Can "ASMR" help stabilize mood and relieve anxiety? Experimental discovery: Brain waves are altered
A stress outlet for modern people? Does blowing and whispering ASMR make you mentally satisfied?
Are you often in a state of anxiety? Research published in the journal “PLOS ONE” shows that “ASMR” (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response), which has become popular in recent years, may be a great boon to people with anxiety.
The concept of ASMR was proposed in 2010. It usually refers to stimulating the five senses to produce tingling and pleasant sensations in the skull, scalp, and even limbs. Behaviors such as blowing, massaging, and whispering may trigger the ASMR mechanism.
Because the concept of ASMR is simple and easy to understand, a lot of related audio and video content has been created for ASMR in recent years. However, because ASMR is widely involved, there is still a lack of relevant research to prove its actual impact on the human body.
Does ASMR help relieve anxiety? Brain test found that alpha waves and beta waves are more stable
In order to analyze the actual effect of ASMR on human senses, a team from Northumbria University in the UK gathered a total of 64 subjects aged 18-58 and asked them to watch relevant videos that trigger ASMR experiences and complete relevant questionnaires to evaluate their Psychological state before and after watching the video. Before the experiment, 36 subjects had experienced ASMR, while the other 28 subjects had not.
The research team asked subjects to complete a difficult mental test while listening to ASMR sound sources. The team found that when subjects completed tasks accompanied by ASMR sound sources, the alpha audio and beta audio frequencies in the brain were quite close to the frequencies of a calm state of mind. Indicates that the subject’s mood is stabilized after receiving ASMR.
Are people with anxious personalities more likely to be exposed to ASMR? Can online videos relieve anxiety?
The research team subdivided anxiety states into “trait anxiety” (referring to people who are inherently neurotic and anxious) and “state anxiety” (referring to people who are easily affected by the environment and show anxiety). The study claimed that subjects who had experienced ASMR showed a tendency to feel anxious before watching the video, while subjects who had not experienced ASMR at all showed no significant difference. People with a tendency toward anxiety have been shown to be more likely to be exposed to ASMR.
Study author Charlotte Eid believes that the experimental results support the team’s hypothesis - compared with those who have not experienced ASMR, subjects who have previously experienced ASMR may be more neurotic and more likely to be in “state anxiety” and “trait anxiety” “status. Neuroticism is closely related to feelings of anxiety. Neurotic behavioral manifestations may be related to more negative emotional states.
Therefore, those who have experienced ASMR are more likely to experience negative emotional states; however, they are also more likely to find satisfaction and a certain degree of emotional expression from ASMR. Since people with anxious traits are more likely to be exposed to ASMR than others, whether related online video creation may have the potential to be used as an auxiliary intervention to relieve anxiety.
However, the study has limitations. Most ASMR experiencers are recruited online from ASMR forums or social media. Of the 28 people in the experiment, they were quite familiar with ASMR, and it is uncertain whether these subjects became less sensitive to ASMR while watching the film. Eid said that more research related to ASMR is still needed to further explore how sounds and images interfere with individual mood swings.
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