I notice that there is now a lot more traffic in social media sites that utilise pictures or videos than there is in sites dedicated to reading. So, it is feasible that writing a blog (to whatever level of skill) is now something of a dying art (a bit like writing thank-you letters to your aunt because you received a fountain pen for your birthday).
It seems few people write letters now other than solicitors and banks. People using fountain pens do so because they like pens, rather than it’s a thing that you just use.
I assume people still have aunts; however, I imagine any messages of thanks are now received via Signal, WhatsApp or even (the now somewhat dated) SMS.
Perhaps AI will save us by writing all these blog articles for us, however I wonder then who will be left to read them.
So, it is with a sense of some stubbornness that I write (however badly) another article on ASMR for sleep.
Today’s video comes from that very deep mine of videos which we have thoroughly excavated of late which is the video apparently produced as some kind of course work. Sadly, these always seem to be pressured efforts produced in public areas and as such the sound quality is often not quite there.
A number of these seem a great idea at first (to me at least) but have subsequently hit the Procrastination Pen archive list because they do not measure up to the competition we are seeing through continual review of the videos available.
So, it is with a triumph of optimism over experience that we come to today’s:
Head to toe
The sound is flat as if being recorded from some distance away (which may be the reality). The pace is frenetic (is someone timing the participants for some reason?)
From the introductory comments I heard that the medical professional is Carmen, a student (some kind of student but it was too fast for me to catch what).
Similarly, the “patient” could be “Charlene” (but that may well not be correct).
The date it is filmed is 03/08/2021 and they are at LIU campus Brooklyn.
LIU of course has its own YouTube channel. (This must be de rigueur for universities). However, there appear to be only fifty-nine videos here. As we have seen before these tend to be promotional videos for the university, rather than material that an ASMR-related blog can really make much use of.
The video (as is common for such videos) is in portrait mode (presumably filmed on a phone). As we have come to expect, there are various noises associated with equipment. Here, the muted nature of the volume works in our favour.
There are no comments permitted (which as has been pointed out before is probably wise). However, it does mean that I have no awareness as to whether other people have discovered this video and are using it for ASMR purposes. ASMR fans are so good at sniffing out a good video that a tracker dog would do less well. I therefore suspect quite a few have been here before me.
Once the examination-proper starts, things begin to slow down. (Thank goodness, this is supposed to be relaxing).
At nearly forty-two and a half minutes this is quite a long video. One does get the idea with such videos that in order to pass an assessment the student has to rattle through a list of certain phrases as if mentally following a checklist.
This often leads to a quite stilted presentation. (Presumably it is effective for assessment purposes, however).
Charlene (if that is her name) seems as anxious as we have come to expect in such videos. Perhaps the pace has not been relaxing for her either.
There are a number of thumps and bangs from the equipment. As pointed out before medical equipment does not seem to come with the quiet option.
Definition:
JVD: Jugular Vein Distention, bulging of veins in the neck.
The channel is carmen yip which has one video and no playlists. Yet, despite this, it has two hundred and five subscribers, that is quite an achievement I think.
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.
I was reflecting that, in the world of ASMR, it is something of a miracle that anyone takes the time to read anything.
Specifically, those people using ASMR to aid in sleep are unlikely to be the type of person who is taking a leisurely stroll around the estate with the dogs followed by a slow browse through the morning papers.
No, I suspect that they are the kind of person with a hectic day, coupled with a hectic evening and a brain that whirs away throughout that time. A brain which they are then desperate to find the “switch” for so that they can turn it off on demand and get some desperately-needed sleep.
It seems incumbent upon me to take as little of the available time of such a person. On that basis, I’ll ensure these articles stay brief and I’ll remind anybody happening upon this article that the playlist, this is dedicated to producing, can be accessed, (without reading this article in its entirety) by scrolling to the last paragraph where you will find the details.
It is simply to add that I recommend you pick up the Procrastination Pen playlist on YouTube where you can watch it using the shuffle-mode available there. This ensures the presentation is random so that you are not always watching the same material in a predictable sequence. I write the articles in the order of the channel I am investigating and the playlist is populated in the order that I write the article. This produces a playlist where videos of similar content are bunched together. That might prove a bit dull to watch if you simply watch the playlist in order.
Today’s video follows the medical examination theme we have been covering for a number of articles now.
Hand overview
It is just over sixteen minutes long so a reasonable length but unlike the majority of professional videos we have seen includes no associated notes.
Comments are permitted (bravely in my view). But at least the comments reveal to me that the ASMR community is all over this already and hence this will come as no surprise to any ASMR fans out there.
A bonus point for this video is that there is none I mean zero introductory music. I wish that many other videos were the same.
Curtis is a gift to ASMR afficionados, his voice is beautifully quiet and measured. I can imagine many presenters would give a great deal to have a voice like this.
The video quality is not great at all, it makes the straight-to-tape quality of the 1980s look great. But given no one will be watching, because they are trying to get some sleep, this should not be an obstruction.
The channel is EdwardTDavis and contains just fifteen videos. It is possible that it is the same Edward Davis who also works at the Royal Orthopaedic hospital.
Fifteen is not a huge number but perhaps a little many for our overworked relaxation seeker, so I will try to limit myself to videos in which Curtis Robb appears.
(I think we will be returning to this channel in the not-too-distant future).
There appear to be four of these including the one at the start of this article. The remaining three are as follows:
Hand run through
At just two and a half minutes this is brief even for us. (I’ve known YouTube adverts that are quite a bit longer than that).
Curtis remains on good form. Although there are no obvious ASMR-related comments there is no reason to suspect that ASMR fans are not also tuning into this one.
I notice that all the videos on this channel are dated eleven years ago as at today’s date, so I wonder what happened. This could have been a great ASMR resource, this channel (had the posting of videos continued, that is).
Foot and ankle run through
This is every bit as good as the last two and the comments that relate to them relate also to this.
The “patient” is Sarah – the same patient as in the other videos.
Foot and ankle overview
this one is a bit more substantial at eleven and a half minutes. Curtis Robb is still excellent in terms of his voice. Sarah appears again as a “patient”. The location this time seems to be a lecture theatre or conference hall rather than a hospital room.
The Edward Davis playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article, why not follow this blog.
ASMR is now so mainstream that even the most restrained of media outlets is now featuring ASMR in their articles, but I was intrigued to come across an article in which it was being used to cure insomnia, after all isn’t that exactly what I have been trying to achieve with my little old blog here.
It is supportive to come across people struggling in the same way and coming up with vastly similar conclusions, it is feasible that I am on the correct track.
The Procrastination Pen playlist is now a great large collection with enough videos to guide you through the longest night. I even found the other night I was listening to a video that I had forgotten I had even covered in this blog.
Today’s video is a short one:
How to palpate the carpal bones in the wrist
Just over four and a half minutes. But it does not stop it being a good one for our purposes. It has a brief piece of music at the start which is a bit loud to be honest. After which the presentation is nicely measured. Not what you would call quiet though.
Fortunately, there is no background noise and the format is landscape (not that generally we will be watching so much as listening to it, of course).
As a professional video it comes with a healthy set of notes:
“17 Mar 2015
Occupational Therapist reviews how to find the carpal in the wrist. YES we know she said palpitate and meant palpate … its ALL GOOD! Learn more here: https://www.liveconferences.com/packa…”
Clicking the URL produces no result, no surprise with a video posted that long ago.
Although comments are permitted, this one seems to have escaped the trolls and there is no obvious posting from an ASMR fan either. I can’t believe I am the first, although it would be delightful to find a new video for the ASMR community (those that read this blog in any case).
There are three hundred and fifty two videos in here as at today’s date, that’s rather a few to review in any one sitting.
There are zero playlists, none at all. Using the playlist as a mechanism of thinning down videos for review is therefore not going to help us here.
There also do not seem to be any videos present in the same series.
Taking a sample of the videos I found that a number of them are loud, contain distracting music, or are just not a good fit for the Procrastination Pen playlist.
There are very few remaining, including this:
Using Neurodynamics in Rehab
The notes are:
“17 Mar 2015
Physical Therapist discusses neurodynamics and treating upper limb pathology”
It is reasonably quiet, no startup music, no significant background noise. Not exactly the quietest presentation we’ve ever seen however.
Most of the remaining videos have an unpleasant (loud) startup sequence – I’m not going to start with those. Some have a very loud presentation style which is completely unsuitable for our purposes.
It looks like we have mined the resources this channel has to offer and come up with two-brief videos.
At least you only had to be a here a few short minutes, then you can get back to what you were doing. More ASMR material next time on the Procrastination Pen.
The Treatment2Go playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.
Exploring YouTube, as I do now several times a week, leads to many random dead ends. Let’s face it, when faced with a screen full of prospective videos, I am looking at a thumbnail of each video and making a guess as to what the video will sound like for any ASMR fans out there that are reading this blog. Which of the many videos might be relaxing for a person, like myself, seeking more sleep than they currently achieve.
I am not that successful. For every video you have seen, there are many dozens with off-putting noises, strange sequences or that my suspicious senses kick off – thinking that, in fact, they were generated by a professional ASMR artist.
Of those I have evaluated, a subset get into the Procrastination Pen playlist. Sadly after a period of listening, quite a few of those subsequently get archived because they just don’t turn out to be that appealing in the long run.
It is therefore no surprise that once a good video is located by ASMR fans on YouTube a loyal following develops. In some cases, once videos are taken down, ASMR fans recover the video and repost it on their own channel.
(Much as I applaud this from the viewpoint of video availability, it is fraught with risk – out there are some hungry copyright solicitors and they, I am certain, would love to spot infringements of copyright and gain any fees due as a consequence).
Today’s video does not permit comments. From the perspective of defraying the Internet trolls this is jolly good news. However, it does not assist me in determining if ASMR afficionados have found this one already. In most cases, I assume they have. ASMR fans are substantially faster than I am at discovering new content.
The video is this one:
Neuro exam 2
It is just shy of ten minutes, so not terrible in length in terms of a medical examination video. There are no notes, so I suspect an amateur, rather than a professionally, produced video. It starts a bit loud, and straight away we get the impression this is another of those videos produced on a course required as part of a student’s assessment.
That said, background noise is negligible, the volume is not terrible (other than the occasional clang of equipment which is normal in terms of such videos.
Sadly, it is in portrait mode. I assume because it is filmed on a mobile phone but this will not be a problem because you’ll be listening rather than watching.
My viewing was constantly interposed by adverts at an inappropriate level of volume (which seems to be YouTube’s latest thing). I have no hatred of the adverts as such, but if I’m watching a video for ASMR content, an advert some levels of volume louder than the video seems a very bad idea.
But I digress. The pace of the video is slow and the level of speaking is (mostly) quiet. The scene is in a medical room but there are no clues as to where. At intervals there are other people talking in the background which is quite common in this type of video as well.
As we have seen before participants find it hard to take the process seriously and this is also the case here with laughter on occasion (on other occasions obvious boredom).
Someone interrupts the video at one stage (also a hazard in these videos) by knocking on the door. The BBC doesn’t seem to be challenged in this way…
I’ll assume that Anna was the medical professional and given it was posted earlier this year, may well still be on the course that it is a requirement for.
The channel has fourteen videos and no playlists. That is a fair few for one blog item and it looks like the current participant is the favourite “patient” as she appears in the majority of them. So I can’t go for my much used method of only reviewing videos with the same medical professional or same “patient”.
So I’ll go through all of the videos in the channel (as at today’s date anyway). If you haven’t the time for such a lengthy post, scroll to the end and the playlist will be waiting there for you. Hop over to YouTube – click the shuffle function – lie back and drift off to sleep (well in theory at least). Please let me have any feedback (such as favourite videos you’d like including).
The next video is this one:
Peripheral vascular exam 2
I think the patient introduces herself as “Emma Hilt” but it could probably be anything as it passes in a real rush. April 16th 2002 is her DoB, not that it is relevant in checking if this is a genuine medical video.
This video is short at just under three and a half minutes. Again, there is a comforting lack of background noise. No notes, Emma (I’ll assume that is her name) yawns frequently throughout so it obviously isn’t the most compelling thing she has on that day.
There are more equipment noises – I guess quiet equipment just isn’t a priority. Either that or medical professionals are more interested in moving equipment around quickly rather than doing so quietly, which seems a sensible choice.
The next video is this one:
Bedside assessment
This is just over six and a half minutes
I think that Emma tells us that she is at nursing school (although I have no idea which one). She seems either very bored or she’s getting even less sleep than I habitually do. There are conversation noises from adjacent rooms (although it isn’t excessively loud).
There are more equipment noises but mostly a very measured examination.
Nose mouth throat exam
These videos are remarkably consistent given they are produced as part of a student assessment. This, has more laughter and, to me, a more obvious set of air conditioning noises. But at least it lacks the conversation from adjacent rooms. Emma still seems utterly bored. Perhaps she has in mind her own set of videos, yet to be filmed, for the same course.
Hearing exam
The same two participants in what is quite a short video at just over three and a half minutes. No notes and no comments. Background noise, now seems to be a companion – which is something that we are used to of course.
Eye exam
This is almost identical with the previous ones apart from noises relating to what I assume are messages arriving on a mobile phone (perhaps the one being used to do the filming). It is just over four and a half minutes in length. There are air conditioning noises, general amusement in places and utter boredom for the “patient”. It is feasible that these were all filmed at one time and that the process was just a tad wearing.
At one stage Anna forgets her medical terminology and one gets the feeling it’s all getting a bit tiresome for them.
Skin, hair, nails exam
Anna forgets which video she is supposed to be filming. Emma announces she has “KP” which I had to look up.
KP: Keratosis Pilaris painless bumps on the skins – a long term condition.
Anna again forgets where she is going and then gets very loud, perhaps to block out the conversation from an adjacent room. There is a thudding sound at one stage almost as if someone were tapping the phone that is doing the filming.
Abdominal exam
The same participants this video is just under four and three quarter minutes. Background conversation noises are there from the outset and air conditioning is really getting into its stride. Anna sounds fed up with the process already.
Emma states that she has IBS.
IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome a lifelong condition affecting the gut which can be controlled but not cured.
Anna is again amused at intervals.
The phone is relocated part way through with associated clanging noises. Presumably equipment was kicked at the same time. Anna forgets what she is supposed to say but the approach to the examination is quiet.
It’s quite unusual to see one of these videos in which the person participating seems quite stuck. However, I don’t think this impacts the ASMR-i-ness as such.
There seems to be equipment missing (perhaps a hammer) which is reminiscent of the student who used canteen equipment to film one of these videos. Anna just uses her finger.
Peripheral vascular exam
The same participants feature again, the video is five minutes ten seconds long. If all of these videos were filmed in one session, I assume it took the two of them a very long time. Anna has problems getting through the door initially so there is a loud bang at the start. There is background conversation from an adjacent room and at stages it continues quite loudly. Air conditioning has now fully established itself and is working on becoming a session musician.
Anna forgets what she intends to say (but at least we are fully aware that she is not following notes off screen).
More message noises are heard from the phone being used to film this. There are more equipment noises and Anna is again amused by the parts that are going wrong (mainly where she forgets terminology).
Cardiac assessment
We’re in the swing of this now and all the same symptoms are in this one that were in all the previous ones. The level of background noise merely differs.
Just over five and a quarter minutes so not long. It follows the exact same theme as those we have seen previously. The start is quite stumbly as if Anna is finding her way through it. It remains quiet though apart from overheard nearby conversations and the low roar of air conditioning, which is constant.
I think Anna’s voice is actually improving as we go on and if some of those niggling additional noises were dispatched this could have been a really great video. In any case I’m intending to trial these in the Procrastination Pen playlist with the understanding that some or all may ultimately get dispatched to the archive.
Lungs and thorax assessment
This is approaching six minutes which feels long in comparison to some of the others but for the videos we commonly see is still a short video.
We’re used to the intro now as it runs through exactly the same set of sentences each time. The examination itself though differs (fortunately for us).
Anna appears to be struggling to remember some specific terminology (unclear what). There are noises of doors opening in adjacent rooms so it is feasible that other students are filming vastly similar videos for their courses in the rooms next door to this one.
Overall, though, a good video for the Procrastination Pen playlist I think.
Head, Face, Neck Assessment
Here, Emma is wearing some kind of identity badge which one would hope would give us the institution involved. Sadly, it is too tiny for me to read so it remains a mystery. Just under four and a half minutes, so a short one in terms of this set and the last one in which Anna and Emma appear together.
It seems to start a bit louder than previously and the air conditioning is ever present (or I’m getting tired by now).
However, to have produced this number of videos in such a short period is quite a piece of work.
Anna now has a new “patient”. Michael Atkis (I think) DoB. 02-12-03 (December in case there are any US readers). This, as expected, changes the sound profile markedly as Michael has a much deeper voice than Emma.
However, he does not get to talk a great deal.
The background air conditioning now sounds like it is aiming for some kind of award and the extraneous background talking noises are now quite pronounced.
Michael tells us that we are at “college of nursing” I think – it’s hard to discern. But I cannot make out where that would be.
This is over seven minutes in length. Again, Anna is a bit tentative, apparently as she forgets some terminology.
Having seen this examination done professionally by Vicki Scott we have been a bit spoiled; I think. This one is a bit more filled with humour – especially as Anna forgets the content she needs to perform.
Musculoskeletal home assessment video
the last one in this set and this has been a rather long post for which I apologise. Anna returns with Michael. Almost identical to the previous one in terms of sound – maybe more noise from the next-door room than previously.
Just under seven minutes so only slightly different in length to the previous one. Anna laughs quite a bit in this one too.
Very loud equipment noises in this, I jumped at one stage because I was listening rather than watching the screen.
The Anna Cason playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article, why not follow this blog.
The Procrastination Pen 