Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of Scottish ASMR
It’s a feeling of pure relaxation. It’s a phenomenon which has been growing quietly for years now and it still doesn’t feel socially acceptable to talk about.
But it is gradually breaking into the public consciousness. Celebrities now take part in these kind of videos, which are consumed by millions online.
And Scotland has its own hub of creators making content to help people fall asleep all over the planet.
Welcome to the world of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response).
In everyday life, Duncan is a student who lives in Edinburgh. But online he is Dido ASMR, a Youtuber with a channel filled with magic tricks, gaming, and rambles… all Asmr-style.
“ASMR not only helps me to relax but it also provides an opportunity for me to escape from the stress and reality life can bring,” he says.
The 20-year-old remembers lying awake as a teenager desperately trying to get to sleep, and stumbling on autonomous sensory meridian response videos.
Duncan said: “Since then, I have been falling asleep (almost) every night to relaxing sounds, voices and people that I can't thank enough!”
You can read these kind of stories under almost every ASMR video of people who suffer with insomnia or crippling anxiety, who are finally able to get a good night’s kip.
They are soothed to sleep with videos of ocean waves, bedtime stories, language lessons, even tales of Greek mythology.
ASMR was only named as recently as 2010. A study in 2018 found the relaxing ‘brain tingles’ may have benefits for both mental and physical health.
Since the first video was uploaded, the community has grown rapidly, and the appetite for this content is insatiable.
We are, after all, living in times where people need a way to relax.
The Covid-19 pandemic has benefited Duncan’s channel, he says, with views piling up over lockdown. He also has more time to create videos. Could it be that, amid harrowing current events, people are escaping into this world of whispers, crinkles, and, eventually, sleep?
"I think a lot more people have turned to finding ways to distract themselves from the current global situation and perhaps stumbled upon ASMR while trying to destress,” Duncan says.
Live streaming has also helped him reach a wider audience and he says it encourages people to stay indoors.
The Scottish ASMR community is relatively small and close-knit. Its biggest creator is Scottish Murmurs, who has to date accumulated more than 78 million views.
The amount of money an ASMR
Youtuber makes will vary from one artist to the next. It's been reported the ‘Queen of ASMR’ Gentlewhispering makes up to $130,000 a year, while most others make far less.
To people like Duncan, ASMR is a “feeling of pure relaxation and calmness” which is too often misunderstood.
“A lot of people tend to stereotype ASMR as something sexual which is definitely not the case,” he says.
“It may not be for everyone, and you may not experience it, but those who do enjoy ASMR will agree it has helped them.
"I am so glad to see it becoming the ‘norm’ and less people being embarrassed by it.”