Category: ASMR

Sleeping With ASMR

Of late it has seemed to me that a change of approach might be indicated. A weekly approach to inadvertent ASMR videos located only on YouTube might eventually get to be boring for some. Those who happen upon the blog might be asking yes well, but what next.

Of course I can do more. Already I am looking at Calm and at professional ASMR artists but does this really result in any better-quality outcomes? The key, as I’m sure we agree, is a better night’s sleep and a dropping off to sleep that happens reliably and rapidly.

Sadly, I am not sure that I have achieved all that myself. I’ve tried a number of legal pills, some work, some do not. (Frankly, I would not know where to get the illegal variety even should I be so inclined.) I’m using Calm to try to build up some kind of meditation discipline, just in case a surfeit of mental self-control also results in a metaphorical off switch. It seems to me, if that is the route, then it’s going to take a long time in getting there. Of late, the most effective route has been lying on the sofa with some awful early morning TV programme burbling away. Despite what you might be told about the influence of light from the television or the impact of noise on restfulness, more often than not that is an effective action.

YouTube has historically been great (hence this blog), but the increasing intensity of adverts and the lack of filtering for quieter overnight adverts can undo the good work of the playlist in drifting off in the first place.

Admittedly, in the early hours, some TV channels change over from awful programmes to even more awful teleshopping presentations, with presenters of a personality which seems to indicate they do take something of a stimulating variety simply in order to keep it up…

There is nothing that is a perfect solution. Perhaps the Procrastination Pen playlist is one of those things that may prove to be helpful. (I’m always ready to receive feedback regarding improvements).

In the interest of changes (however small), this week’s Calm recommendation has nothing whatever to do with sleep:

Anger Management, Jeff Warren 

https://www.calm.com/app/player/HzvkP4OlNV

However, I do find Jeff Warren’s voice to be restful and the material is interesting. It also is gratifyingly short, so is not going to be waking you again once you have drifted off.

This week, the YouTube recommendation from a presenter who set themselves up as a ASMR video professional is this one:

ASMR the BEST Full Body Exam | “Unintentional” Real Person ASMR | Abdomen, Lung & Back Inspection

It has notes: “2,633,344 views  21 Nov 2022

The most precise and professional ASMR on a real person you will see in a while with layered real sounds of lung listening (respiratory auscultation) and abdomen sounds (abdomen ausculation). Well-prepared unintentional ASMR examination with lung inspection, abdomen inspection, skin inspection, eye examination, hearing examination, cranial nerve examination, and hair inspection.

Ways to support the channel:  https://swopi.co/kewas_asmr (all links)

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*Disclaimer: We are not professional doctors, security or any other role we play in these videos. This video is for relaxation purposes only. Do not take any medical advice from this content.”

So, the normal level of self-promotion. Comments are permitted and for a change are predominantly positive. As we have come to expect both participants in the video are attractive, I wonder if it is even feasible to make your way as an ASMR artist with a more average appearance. If I find such a video I will feature it.

The video is slightly less than fifty minutes in length so substantial compared to material we have seen recently.

Sadly, it starts with music and, worse, quite loud music which seems to be key to yet more brand promotion, but I would have thought militates against instant restfulness.

There is a strong background noise (air conditioning, I suspect) And initially at least, the voices are not that quiet. However, it settles into the more whispered approach that we are by now familiar with.

The channel is Kewas ASMR and of course it appears on the ASMR index. The channel has three hundred and sixty one videos, four playlists and 333K subscribers. A very busy channel.

The video has equipment noises and there is a kind of bassy sound as if the microphone was slightly being overwhelmed, or it is an echo effect from the room in which it was filmed. Turning the volume down did not appear to remove this on the equipment I was using.

There are parts of the video where internal noises are played quite loudly, for example, heart beats and intestinal gurgles.

Despite these limitations and in common with many of the commentators, I did find the video restful. However, given that this is not an inadvertent ASMR video all these sound factors are within the control of the person filming, and so I do wonder at the choices that include them. I have concluded thus far that it is a drive for authenticity in the material, but I think the video would better promote relaxation if the extraneous noise were to be removed. Again, if I come across such a video (i.e. without these unnecessary noises) I will feature it.

I did find at intervals that I wanted the video to be shorter (which is probably not a great sign). However, I do think it worthy of review if you want to take a look/listen.

Today’s more bread-and-butter offering (at least as far as this blog goes) is the following:

March 28, 2017

Shari Rice is the channel. This has three hundred and seventy-six subscribers, one video, one playlist. The single video is just over fifty minutes in length and this time it is the only video on the site so come-what-may it is going to be the only inadvertent ASMR video I review this week.

There are notes: “148,625 views  30 Mar 2017

Rambo_Head to toe assessment_Nurs 5418”

Comments are permitted and include a number of ASMR-related responses and a number of unhelpful comments – so normal for YouTube comments then. At least it proves that I am not the first person looking for an inadvertent ASMR video who located this one.

The video appears to be one drawn from that rich seam of videos which I often feature, the medical student assessment video. It starts with some aggravating noises, presumably originating with the recording device being manipulated to show the whole room. Straight away we discover that background noise is going to be (a quite intrusive) thing. There is a sound like a motor running constantly in the background (presumably an older air conditioning system). The voices are not classically ASMR-y. There is certainly no whispering here.

We find that the medical practitioner is Sharon Rambo. I notice the channel is Shari Rice so I’m speculating Sharon Rambo got married to a Mr (or Miss) Rice at some stage after the video was filmed. Sharon tells us that this is a “Head to Toe” assessment. A type of assessment which has been featured here many times before. The identity card that appears in the video does not appear to give away where the assessment is taking place. The card is issued in 2016 and the film is dated 28/03/2017 (UK date order, so, March) but there is no obvious clue which course this relates to. However, straight away Sharon introduces herself as a Nurse Practitioner at UT Arlington – hence the “A” symbol on the identity card. A look at the UT Arlington website indicates that the horses head icon (as seen on the identity card) also prominently features.

So that is where we are and when we are.

The ”patient” is introduced as Savannah Martin (which may or may not be misspelled). Who is apparently twenty in this video so nearer twenty-eight now I would guess. Savannah has the look of someone who is not completely entertained by the process and indeed it does seem to go on a bit. Presumably this is so that all the material required by the course is covered. 

At intervals Sharon seems to refer to notes which makes the presentation a little staccato. However, it settles down and Sharon’s voice likewise. In fact her voice is much quieter when performing the hands-on parts of the examination and hence these seem to be the best sections.

As we have seen before with student videos, the presentation at intervals is halting, presumably as memory fails… There is of course the occasional equipment noise, including the odd quite loud bang. There is humour – Savannah turns out to be ticklish…

After a while I found myself settling into the listening and it actually was restful (just as many of the commentators had reflected). It’s not the greatest ASMR experience ever, but I certainly think it is good enough for the playlist.

Have a review for yourself and see what you 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

The year warms, and it is this time that the recommendations that the bedroom be kept cool appears to be more difficult to achieve. Unless you are fortunate, swinging the windows open is only likely to keep you awake due to the noises of traffic, passing individuals, even other people’s televisions or music playing apparatus. At this time I wish you as much sleep as it is feasible to get, and I hope that the Procrastination Pen can provide some small support towards that.

I have got into the habit of identifying a track from Calm that has been helpful to me this week. As usual, I have found one of the Calm dailies to be infinitely more listenable than the tracks dedicated to sleep. I have been listening to Jeff Warren, but this week I have switched allegiance to Tamara Levitt. It is quite restful, and if you do not take to it there is the advantage that it is quite brief.

Tamara Levitt, Daily Calm, Non-Attachment

https://www.calm.com/app/player/9knrT0BrjK

I have been spending a brief period in each blog post reviewing a professional ASMR artist. So far, it has been remarkable how many of the “failings” of inadvertent ASMR videos are often shared by professional ASMR videos.

Today’s video is this one:

ASMR Naturopathy consultation (Unintentional, real person ASMR)

Which is a whopping one and a quarter hours in length. Comments are permitted and what a mixed bag they truly are. I have often commented that I think allowing comments is a fundamentally brave decision. But at least if there are three hundred and ninety-four of them a lot of people are fascinated by your video.

The channel is ASMR Beauty it has 131K subscribers and three hundred and eighty five videos and of course ASMR Beauty appears on the ASMR index.

There are notes, and it is refreshing to find a video not touting some sponsor or other.

“758,329 views 9 Oct 2022 #asmrmedicalexam #asmrmedical #asmr

This week’s ASMR video is a naturopathy consultation 🥰 Yvonne was so helpful and really shone a light on just how unbalanced my diet has been lately… this session has really inspired me to take better care of myself and check what I am eating, and I am so grateful that I was able to film it for you all for both educational and relaxation purposes! ✨

💕Treatment Details are as follows: 💕

Website: https://www.yjdnaturaltherapies.com/i…

As always, this video is not sponsored. I am uploading it with the hope that it helps people relax after a hard day’s work or school. ✨

If you’d like to support my work, please consider donating to my Ko-fi! (https://ko-fi.com/asmrbeauty) Any amount is much appreciated! ❤️

‼️All of my content is footage of real sessions and experiences I have had in London or in other parts of the UK. I upload these sessions with the intention to help people destress, relax and learn‼️”

The video starts loud. In fact, it sounds convincingly like a real medical examination video, complete with excessively intrusive air conditioning. The pace is lovingly slow but the voice, at least to start with, is not your classically amazing ASMR voice. Refreshing is the complete absence of whispering, which makes it more believable, if anything. That said, I have found inadvertent ASMR videos which are more restful from my perspective, than this one.

The question-and-answer session is not something that I commonly cover. I may look-into that in future for my inadvertent ASMR videos, although I doubt counselling sessions, for example, are available on YouTube (I’ll verify that in my video related research, just in case).

What strikes me is how well-spoken the participants are in this video and not something I always encounter. At intervals I did find that it seemed to be going on for a while which wasn’t a great sign. However, if you’re tired and need to sleep perhaps it is just what you need. To be honest, for me, it could have been half the length.

Moving on to the inadvertent ASMR, which is the whole point of this blog (or it has been to date).

Today’s video is this one:

L spine overview.wmv

This features Mr Mushtaque A Ishaque and straight away we realise that the video is not commencing with music – heaven be praised. Mr Ishaque has a great voice. Although the video is filmed in a presentation style his voice is not excessively loud. This is a talent which a number of other people could profit from. He has a measured approach and is a joy to listen to. The video is a little over fifteen and a quarter minutes and surprisingly for a professional video has no notes. Comments are permitted and even more surprisingly these are both positive and lack any off-the-wall comments.

The channel is EdwardTDavis and the whole channel has only fifteen videos. This is still too many for one blog post

Regular readers will be familiar with the channel because it has been covered before.

I think that this time we will filter by including only those videos that are dedicated to examination of the spine. There are four of these and that seems a suitable number to cover in one post. Of course, the above has been reviewed, so we have only three remaining:

The next one therefore is this one:

L spine run through.wmv

This is slightly less than four minutes in length, so it is unlikely to be around long enough to be boring. There are no notes. There is one single abusive comment (I always say that permitting comments on a YouTube video is akin to an invitation to duck).

The video is of the same standard as the previous one and the voice is equally as good. It is nicely paced and never excessively loud. It is not peppered with annoying music or excessive background noise. If it had been quite a bit longer, it would be just the kind of video that I look for in terms of ASMR videos.

The next one in the spine series on this channel is this one:

C spine run through.wmv

This one is a little less than three and a quarter minutes, like the last one it’s somewhat on the short side. There are no notes, the comments at least seem relevant, if not helpful, to an ASMR-orientated audience.

Again, there is no music. The voice continues to be excellent. Air conditioning noises are so muted as to be easy to disregard. Shame this wasn’t forty one minutes in length, it would be a great one to drift off to. As it is, I think all the videos this week are going into The Procrastination Pen playlist.

Sadly, a playlist of short-length videos, as seasoned readers will be aware by now, is simply an invitation for YouTube to slot in unsuitable adverts in between. For which I apologise. Those so disposed can now subscribe to YouTube and pay for an Ad-Free experience. I have not tried this myself and so I cannot comment if it ultimately works out as a good deal.

The next (and last) video on the subject of the spine, on this channel, is this one:

C spine overview.wmv

This is a little more substantive at thirteen minutes in length. Again, it has no notes. Comments are permitted; there is one bland comment which just possibly could have been left by an ASMR fan.

The participants have been the same throughout and the quality of each of them has been good. I am trialling all of them in the Procrastination Pen playlist and I hope that you agree they are all worthy of that (feedback is always welcome).

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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

I am noticing on YouTube, a number of channels dedicated to the collecting of inadvertent ASMR videos and, sometimes the creation of playlists of such videos, which in many ways replicates the work that I am doing.

There are also blogs out there producing some quality work in this area, so it is feasible that any ASMR-related output has been accomplished even more professionally elsewhere. If you do have a favourite outlet for ASMR material pass it along and I will feature it. I may even listen to it personally.

For the moment I am carrying on doing what I have done for over a year now, reviewing videos, generating playlists, occasionally editing the playlists when I don’t feel that they are fit for purpose. If you happen across this blog in your search for better ASMR material, by all means, give me some feedback and I’ll try to incorporate any relevant suggestions.

Of late, I have been listening to Calm because I have a subscription and, for me, that subscription gives some value, in that without it, I doubt I would be maintaining any kind of meditation discipline. Its value as a sleep aid I have found a bit variable. Indeed, I have found that the Calm daily meditations are more restful in many cases than the items dedicated to sleep. Not least that a number of the items dedicated to sleep incorporate music, which, personally, I do not find helpful in assisting me to get off to sleep. Your mileage may vary.

Today’s Calm item is just the same and, again, it is one of my favourite voices on there, Jeff Warren. Who, coincidentally, once in a while has something useful to say as well. Don’t take this as a recommendation to start splashing your cash. Heaven forfend. I am certain that with a bit of discipline there are other, free, options available.

https://www.calm.com/app/player/Yj26VDZzW_ Jeff Warren, Daily Trip, Sometimes It’s Hard.

However, if, for example, you already have a Calm subscription you may want to give the above a whirl.

For a few weeks now I have been giving a professional ASMR video a review. Today’s comes via a slightly esoteric route, in that I have been trying to learn Italian via Duolingo, without success, for way – way too long. It was for this reason that a video in Italian, by a non-Italian ASMR artist rather appealed.

The video is this one:

ITALY’S Old School Eye Exam is SO Relaxing | Real ASMR sounds

It is from LaLek ASMR a channel with three hundred and ten videos, 242K subscribers and whose output seems to incorporate an impressive number of massage videos. As expected, the channel also appears on the ASMR Index.

The video has notes, some of which are dedicated to self-promotion, so a precis of which are as follows:

“2,152,940 views 14 Feb 2025 #EyeExam #MedicalASMR #ASMR

Ciao a tutti! 🌿✨ Today, I’m taking you inside an old-school eye clinic in Italy for a real eye exam with a gentle, professional old-school eye doctor and vintage optometry tools. This classic vision test includes trial frames, Snellen Eye Test Chart, near and far vision testing, and vintage optometry equipments—all creating unintentional ASMR with soft-spoken moments, gentle tapping, and soothing sounds. 💆‍♂️👓

If you love medical ASMR, real eye exams, and the nostalgic charm of old-fashioned clinics, this video is for you!”

Comments are permitted and surprisingly, are positive and seem to lack the off-the-wall and damning. Perhaps such commentators take a little while to catch up.

The video is a little less than thirty minutes and it is surprising how effective hearing an ASMR video in another language actually is. However, there are quite loud equipment noises. It is also punctuated by ads sadly. There are various electric motor noises, beeps and clicks. None of these seem excessively loud. The summation by the eye specialist is a little louder and somewhat faster than the rest. It isn’t terrible but does not stand up well in comparison with the nicely quiet presentation that has gone just before.

Today we return to a channel that I did promise I would revisit after a moderately successful first review of it.

The channel is Farsight Channel and will be familiar to regular readers.

The video is this one:

Macleod’s examination of the sensory system of the upper limbs

A little less than five- and three-quarter minutes long. Omar and Amy as in the previous article, and by this time I am getting used to that artificial voice (maybe that is just me). A video of that voice would not be unpleasant for us I feel, even though there seems a slight discontinuity between the sound and the video.

Macleod’s examination of the cervical spine

Ben and Omar again. Omar’s responses are so abrupt and flat that it is laughable, definitely not Omar’s genuine voice (in fact, I doubt that Omar is even the “patient’s” name).

It is just over two minutes long and, in every respect, follows the findings indicated for the previous videos in this post.

Macleod’s examination of the ear

Omar with Amy, and I have decided that I like the artificial voice of Amy a lot more than the artificial voice of Ben. Shucks, am I admitting to liking a synthesized voice? Well not really, just that I think it is better than another computer-generated voice.

This one is less than one minute so there is barely time to take in what the participants are saying before it is all over. Again, the narrator is not as quiet as the participants.

Macleod’s examination of the upper limbs motor function

Ben and Omar, but this time a narrator who is different to the one we have had previously, not only that, but he has a markedly superior voice. Much preferred intonation and volume for our purposes.

Omar responds “no” in a completely flat tone which, if you have listened to the ones that went before in this post, you will be completely familiar with.

This is just less than six minutes, so a positive marathon in terms of some in this post but miniscule compared to some we have seen.

Macleod’s examination of lower limb motor function

This is just over five minutes long. Ben and Omar, same narrator as above and this narrator would have been great for all of the videos. Perhaps I will be entering into some judicious weeding of videos from the main Procrastination playlist into the archive list and including only those with this narrator. I’ll let them bed in and see if they are all deserving of long-term membership.

Macleod’s examination of the Hip joint

Just over six and a half minutes, Ben and Omar the participants again. These have all been very similar, which is remarkable in that there has been little to dislike about any of them. I sometimes resort to pointing out minor niggles to distinguish between them (like the narrator’s voice for example). Here we have the preferred narrator of the two featured in this blog post. Already then, we are on a good footing (given the narrator is talking for much of the video).

Definition, just because I thought a picture would be useful – lumbar spine

Lumbar vertebrae anterior

Macleod’s examination of the respiratory system

Amy with Omar and this time with my preferred narrator. So preferred participants (for this set anyway) and preferred narrator, so something of a jackpot. It is nearly thirteen minutes and so reasonably long for the posts we have been covering this time.

Definition Cricosternal distance distance between the cricoid cartilage and the suprasternal notch (labelled as Jugular notch below)

Gray1194

Macleod’s Examination of the cardiovascular system

Just over twelve- and three-quarter minutes, Amy with Omar, and the last of the videos in this particular post. The preferred narrator in fact a good video to go out on.

Definition Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease, a disease present at birth leading to low levels of oxygen in the blood.

The Farsight 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

It is easy to go away with the idea that everything is ticking along hunky dory because there is no news or feedback. I hope that my regular readers out there are still doing well and, by all means, let me know if you would like a particular item of content.

Recently I am finding that my clock is swinging about all over the place, with some days feeling like I could sleep for the gods at 15:00 but as awake as a lark at 22:00. In such times I find it best to just relax with what is. The normal clock will eventually reassert itself I am confident.

I continue with a selection from Calm and yet again, it features the voice that I have grown to like which is Jeff Warren.

https://www.calm.com/app/player/7KADquOnx1

The Momentum of Thinking, Jeff Warren

As before, it is not designed for encouraging sleep, but I am finding these short presentations to be somewhat more effective than those dedicated to sleep.

I will spend some time listening to other material/by other people. However, I repeat my warning of a few blog items now. Calm content is not free. I am not sponsored by Calm (or by anybody), so I am not trying to sell you a Calm subscription. However, if you already have such a subscription, the above might be interesting.

Repeating the theme that I have followed for a few weeks now. Let’s take a look at some content by a professional ASMR artist (if only to determine how it stands up against any inadvertent ASMR content that I have located).

Today’s video in this vein is this one:

ASMR School Nurse Lice Check (Scalp Inspection, Soft Spoken) ✨Intense Tingles✨

it is from a channel called Sister Sister ASMR this has forty-six videos and 52.4K subscribers. That is a whopping success rate of subscriber per video ratio, and so it bodes well for the quality of the above video. There are four playlists, but none of these are obviously on a medical theme. We have rather fallen into the rut of medical themed ASMR videos and, at the moment I am not trying to fix something that wasn’t broken to start with.

As expected Sister Sister ASMR appears on the ASMR index.

There are notes with the video which are not that interesting, other than the fact that the participants in this video each have separate channels in addition to this one:

“Emily’s channel: ‪@emvyASMR

Katie’s channel:  ‪@xokatieASMR

Email: Emily.katieasmr@gmail.com”

Comments are permitted (which seems to be a theme with professional ASMR artists), and as is usual for such artists, the predominant comments seem to be positive. There must be a halo effect for such videos, in that they seem to avoid some of the more bizarre or downright derogatory comments which we have otherwise seen.

The video is thirty-three and a half minutes and so is moderately substantial. As I have commented before, the participants in professional ASMR videos are attractive and this seems more or less a pre requisite. I’m assuming that some ASMR afficionados are not ASMR afficionados as such, given they are more motivated by appearance rather than sound.

The tone seems to avoid whispering, which makes it slightly more believable than the more whispery videos that I have reviewed. I don’t remember a school nurse whispering at me but then it was a very – very long time ago.

That is not to say that the tone is not magnificent because (in common with other ASMR professionals) it is spot on.

There is background noise and this might well be air conditioning, and again, I am surprised it was decided to include this. I can only assume that realism is an important feature but I am continually searching for videos which do not have background noise. The occasional such gem is habitually peaceful, and reaffirms my belief that eliminating background noise is a worthwhile endeavour.

I suppose, given the length, I should have concluded in advance that this is one heck of a nit scan. I do not remember any school nurse taking thirty-three minutes on anyone’s head. I don’t remember the use of a set of size zero knitting needles either. I have a strong feeling that some ASMR devotees get their tingles from the sound of hair. Quite possibly, that sound is amplified by the needles being passed through it.

I am more interested in the voice.

So, in the end this turns into more of a personal attention video with an extensive section given over to hair brushing. It is doubtful a nit nurse would perform that service either. But I can kinda see why it was done. The last minute is dedicated to errors in the video making process, which for me distracts from the rest of it. Overall, I think the quality of presentation means that this one is deserving of recommendation. I do not really have a playlist for professional ASMR artists but I will add this one into the Sweetie Jar playlist in case you’re interested in listening for yourself.

So, tearing ourselves away from that, we move onto the purpose of the blog which is to review videos established for some medical purpose but which, nonetheless, turn out to be restful.

Today’s video is this one:

Primary Care Provider Physical Examination: Foot and Ankle

A little less than twenty-two minutes so it will not keep us for long.

There are notes, such as they are: “55,239 views 7 May 2021

David S. Levine, MD, demonstrates a foot and ankle examination.

David S. Levine, MD Profile│https://www.hss.edu/physicians_levine…

For CME credit and other courses visit│https://www.eacademy.hss.edu/”

Comments are (wisely in my view) not permitted. Although that does mean we have no idea if ASMR fans are watching this one.

It comes from the channel Orthopaedic Surgical Videos this has an amazing three hundred and seventeen videos and 48.1K subscribers. There are fourteen playlists, the largest of which has one hundred and four videos in it – I don’t think we’ll be reviewing all of those today.

The video starts without music and it has negligible background noise (air conditioning), so an excellent start. David it turns out has a calm voice, although I couldn’t say it was quiet. Nonetheless, one is placed at ease feeling that vocally we are in capable hands, as it were.

So, given the large number of videos on this channel, how to limit the subject of further review to a workable level. I thought in this case I would search for videos that feature David Levine.

There aren’t many, in fact only one further video featuring David occurs on this channel.

Obesity TKA

It is age restricted – regular readers will know my thoughts on age-restricted videos – I do not bother watching them.

I’ve only included the link in case you are interested.

In this case, it is not clear why the search retrieved this video, as I cannot see that David features in it at all. The notes are: “2,290 views  28 Jul 2023

Fred D. Cushner, MD, performs an obesity TKA.

Fred D. Cushner, MD Profile│https://www.hss.edu/physicians_cushne…

For CME credit and other courses visit│https://www.eacademy.hss.edu/

Chapter Points: coming soon…”

It is fifteen and a quarter minutes in length, Fred it turns out has a very loud voice, initially he starts out in an apparent hurry. There is no startup music and the background noise (air conditioning) is moderately loud.

It features some fairly upsetting (to many people) operation procedures. These have loud associated noises. There are jarring equipment noises and loud suction noises as well. Narration during the procedure is also loud. Background noises also seem to be, if anything, even louder.

There are loud drilling noises which could probably wake the dead.

This is just not a suitable video from our perspective.

So just one video this week.

Perhaps time for a bit of pre-sleep relaxation instead.

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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

I notice that media outlets are now declaring that six hours of sleep is just not going to be enough. Which is all very well, but if you are above the age of fifty and have a reasonably busy life, I can more or less bet that many of your nights will have less sleep in them than that. The reflection that as you get older, waking up in the middle of sleeping gets a more pronounced experience does not help if it is three AM and the one thing you don’t want to do is to wake the person who you’re sharing a bed/bedroom with.

At such times, perhaps the Procrastination Pen playlist and a decent set of headphones might be the saviour of the night. (YouTube adverts excepting).

Of late, I have told you when I come across a meditation on Calm that I liked and regular readers will note that I have developed a taste for the daily meditations featuring Jeff Warren. This includes this one https://www.calm.com/app/player/5iglULfMFq “Patiently In A Rush”. I am finding the dailies on Calm to be much more useable than the tracks dedicated to sleep and so again here too. Sadly, Calm is not free and I am not trying to persuade you to pay for it.

A habit I have established is the review of a professional ASMR artist in each of these blog articles. If only in contrast to the inadvertent ASMR that I have been reviewing for greater than a year now.

Today’s video is this one:

ASMR Appointment with Your Doctor

It starts with the medical professional typing into a computer and ignoring anyone else. This has the benefit of being accurate to real-world experience but is not a noise I would want to start an ASMR video with. Perhaps we should be thankful there is no peppy music or thanks given to some sponsor or other.

This video is a little over twenty-one minutes and so is not a huge length for one of these videos. The notes are largely dedicated to advertising, so I won’t bother with them. A quick scan of the comments indicates that they are largely positive. The channel is VisualSounds1 ASMR with 326K subscribers and 1.1K videos. Wow that is a lot of videos. There are twenty-six playlists, none of which obviously focus on medical themes.

Unsurprisingly VisualSounds1 ASMR is also on the ASMR Index.

There is a quite loud background noise, either air conditioning or a sound mimicking air conditioning and I do wonder (again) why ASMR artists include this. I am constantly looking for inadvertent ASMR videos that do not have this type of background noise.

The style is of a person responding to an individual (unheard/unseen) which I believe is probably to make the whole video feel more personal. It can also be a tad on the confusing side until you latch on to what is going on.

The tone, is of course, excellent but tends to delve into the whispery. This seems to be the volume that most professional ASMR artists use. It has the benefit of being ASMR-y but the disadvantage of being much less believable as a rendition of a real medical exam. I cannot remember one occasion in which a GP has ever whispered at me. Perhaps I am missing out…

Hopefully, that was a bit of fun and now back to the day job. Today’s inadvertent ASMR video is this one:

Macleod’s examination of speech

It is, of course, from a channel that we must by now have done to death. Farsight Channel has 102K subscribers and fifty-nine videos which seems a very high subscriber to video ratio to me.

The notes will be familiar to regular Procrastination Pen readers: “84,162 views 6 Jul 2013

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”

We are now used to the slightly stilted and artificial sounding sound track from this channel and this particular video is no different. There is no startup music, no background noise and no strange narrator with a less desirable voice. In fact, in terms of the videos I commonly review this is pretty good. However, it is less than three minutes in length which gives YouTube plenty of opportunity to slide in loud and distracting adverts prior to the next video in the playlist.

The problem with reviewing this site a great deal before, of course is the likelihood that I repeat previously-covered videos. To obviate this possibility, I decided to narrow my search to speech and speech related videos on this channel. This only produced one further video which is this one:

Macleod’s examination of the facial (VII) nerve

The notes don’t really need to be repeated… There are only four comments, but even in that small number they are somewhat variable. It is less than a minute in length and this time there is a narrator. As usual, with the use of narrators, the voice of the narrator is louder and less inclined towards ASMRishness. In other respects, it is similar. The voices of the participants sound odd as if they do not belong to the people participating in the video, just as before.

The Farsight 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

Today, I started the day with “Bask on the Beach” from Calm. The description is:

“Relax yourself from head to toe, as you visualize a beautiful, tropical cove. Created in partnership with Discover Puerto Rico, this body scan practice will help you embrace the essence of vacation.” The narrator is Diana Holguin.

https://www.calm.com/app/player/5z3j61an_I

I found this a lot more relaxing than some of the sleep dedicated tracks on the same site. I like Diana’s voice and there are no intrusive sounds. Of course, because the site is paid for, there is no offensive (read loud) advertising either. However, I hate to recommend something that you have to pay for, so let’s move on.

I have been looking at contributions from professional ASMR artists and actually finding it surprisingly challenging. A number of such videos dedicate a great deal of time to the sponsor du-jour. Often, they include a surprisingly large number of distracting noises. Sometimes, I just do not like the presentation. However, today, I have this one:

ASMR Emergency Room | You’re in Critical Condition | Full Body Exam

Firstly, it might be as well to understand that this is a huge-long video only slightly under two hours in length. It comes from the channel The Cozy Hospital ASMR.

This has 226K subscribers and four hundred and twenty three videos. So, yet another very hard-working ASMR artist. Not unexpectedly, given the title of the channel there is a great resource of medical-a-like videos on this channel and so if you have been following this blog you may well be interested in this artist.

Not unexpectedly the Cozy Hospital appears on the ASMR Index.

The video starts with no startup music but is obviously firmly aiming for “genuine” presentation of a medical exam. As such it includes a number of noises that I would not have included. There’s the squeaking trolley wheel and a background air conditioning noise, which quite quickly settles down. The voice is then, as expected, delightful. There are occasional background noises (Tannoy noises at intervals for example). I would not have bothered with the glove noises or the handling of equipment noises either. There are noises from application of micropore surgical tape and a background monitoring beep. There’s the clicking of a tube cap and the rustle of packaging/clothing but I am certain that some of these are included because someone out there finds them a useful trigger.

I would say that this voice is excellent. At intervals it is too whispery to be believable and a bit breathy as well, but I am picking holes because the presentation is very good.

However, I could spend all day reviewing YouTube channels that were created to make money out of ASMR. The target up to this stage has been to find an ordinary YouTube video but which, nonetheless, some people might find relaxing. So far, by far, the majority of those reviewed have been on a medical theme.

Today’s video suffers from the fact that it does not run for very long at all, a little less than four minutes in fact:

Peripheral vascular

It is drawn from that rich vein of videos that have been mined so often on this blog, the student assessment video. Indeed, we have visited this channel before. It is on the channel Leah Barlow which has ninety subscribers and fifteen videos none of which seems to be going for record breaking in terms of length. It looks like the last time I decided to review only those videos where Leah appeared with the same patient and, if I pursue the same methodology, it looks like today’s “patient” appears in three of these videos.

The video starts with a bit of a loud clonk and the voices are a little loud, probably because they need to talk over voices that can be heard from an adjacent room. This is a shame because the approach seems to be quite methodical and the voices reasonably restful. There is, of course, a constant accompaniment of air conditioning which we are well used to by now.

There are occasional loud equipment noises as parts of the examination table are slid in and out.

The next video apparently featuring the same two participants is this one:

Abdominal

This is just over three minutes long. Again, there is a loudish knock at the beginning. The patient here announces her name but at a pace that makes it tough to work out. I would say Ella Kelly, possibly, but that is in all probability, incorrect. There is a very slight echo which I assume is down to the design of the room. Again, there are loud equipment noises and mutterings from next door. The presentation is very level, almost quiet, and if it were not for extraneous noises would be excellent. For a start, there is no music on this video which a number of professional videos could learn a lot from…

Part way through there is a loud knock and the session is interrupted. However, the video is brought to a close swiftly after that.

The last one from the same medical professional-“patient” combo is this one:

Skin, hair, and nails

This pretty much follows the theme of the previous two. Knock at commencement, background air conditioning, overheard conversations from adjacent rooms. The presentation continues level and methodical. During the actual exam the noise level goes down. There is an absence of equipment noises this time, which makes this one the most restful of the set.

The video is a little over three and a half minutes so they are all much of a muchness in terms of length (no huge long monologues here).

The Leah Barlow 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

Hello and welcome to the Procrastination Pen. This week like last week, and the previous week… I am reviewing YouTube videos for their potential as an aid for restful sleep. To assist in getting from awake to asleep and in getting back to sleep when you wake up in the early hours of the morning. Most importantly, to avoid any noises that are likely to wake you up if the video keeps playing after you have dosed off. In the latter I’m afraid I cannot take account of YouTube adverts which are frequently up tempo, loud, intrusive and take no account of the time of day in terms of how quiet or restful they are.

Before we move onto the normal activity, which is the review of inadvertent ASMR videos, I have, of late, been reviewing one professional ASMR video as a change, and in case anyone liked the idea.

This week I am looking at this one:

“Let Your Destiny Unfold” Rainy Soft Spoken & Personal Attention Healing (ASMR REIKI)‪@ReikiwithAnna

It is on the channel Reiki with Anna which has 156K subscribers and five hundred and seventy videos. Where do these ASMR artists find the time?

In line with all ASMR artists I have reviewed so far, Reiki with Anna is suspiciously attractive. Surely if it is the quality of one’s voice that was critical then this would not be necessary?

In common with many ASMR artists Reiki with Anna also occurs on the ASMR Index.

Today’s video is just over forty and a half minutes and so is a reasonable length. Immediately we see why such videos are easier to listen to than inadvertent ASMR videos. There is no startup music and the artist has, as expected, an exceptional voice. The tone is great. The rain is unnecessary for me but I believe some people find such noises restful.

There are lots of additional noises: taps, clicks, a light background music, noises from equipment, even the sound of jewellery rattling. The latter stemming from the movements that are happening in the video. These distractions are not what I am listening for; I’m just here for the vocals.

The video does seem to be a bit “new age” for my taste but I cannot criticise the voice.

Sadly, YouTube will be YouTube and my listening was regularly punctuated by loud, irrelevant adverts. Hopefully your listening will not be so punctuated. Of course, these professional ASMR videos do not really have a playlist on the Procrastination Pen. I will add this one to the Sweetie Jar playlist which has become the repository for those I have reviewed thus far.

Of course, this video is not the meat and potatoes of this blog, which has always been to cover inadvertent ASMR (or at the very least restful) videos.

Today we return to a channel that I did promise I would revisit after a moderately successful first review of it.

The channel is Farsight Channel and will be familiar to regular readers.

The video is this one:

Macleod’s examination of the sensory system of the lower limbs

A bit less than three and a half minutes. The notes state: “235,864 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”

One of the comments indicates that the voiceover is AI generated. If this is actually what was done, I wonder why anyone would choose to do it. It results in a very unrealistic presentation.

This is Omar and Amy as we saw in the previous blog article, we are now used to that pairing. The actual examination is quieter than the narration track, even though the voices are a little stilted.

Macleod’s examination of the motor system of the lower limbs

This is just less than five and a quarter minutes long. Ben and Omar who we have also seen before. The notes state “674,799 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”.

These videos are consistent with one another and there is rarely a difference worthy of additional comment.

Definition: Clonus: involuntary muscle contractions.

Plantar Response:

Lawrence 1960 20.4-en

Macleod’s examining for meningeal irritation

“214,625 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”

This is just over a minute, so barely there at all. It features Omar and Amy. Again. Amy has a quieter voice than the narrator. However, there is still that uneasy sense that the voices are not the actual voices of the participants.

Macleod’s examination of the hip

The notes will come as no surprise if you have read the previous blog articles: “63,188 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”

It is a little over six and a half minutes long. Omar and Ben are the participants. Here, if anything, Ben is a little louder than the narrator. However, I do not think he is excessively loud for our purposes.

Definition:

Trochanter – a picture is probably best for this:

Gray243

Although there is plenty of moving of equipment, there are none of the associated noises which we commonly hear.

Macleod’s examination of the cardiovascular system

Amy and Omar feature, and this time the video is a more substantial length. This is almost thirteen minutes long. I think we have an idea what the notes are likely to say by this stage, such that I will avoid further reference to them unless something moderately interesting comes up.

Again, Amy’s voice (artificial or not) is the best one here. Omar’s is completely flat and the narrator’s is a bit on the loud side.

Definition:

Endocarditis inflammation of the inner layer of the heart.

Ischemia a restriction in blood supply

Macleod’s examination of the motor system of the upper limbs

A little over six minutes long, Ben and Omar are participating. It is consistent with the previous video containing these two participants.

Definition:

Fasciculation a muscle twitch.

And that is probably about as much of that as you can tolerate in one blog post. I will revisit this at a future date. The Farsight Channel continuing to provide a rich source of suitable videos.

The Farsight 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

There has been a (hopefully unnoticeable) period of downtime of late, as there seems to have been no brief periods to sneak in a video review. That being the case, I am somewhat grateful of the backlog of material I had built up over the Christmas break. Today though, a few minutes available and a new video review.

Of course, for a very short while, I have been slipping in a review of a professional ASMR artist video. Today’s channel is ASMR Rebecca.

The video is this one:

A Very Realistic ASMR Eye Exam (new props!)

This is just over twenty-five and a half minutes. It starts with various rubber glove noises which seem to occur in several videos and I have now decided I really dislike. The vocal tone is better than some I have covered. At least the voice is closer to one an actual medical professional would use (a lot less whispering here).

I notice that the eye chart is displayed as in a mirror, so it’s a little challenging to read. However, as we are here to listen, I doubt it matters. To me, various parts of the exam seem to be out of focus which might be deliberate.

There are numerous additional noises which I think are supposed to appeal to ASMR fans who respond to different “triggers.” I just find them distracting. For example, there is drumming of the fingers, clicking noises and noises of a pen scratching against paper.

All told for a professional ASMR video, I found that there were rather too many distracting noises for me. I know that some professional ASMR artists include as many triggers as feasible in each video, but this scatter gun approach, to me, means that there is no particular focus. Surely it is better to focus solely, for example, a video on those who like scratching noises rather than whispers + scratching noises + clucking noises + finger drumming and so on and so forth. As each person finds their specific trigger, others are put off and as the artist moves onto the next trigger, they put off the one who was until that minute entranced.

This video is also not helped by extraneous background noise in terms of a car alarm somewhere sounding off. (Probably a good key to restart the entire filming process).

That said there are hundreds of comments on this video and a quick scan through reveals that they seem to be positive. This slightly increases my perception that people are watching due to the way a person looks rather than the ASMR sounds a video may have.

However, the presentation is, as expected, carefully put together and the tone is excellent (eyesight tests appearing as if in a mirror, excepting).

I will put it into the sweetie jar playlist so that you can have a review for yourself.

Onto the core theme of the blog, which is videos that were not designed to be restful but are, nonetheless, relaxing in content. Today, we return to Dr Abraham Verghese who we have featured before in this blog.

On Being a Doctor and Connecting with Patients

Just over four minutes so not a huge video. It has notes which thankfully are not as lengthy as we have grown used to. “14,160 views 7 Jan 2020

In this video Abraham Verghese, MD, best-selling author of In My Country and Cutting for Stone, discusses the origins of the study he coauthored identifying 5 practices that foster meaningful connections between physicians and patients. Learn more at ja.ma/presence5.”

There are few comments but they are quite encouraging – this makes a welcome change. We’ve seen Abraham Verghese before and on that occasion, we concluded he had a good voice for us and so again with this video. There is no introductory music (hurray) no weird background noises (hurray) and no people wandering across the camera (hip-hip…).

This though, is not a medical examination as such. It is a monologue. But it is calm, measured and most of all the volume control isn’t turned up to 11.

Sadly, background music commences after a while, but it is at least calm music and the volume does not suppress the speaker. So, I may make an exception and add this into the playlist. It might though get booted on review into the archive list.

The channel is JAMA Network which has 1.3K videos at the time I am looking at it. Try covering that lot in one blog post.

I think I’ll try for any of those that feature Abraham Verghese and focus that way.

A search on Abraham Verghese’s surname brings up videos that do not include him. However the videos in their entirety number only six so I’ll go with it and see if we have discovered any hidden gems.

The first is the one covered above leaving just five to review.

How to Prepare with Intention

With notes: “1,357 views 21 Jan 2020

Preparing with intention is one of five practices that can help doctors connect with patients. In this video, Donna M. Zulman, MD, MS, Jonathan G. Shaw, MD, MS, and Abraham Verghese, MD, from @StanfordMedicine explain how this practice works and why it’s important. Learn more at ja.ma/presence5.”

It is just over two minutes long, so hardly there at all. Abraham Verghese is this time drowned out by background music and this continues as Donna Zulman speaks and it fails to desist when Jonathan Shaw contributes.

In fact, it ruins the video from our perspective so I’ll move on.

How to Agree on What Matters Most

This is less than one and one half minutes and starts with Abraham Verghese again. There are notes of course: “877 views 21 Jan 2020

Agreeing on what matters most is one of five practices that can help doctors connect with patients. In this video, Donna M. Zulman, MD, MS, Jonathan G. Shaw, MD, MS, and Abraham Verghese, MD, from @StanfordMedicine explain how this practice works and why it’s important. Learn more at ja.ma/presence5.”

In this case the music does not quite overpower the speaker, even as the video moves on to Donna Zulman and then to Jonathan Shaw, so I think I’ll tolerate this one. How long it will last in the Procrastination Pen playlist though…

I am becoming much more critical of late and some of the videos that have been in that playlist for a long time are now getting booted to the archive list.

Listening to Patients Intently and Completely

A little less than two minutes and so all of these videos have the advantage that they will not delay us long. They have the disadvantage that they provide spaces for more of the oppressively loud and distracting adverts that YouTube chooses to put into the gaps between videos, even when those videos are obviously being played overnight!

Why I would want a loud and funky advert blasting from the headphones at 3am is anybody’s guess. But, I suppose, it is more important that a few more pence are added to the coffers.

The video has notes as expected: “2,749 views 21 Jan 2020

“The data source is the patient, and the most important thing is not to interrupt them, and let the story unfold.” Listening intently and completely is one of five practices that can help doctors connect with patients. In this video, Donna M. Zulman, MD, MS, Jonathan G. Shaw, MD, MS, and Abraham Verghese, MD, from @StanfordMedicine explain how this practice works and why it’s important. Learn more at ja.ma/presence5.”

It starts with Abrham Verghese again and I am saddened by the fact that all the participants seem to have reasonable voices but they are masked (even if partially) by continuous background music. I am mystified why anyone would do that, unless it is to frustrate ASMR-seeking listeners – in which case it is highly effective.

Achieving Diagnostic Excellence

This is a much more substantial video, it is very nearly half an hour in length. As if to reflect this it also has much more substantial notes so I’m just supplying an extract of these: “1,345 views 20 Sept 2022  #JAMALive

Arguably, a clinician’s most important role is providing an accurate and actionable diagnosis for patients. But challenges stand in the way, including tool limitations, inequitable access, and discontinuity of care. In this roundtable Q&A discussion, Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH (Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, UCSF), Jonathan H. Chen, MD, PhD (Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Stanford University), and Harvey V. Fineberg, MD, PhD (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), discuss issues affecting diagnostic excellence, the emergence of artificial intelligence–driven tools, and ways to make the diagnostic process patient-focused. Hosted by JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD.

Visit http://jamanetworkvideo.com for more content like this.”

Comments are permitted and the only feedback is relevant and well-thought out, which makes a refreshing change. This also means that there is no feedback from ASMR fans.

The video commences with funky music but thankfully that soon desists. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo starts the video. I’m not sure that Kirsten would be the first choice in terms of voice for ASMR but at least the presentation is not excessively loud.

Sadly, the format which is like a Zoom call (other chat-related softwares exist), does not lend itself to an ASMR supporting video. This one does not belong in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

Coronavirus Update With Eric Topol

On the face of it, this is not a subject that is likely to be restful. It is the longest video so far seen in this blog post at a little shy of forty-one minutes. There is a whole medical manual of notes with the video, so here is a brief extract: “19,983 views Streamed live on 23 Jul 2020 #Pandemic #COVID19 #Coronavirus

Eric Topol, MD, Scripps Research EVP and omnivorous science health care and tech commentator, discusses the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.”

There are a number of comments, many of which reflect the concerns surrounding the subject, but no obvious ASMR-related comments.

There is no startup music – heaven be praised, so a nice peaceful start. However, we are again faced with a Teams-call like interface and not a medical examination as such. The presentation starts with Howard Bauchner who actually has quite a reasonable voice. Eric Topol is the person being interviewed who, if anything, has a better voice. Sadly, as before I do not think this is suitable for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

The Bedside Manner 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

I have been promising for a little while now that I would make some recommendations regarding tracks on Calm that I have used when sleep seems to be avoiding me. In fact, Calm has a whole range of material dedicated to sleep. This seems to be getting updated so regularly that it is hard to point to any one specific track. That said, I did rather enjoy “A Calmling in New York”. Perhaps a little too music-based for my usual relaxation but you may well have a different point of view. You can find it here: https://www.calm.com/app/player/qJEZPZzlDS but a warning, Calm is not free (and I am not trying to encourage you to pay for it).

Of course, if you are really stressed of a night time, it might just be that you want to be as relaxed as possible whilst acknowledging that sleep just isn’t going to happen for you that evening. In which case, some background noise might be just what you need.

I often give up in these situations and switch on the TV, listening with headphones on. It is not infrequently that I wake up a few hours later, a change of location and some background noise being all that it took to knock wakefulness on the head.

However, if it is looking like a few hours of being awake, you might do worse than to launch the Procrastination Pen playlist, set YouTube to shuffle and lie there listening to the various restful tracks that are available.

I have been in the habit recently of reviewing one professional ASMR artist’s video. Just because I’ve been reviewing inadvertent ASMR for over a year now and it is probably time for a change. (Small though it is).

Today’s video comes from LeannaASMR who is featured on the ASMR index here.

ASMR| Comprehensive Abdominal Exam, Full Medical Roleplay (Soft Spoken)

At a little less than twenty minutes it is rather short for a full-length professional ASMR video of this type. I do notice that there is a rising tendency for ASMR artists to publish their videos as “shorts” i.e. something only a few minutes long. Perhaps this video is trying to draw a middle way between the hour-long material we’ve seen and the one-minute shorts that are at the other end of the spectrum.

The video has quite a lot of extraneous noise; clicking noises, crumpling noises, equipment noises, the odd thump, in fact, the noises I have been hoping that inadvertent ASMR material would not contain. I assume that this was included here for effect but it marred it for me. The voice, meanwhile is as perfect as you can imagine for a professional ASMR artist and does not stray into the whispering level, which tends to make such videos completely unbelievable (what medical professional conducts an examination using a whispering tone)?

So, enough of all these distractions back to the overriding purpose of the blog which is to turn up inadvertent ASMR material or, at the very least, videos which are calm and restful (and hopefully without too much in the way of extraneous noises).

Today’s video comes from a channel that I have covered before N Sight has 3.08K subscribers and twenty videos. The proportion of subscribers to quantity of videos is something of an achievement, I think.

The video is this one:

Nails: Demo Exam

It is four- and three-quarter minutes so not long enough to keep you. There are notes “264,441 views 17 Feb 2016

In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused nails exam is conducted by Kara Fitzgerald, ND.

N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”

But perhaps wisely comments are not permitted.

Sadly, it has startup music and that startup music is a bit peppy to be properly restful. There is background noise but it is not excessive. Kara has a good voice, the “patient” does not get to say a great deal. Some of the included pictures are majorly off-putting and so, if this blog was not focusing on listening, I would be lairy about making it a member of the playlist. My recommendation is to listen and not to watch.

Fortunately N Sight has an entire playlist dedicated to the Nail Exam category and this playlist contains four videos.

 The playlist first featured is, in fact, number two in this playlist. The first video is this one:

Nail Exam: Introduction, Equipment, & Patient Positioning

Again, there are notes: “7,955 views 17 Feb 2016

In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused nails exam introduction is conducted by Kara Fitzgerald, ND. N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”

The same two participants are featured and again we have funky startup music (sigh). The video is a bit longer than three-and-a-quarter minutes and does not initially start with a medical examination. Kara Fitzgerald starts presenting and as such the vocal is a little louder than in the first video. The patient does not appear until the two- and three-quarter minute mark, it is interposed with yet more funky music and I find that quite distracting.

The second video is the one we came in with, and the third video in the playlist is this one:

Nails: Teaching Exam

This is much more substantial at a little less than seventeen and a half minutes. There are notes again “43,265 views 17 Feb 2016

In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused nails exam is conducted by Kara Fitzgerald, ND.

N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”

And the same two participants. The far too energetic music tops and tails the video, as before.

This time we are into the meat and potatoes of an examination. Here, Kara’s voice is much more measured and I would say is pretty good from our perspective. It is not too loud or energetic.

I would say (music excepting) this is a pretty good candidate for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

The final video is merely a wrap up. It is this one:

Nails: Conclusion

it is only slightly more than a minute. Same startup (and concluding) music. No medical exam this time and just like that it is all over.

The N Sight 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

Welcome readers to another article of the Procrastination Pen. Just for a change, we will be looking at videos designed to encourage ASMR symptoms (if you want to receive ASMR symptoms, that is).

Yet again, I am temporarily going to review the video from a professional ASMR artist as a slight distraction from the main aim, which is to review inadvertent ASMR material.

In this case, the video under review is this one:

ASMR Cranial Nerve Exam – Roleplay

This is from the channel Starling ASMR a channel having 532K subscribers and three hundred and seventeen videos which is pretty high productivity, I’m sure that you will agree. There are a few playlists dedicated to medical exams which has been bread and butter for this blog for over a year now.

Starling ASMR also features on the ASMR index.

As I have concluded previously about other ASMR artists, Valentina is of attractive appearance and continues to confirm my suspicion that a number of ASMR fans don’t attend these videos because of the way that they sound.

The video is inclined towards the whispery and so I do not think that it is designed to fool anyone. I do not think any medical professional would conduct an exam whispering to this extent.

It contains some noises which I suspect are supposed to be stimulating, but to me rubber glove noises, clicks and crumpling noises are not what I’m interested in. In addition, the somewhat loud vibrations roughly half way through the video are, to me, distracting.

Given how popular the video is however, I think I am in a group of one here.

The voice is, of course, first class and distracting noises aside, I can hear what people are listening for.

I think it is worthy of review and so I have added it into the Sweetie Jar playlist.

Of course, the purpose of this blog has not been to review professional ASMR artists and so we return to the inadvertent ASMR that is its core material.

Today we are back on a channel that I did promise I would revisit after a moderately successful first review of it.

The video features a different “patient” to the last time we were here, and we may have some success sticking with that “patient” in terms of the videos that we review on this occasion.

The channel is Farsight Channel and will be familiar to regular readers.

The video is this one:

Macleod’s examination of the cardiovascular system

As we have previously established Macleod’s appears to be a medical tome of great worthiness in that a number of people seem to be reading it, following these videos, commenting on it and so on. Sadly, with all the medical knowledge of a person with no medical knowledge I have no idea if all that attention is justified. I will take it that it is.

As we saw the last time, all of these videos are professionally produced and a well-established clue to this is the presence of a great many notes. The notes with this video are as follows: “2,047,718 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at http://www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod

More information about the director www.iainhennessey.com”.

Comments are (bravely in my view) permitted, and are the usual rag-tag of rare affirming statements, demands for attention of one variety or another and the occasional off-the-wall comment, which makes you wonder.

The video is a little less than thirteen minutes and almost amazingly has no startup music at all (hurrah). Like before, we have two participants who could easily be computer rendered. The tone is wrong, the pacing is wrong and the voices occasionally don’t seem to fit what is happening. It is as if we have two participants and two other people’s voices have been dubbed over the top. This is less apparent, however if you don’t actually watch the video. Just listen to it. This is what I recommend anyway, after all the purpose of the blog is to help you get to sleep and it is hard to do that with your eyes open.

The video is largely narrated in any case. The narrator is not as restful voice wise as the participants who (artificial or not) have moderately quiet voices. The narrator is a little louder, but not sufficiently so to eliminate the video from the Procrastination Pen playlist, I think.

Given the channel has fifty-nine videos I think we will follow the technique used in the former article and search for videos where the same “patient” features. This gives us the following:

Macleod’s examination of the thoracic and lumbar spine

At a little less than five and a half minutes. It has notes: “9,840 views 6 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at http://www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod

More info about the author www.iainhennessey.com”

Again, it starts silently. The participants seem to be speaking in a strange way, but they are more restful than the narrator. However, this remains consistent with the last one which is something we often find with professionally produced videos i.e. find one good one and the entire channel might well be a source of other good videos.

At least in this one the patient shows some emotion (smiling), so it is decidedly less robotic than the previous one.

Definition:

Dimples of Venus, a picture seemed best for this:

Dimples of Venus while seated (with arrows)

Macleod’s examination of the respiratory system

This is just under thirteen minutes and again it has notes: “2,851,650 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at http://www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod

More information about the director http://www.iainhennessey.com”

We’re used to the format by now. So, we are expecting the participants to be a bit robotic but nonetheless for the video to be a reasonable one for our purposes.

We have Omar and Amy in this one and both we have seen before with Amy featuring in the previous article on this channel.

There is silence to start and that strange impression that the people featured and the voices somehow do not belong together. The actual examination is quiet and measured and the whole video would be approaching ideal sound wise if it were not for the narration over the top of it. However, the narrator never quite gets as far as objectionable such that I could find cause to dismiss the video from the Procrastination Pen playlist altogether.

He has the benefit of good intonation and never straying into excessive volume.

Definition:

Thoracotomy – surgery to open the chest.

Macleod’s examination of the shoulder

Notes: “82,387 views 5 Jul 2013 New! Macleod’s Clinical examination 13th edition

This video demonstrates clinical examination techniques as described in Macleod’s Clinical Examination. The textbook with access to the full set of videos is available at www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/macleod”

This is Ben and Omar, so a change of medical personnel. The video is a little under five minutes so isn’t going to waylay any of us for long. If anything, the narration with this one is slightly more muted which makes it more suitable for us.

Definition: Serratus Anterior

A picture is best for this:

Serratus anterior

The responses are abrupt as we have seen previously with videos featured from this channel. However, the way the medical professional handles the examination is gentle and considered.

Deltoid

1119 Muscles that Move the Humerus b

At intervals (whilst the narration is occurring), the medical professional is speaking but nothing can be heard.

At this point I realise that the blog post is likely to be an excessively long one. So As before I’m going to halt the review of videos and carry some onto a future blog post on the same channel.

The Farsight 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.

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org