“MY HEAD FEELS LIKE IT’S GLOWING”
Jennifer has been experiencing ASMR since she was a youngster
Can you describe the sensation of ASMR?
It travels up into my head and it feels like it’s glowing. Then it kind of trickles down the spine and goes up and down. I imagine it as lights going on and off up and down the spine like a ripple. It’s so good.
Do you remember the first time you felt it?
Definitely – I was 12 or 13, and it was the first time I listened to music using headphones. I was lying on my front in bed, and it was dark because the lights were out. I was listening to Christina Aguilera’s The Voice Within. There’s this incredible bit towards the end, it’s so passionate and heartfelt and her voice is amazing.
What kinds of experiences trigger the sensation in you?
Really mundane and simple things, to be honest. Someone cooking something really competently, where everything they need is easily reached and you watch it all come together. It’s like watching a masterpiece being created. Pouring drinks is another one, watching people work at a bar. But sometimes
it’s just someone walking through a room well, which is hard to explain. I’ve even had it from food. At a restaurant in Paris, I was eating an octopus and hummus dish. The texture of it was amazing and made my ears feel all tingly, and then the taste was so unexpected and a combination I hadn’t experienced before.
Do you seek out ASMR as an experience, or just enjoy it when it happens?
I usually just enjoy it when it happens. Sometimes I’ll listen to the same song again when I know I’ve had the feeling, but it won’t always work and I don’t mind. It sometimes happens with a really well-told story too. When the ending just works. So yeah I think there’s definitely a satisfaction element to it.
Did you think that everyone experienced the sensations?
I thought it was a thing everyone experienced. I think it’s more present when I’m in a good place. When I’m happy I’m very open, and it’s all about being open. When I’m low I feel closed, like I don’t want to feel things.