Given the furore in the media one would imagine that I’ve abandoned writing altogether and that this is now being written by some variant of AI. There is almost a fevered excitement about these engines of productivity, even amongst those who, from an objective viewpoint, will ultimately be replaced by them.
After all, if an AI ever gets to the stage of producing reliable, readable copy, then what would be the need for bloggers, writers, journalists and so on.
Anyway, I write this blog because I want to write. I did not write the blog to ask something else to do the writing for me. So sadly, you are unlikely to see much in the way of AI-derived content here (although I’m told one should never say never).
This far, the blog is not a business and so the mechanisms involved in writing this are part of the process, not an obstacle on the way to deriving higher amounts of income. Should that change (I’m sure there is an ASMR millionaire out there who wants to pay me huge amounts to write for them) then perhaps ChatGPT (alternative AIs exist) will form a major part of the process and I’ll be on a Seychelles beach. In the more prosaic world, I’ll keep on pressing one key, and then another one to see what emerges and post it up onto the blog in the hope someone would like to read it.
Today’s is another diversion from the norm. I contend it is still ASMR, but it isn’t a video. In fact it is a podcast and it isn’t on YouTube, it is on Greater Good Magazine. A site which the sleepless may wish to attend at intervals as there are occasionally features on managing stress and anxiety. Although, quite often, it focuses on how to be reasonable to one another, which cannot hurt.
But I think that you may find the voice to be worth it.
Ayesha Mattu has a voice like cotton wool and chocolate in a warm room. A really calming quiet backdrop for relaxation. I hope that they do not take this audio down.
It is just over twenty-one minutes. Sadly I can’t add this into any playlist without uploading to YouTube and I do not own the audio.
However, I hope you agree that it is worth just kicking back and listening for a few minutes to Ayesha who is a proper audio find.
You can catch Ayesha on Amazon (she is an author).
Given how great her voice is and that she is in the public eye I thought it worthwhile to search for material (videos) featuring Ayesha on YouTube.
The voice is not quite so amazing as on the above podcast but still good enough for a playlist, I think. Part of the problem is the consistent background music which detracts from the experience for me. It is way off message for this blog, of course, because it does not feature any kind of medical examination.
I think following up with other blog items on Ayesha will be a definite future for this blog. I hope that you enjoy this one.
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which remains the same as last week) is found here:
I listen to that playlist most nights and I have removed some videos that no longer seem as excellent as when first reviewed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than the occasional loud clang from medical equipment.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
I hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Habitually I am reviewing inadvertent ASMR videos i.e. those videos made for one purpose (usually medical examinations) but which are relaxing enough to produce ASMR effects in those lucky enough to have them.
Recently though I seem to have meandered more into the world of ASMR YouTube channels. It will not be a permanent move however. My intention is to get right back to genuine medical videos.
Today’s channel is “ASMR Sandwich Breath”, as mentioned before “sandwich breath” is a bit of an insider ASMR joke. People either know of the sandwich breath video or they do not. Afficionados of ASMR videos are expected to understand the inside jokes. (I only get a few of them as there are a great many such videos).
Today’s blog article is about this video:
Physical Medical Exam Unintentional ASMR
The video starts with the title “PE for TOPE Student Demonstration”.
Ross, here the “patient”, Jessica the medical professional. She states this is the University of Washington and that she is a registered nurse. The comments state that the original of this video has now been deleted. Assuming that we can trust those comments, this is possibly the only place we will encounter this video.
The University of Washington has its own channel of course.
There are seven hundred and fifty-seven videos on that channel and twelve playlists. The upshot of which is that some of those playlists are composed of over one hundred videos.
Jessica’s video does not seem to be there.
UDUB is apparently a shortening for the University of Washington to those in the know.
Ross does not seem the happiest patient or, taking a more positive view, he could be half asleep.
Jessica enunciates the medical terms here in such a clear way, possibly the best I have heard so far.
I also notice a great deal of time taken to explain what is coming next. Perhaps this thoroughness explains why the video is in excess of thirty-four minutes.
This is very quiet. Jessica at intervals is on a par with Vicky Scott which is quite a statement. The result is a video which is a good Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
The video concludes with a healthy amount of information Jessica Burke-Lazarus BSN, RN Midwifery-DNP student was the medical professional Jessica it turns out graduated in 2013 and now works in Seattle.
The “patient” was Rosson Wiebe PMHNP-DNP Student Ross also graduated in 2013 and went on to work in Florida.
It also tells us that it was filmed December 9 2011 in the Center for Excellence I Nursing Education at the University of Washington.
ASMR Sandwich Breath has forty-eight videos as at today’s date. That is a fair-few videos to attempt to motor through. A quick scan of them reveals some old favourites which we have covered before.
The usual approach is to reduce the number to be covered by selecting a suitable playlist from the channel.
There are five playlists on here but some of them are a little on the long side.
As with the above video, I will cover this one in a future review of the video in its proper home.
Gastrointestinal Exam Unintentional ASMR
We’ve covered Mark Pepin and Corey Duke before so I won’t repeat it here.
Only one video made it to the Procrastination Playlist this time so there will be no Jessica Burke-Lazarus playlist on the Procrastination Pen. (Great though this video proved to be).
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to that playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than occasional intrusive noises. The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Recently, I am finding some variability around the efficacy of using just the ASMR videos to get some sleep. Some nights very effective, some nights a distraction, and some nights just not effective at all.
On such nights, I tend to lie on the sofa and tune into the dreariness that is late night television (dreariness is probably advisable as really compelling television is only going to keep you awake for longer).
However, there are other things to try, for example, there are free online meditation resources. Some people I am told find the discipline of meditation really diverting. I have until recently found focusing on meditation to be one more thing I do not want to do when I am tired and I want to sleep.
However, never say never, I recently have received a gift subscription to Calm and I am giving some of the meditations a try. So far without positive outcome, but you never know.
Meantime I am back to finding more ASMR videos. I am trying to stay ahead as I notice that some of my blog posts already have blank spaces where videos used to be. Videos are obviously being taken down.
Previously, we have dealt with the Sterling Freeman part of this partnership.
Now we have Olivia Rabone and, as we saw in that previous blog post, this looks like it is a video designed as part of an assessment.
Head-to-toe physical assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
As we have heard before, the ever-present air conditioning to provide an audio background for us. In this, Sterling Freeman is the “patient”.
Olivia Rabone attended Howard College Texas until 2022
Howard College has (as we’ve come to expect) has its own channel.
However, the badge on the shoulder of Sterling does not look anything like that on the Howard College Channel.
Sterling also studied at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
This college also has a YouTube channel. However, the badge is not like that on the uniform.
Sterling early in the video confirms that they are both at Howard College, Big Spring Texas. (Perhaps the college has subsequently changed its branding).
We also get the confirmation that this is 2019, which was very likely Sterling’s final year there (although Olivia appears to have attended for longer than that).
I always find it amusing that in these videos the students provide privacy by drawing an invisible curtain. We have seen this before of course.
I’ve seen a few applications of a blood pressure cuff in these videos. Given how far Olivia has to wrap that cuff around Sterling’s arm I think it might be bit on the large side.
The assessment proceeds at the pace of an express train. This makes me wonder if trainee health professionals are under the cosh to get things accomplished in the smallest amount of time possible.
Olivia seems to be reciting from a mental script as the empathy quotient in this video is not obviously high.
Against that, the tone is really pleasant; it is not excessively loud. It makes a good Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
The channel, unsurprisingly, is called Olivia Rabone. It has eight videos on it, which is a number I think I can cover here without over stretching your attention. (The Procrastination Pen playlist is at the end of this article if you want to skip to that point, simply scroll down to find it).
Although Olivia hosts this one on her channel the medical professional here is Sunny and the “patient” is Olivia.
Sunny has her own channel which might be worthy of a future review.
Judging by Sunny’s shoulder badge (which is the same as Sterling’s in the previous video) this is also filmed at Howard College.
We have the constant drone of force-driven air to keep the ears entertained. In this case the medical professional’s volume is not aligned with this background noise. It is quite difficult to hear what Sunny is actually saying. This might be ok if the air conditioning noise was more restful but I do not find that it is.
The camera appears to be a huge distance from the two participants. This is unusual for videos of this type. However, given we are mainly here for the listening experience I cannot judge this video solely on that basis.
Sunny at intervals seems to be distracted. Potentially she is trying to follow some standard assessment checklist.
This does make it a little difficult to relax into the experience (and fall asleep to it for example).
Overall, I think the sound quality discounts this video from the Procrastination Pen playlist.
This continues in the vein of the last video, with a high background noise in relation to the main spoken audio track.
Stacy Kuykendall is a remarkably common name in Texas it turns out (including one woman whose children were killed). The upshot of which is that I have been unable to determine if Stacy has a YouTube channel.
To be honest given this is set up exactly like the last one it didn’t stand a chance from the outset so I will not be adding it to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
The background noise on this is really intrusive, including what sounds like a whole flock of rock doves trying to outcompete one another.
There are a number of non-medical and non-ASMR comments with this video. But none of these have any interest to us.
There is the noise of overflying planes. At one point Olivia starts laughing, which given the challenges involved in filming here, is probably unsurprising.
If you’re watching as well as listening, there are also some strange artefacts coming from sunlight across the lens.
As before, there are occasional gaps as Olivia consults a checklist so it is a little staccato in approach.
It just isn’t there in terms of ASMR, so it will not be into the Procrastination Pen playlist.
CN’s & Musculoskeletal-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Here we are straight back to the partnership that we started this blog item with. Although the partnership is the same, it appears that someone stuck the microphone actually inside the air conditioning outlet.
The audio track is nearly completely occluded by the constant whirr that is going on.
It is a shame because in all other respects this is the equal of the video that we started with in this article, but I don’t think it can really go through to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Respiratory & Cardiac assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Yet again the background noise is high. However, I think this is just acceptable. It is very calm and considerably more methodical than some others featured in this blog post. However, it may well suffer an early weeding if it proves to be distracting on subsequent review.
A louder vocal track would have compensated for the air conditioning. Perhaps YouTube videos of the future will incorporate an air conditioning filter designed to eliminate all that excess noise.
HEENT assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
This seems to start a bit louder, but so does the air conditioning. I could probably provide a good service to listeners if I could somehow process all the sound tracks to eliminate background noise. Sadly, however I am no sound engineer.
There are relatively few comments but just shy of seven and a half thousand views, which sounds remarkable.
To be honest, I’m not certain it is a great Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
NG tube/EN/PN discussion
This is so much quieter than the others which must be down to the change of venue. This is filmed inside someone’s house. The start of the video though is not restful. It is almost in the format of a lecture with the delivery a tad hesitant.
Someone off camera starts coughing and Olivia is merely reading from a script.
This one isn’t for the Procrastination Pen playlist either.
The Olivia Rabone playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to that playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than occasional intrusive noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
According to a guide I was reading recently, in order to be successful in the cut and thrust world of blog posts this really should be entitled “Ten ways to the sleep you’re hoping for” or similar. Apparently, I should have researched my audience so that I know I’m targeting a fifty-year-old non-smoker living in West Wales with her five cats and a small moped called Nigel.
As you can tell, I have not done that.
So if by some miraculous twist of fate you have happened across this blog post, welcome. I hope that you enjoy and if you feel so disposed tell all of your ASMR-loving friends. If you are living with multiple cats and a moped, or if you are not.
Today we are looking at a video from an establishment that even I have heard of. I am hopeful that it’s expertise also churns out medical professionals with a gentle deliberate manner and calm attentive voices.
Percussion of the Chest (Stanford Medicine 25)
It begins with a funky tune which, sadly has become the norm for such videos. However, the medical professional’s voice is actually quite good. This is quite obviously an instruction video but lacks the elevated volume and strident delivery of many such videos.
The “patient” is Geoff (or possibly Jeff). As usual for such videos some of the comments are not particularly relevant or even complimentary. I am beginning to prefer the videos where commentary is denied altogether.
A search around the Internet reveals that this is Dr. Abraham Verghese who even has his own Wikipedia entry and website.
(I wonder if it is feasible to create a Wikipedia entry for yourself, that could be quite fun).
This is not as great as Dr James Gill but is a worthy addition to the playlist, I think. The video is part of a playlist
In which there are only two videos. The second of which is
Stigmata of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Stanford Medicine 25)
(The same patient, the same medical professional, the same institution).
Again, with the funky music, which, thankfully is soon over. This is equally as good as the last one.
Sadly, it is also quite brief.
So, a brief playlist today but it would seem that we need to follow up with Dr Verghese in the future as he may be a great source of future ASMR videos. Look out for future posts of this type. The Stanford Medicine playlist is here:
I continue to harry this list with demands for ASMR perfection and so at intervals one or more videos drop from this list to the “playlist of Hades” (I mean the Procrastination Pen Archive list):
I keep them here in case I have demoted one of your favourites and you make a reasoned argument why I should restore it to Heaven’s glory (I mean the overall playlist.)
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you have a restful sleep listening to the playlist. If you do why not subscribe to the blog (even I don’t know what is coming up next and it would be a shame to miss it wouldn’t it).
I Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
The Procrastination Pen 