you peacefully, maintain an optimistic and relaxed mood, and gradually adjust to a stable and regular schedule.

As a healing method, sound can help us relieve stress and improve sleep. ASMR provides us with a new possibility of sound therapy, but we should also look at the effect of sound therapy rationally according to our own feelings and needs, and avoid excessive pursuit. Sound therapy is not a panacea. In the face of negative emotions in life, we also need to learn to change our working methods, adjust our working mentality, and learn to deal with negative emotions in life in a positive and healthy way. Only in this way can we truly release stress and achieve inner peace and relaxation.

author:

Tang Yicheng, China Science Popularization Expert, Secretary General of the Science Popularization Committee of the Chinese Psychological Society

Wang Xiang Chief Writer, Beijing China Science Popularization Center for Mental Health Promotion

Reviewer: Fan Chunlei, Associate Researcher, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Produced by: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., China Science and Technology Publishing House (Beijing) Digital Media Co., Ltd.