Category: Eye Examination

Sleeping With ASMR

I notice that advice for insomniacs abounds. Quite often the advice does include suggestions to distract oneself with another noise (white noise seems popular). Of course, The Procrastination Pen exists to describe distracting noises. Until recently it has consisted primarily of videos on YouTube. However, I have often bemoaned how intrusive the inter-video adverts are. I therefore keep trying to find alternatives.

So, I thought this week we would start into free resources that might preclude the need for YouTube at all. I am looking for things that could be restful and which are not going to wake you with loud adverts.

I had made a note of a URL during lockdown and never returned to it. Now it turns out that it has gone and can only be located on The Internet Archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20221005123843/http://me-cl.com/resources/

There are three files that appear in this order:

Talk: Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen Bays (note: begins rather abruptly with a short chant)

Meditation: Mini-Meditation before Eating by Char Wilkins

Meditation: 10-minute Breath Awareness by Char Wilkins

The Jan Chozen Bays talk is close to forty-two minutes in length. It has a long, quiet introduction (silent, in fact). Then it gets really loud very quickly. It seems to consist of rhythmic chanting which I, for one, did not find relaxing. After about a minute the chanting stops, but it is enough, from my perspective, to discount it as a source of relaxation.

After that time a talk starts and that is nicely quiet (another situation where, if I owned the MP3, I would truncate that initial part altogether and the file might be quite usable). The voice is ok, not much in the way of ASMR-y, but given we are looking for sleeping aids, I would say certainly relaxing enough for me.

Not unexpectedly the talk has a religious theme and also (perhaps unexpectedly) a US-centric theme. I apologise if you find either to be not for you. In which case perhaps this review will save you listening to it at all.

The further through the track we go the better it is paced and the calmer the voice becomes. Perhaps it’s one to start playing before you’re ready to sleep and start listening a few minutes in…

The Mini Meditation by Char Wilkins is just less than six and a half minutes long. It starts with a bell, which might be a bit jarring. The voice is, again, not as quiet as I expected, you’d probably want to adjust the volume down a bit. The pace is quite good though. Not an ASMR-y tone but restful enough for sleep, I think. There is another bell about midway through; I’m sure this is a mechanism for punctuating the meditation but it may also be something that causes the slumbering mind to surface again. The final three minutes or so is completely silent.

The ten-minute breath awareness also starts with a bell. It is actually eleven minutes long. Here the voice is a better volume and a better pace than the previous one. There is also a further bell towards the end of the track.

The files seem to be free to download, such that you could download them and manipulate them as you see fit with an editor such as Audacity.

(Perhaps you could even chop out some of the louder bits, for example).

Of course, this mechanism of locating restful material does not build into a playlist. I think you’re stuck with downloading, manipulating to focus on restful moments, and then building a playlist yourself using a media player of choice. Given the files are not mine I dare not do that for you in case a formal person in a serious suit were to find out about it.

The other alternative to YouTube I have explored for a while now is limited only to those who already have a Calm subscription. I am not sure what percentage of a readership this actually is (conceivably it could be a waste of time). However, I have felt that describing alternative methods of getting some peaceful background noise might be more effective than taking a chance with those adverts. Today’s is this one:

https://www.calm.com/app/player/kM_FSkJ6oJ

Daily Jay

You Belong

NARRATOR

Jay Shetty

This concerns the universal desire to belong. It features an enlightening story about belonging and attitude to belonging. Even if you are not using it to relax for sleep it makes for interesting listening.

I like the statement “any form of suffering is a part of life”. Those of us who struggle with sleep probably will take some succour from that.

Frequently having covered the Calm option, I have now been featuring a professional ASMR artist (often on a medical theme). I started reviewing these to see if the offerings were as good, or preferably better, than the inadvertent ASMR which has been the subject of this blog so far.

This week I am looking at the channel Celaine’s ASMR this has 2.01m subscribers, nine hundred and seventy six videos, thirty one playlists some of which have greater than two hundred videos in them. This is an extremely popular channel.

I notice that there are some playlists on a medical theme (which has been our focus for a while now).

and

and

and

and

and

and

and

and

and

As you can tell this is a very prolific ASMR expert.

From all of this huge bounty, I have selected this one:

ASMR Eye Exam Lens 1 or 2 (With or Without) 👓 Light Tests, Realistic Medical Roleplay for Sleep

It is twenty-four minutes in length and in my case started with the loudest advert I’ve encountered yet. Celaine is excellent, she has a great voice. There is no startup music. No attempt to cover every random trigger – for example, no mouth clicking, scratching, or nail tapping on a hard surface. If only there were more videos like this.

There are notes of course:

“388,965 views 23 Dec 2024 ASMR Cranial Nerve Exam Roleplay Podcast

ASMR Eye Exam Lens 1 or 2 (With or Without) 👓 Light Tests, Realistic Medical Roleplay for Sleep. Vision Test & Cranial Nerve Orbital Exam. And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

In this ASMR medical exam video expect an eye exam roleplay that’s focused on the lens 1 or 2 test, Glasses Fitting, Orbital Light Exam and ASMR Light triggers for sleep FAST.

The perfect ASMR eye examination video to test your orbital vision! This video includes Dr. Eye who will give you a detailed eye exam and eye test for your ASMR relaxation~ ASMR: Lens 1 or 2? With or Without? (role play) inspired by the amazing YouTube creator SRP ASMR !

✿ What is ASMR? ✿

Autonomous sensory meridian response, is a tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. Used to help with sleep and relaxation

#asmreyeexam   #asmrroleplay   #asmrvideo”

As usual for a professional ASMR artist the notes are on the long side. I have truncated them a tad or it would be boringly long. The video is divided at intervals and loud adverts, as you would expect, populate those intervals. The video has comments of course. Some of which are a tad on the odd side, the majority, as we would expect, being profuse with praise.

I can hear why that is. I think it is close to ideal for sleep purposes, those intrusive adverts permitting.

At this stage we usually do an inadvertent ASMR video, but this post is already quite lengthy. I think I will cover one video but not attempt to find any linked videos, or this is likely to go on forever.

The channel is

Joel Sattgast with 4.14k subscribers, one hundred and sixty eight videos, twelve playlists. Some of those playlists look worthy of further review (given more time and blog space).

The chosen video is this one:

Foot and Ankle | Palpation Guide

It is a little over seventeen and a half minutes long.

It has notes: “21,676 views 4 Jul 2020

This video takes students through palpation and identification of the major landmarks, bones, and joints of the foot and ankle.

MU DPT Sp2020

Fair Use Act Disclaimer: This material is for rehabilitation educational purposes only (e.g. DPT education)

Fair Use

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education & research.  Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Copyrighted material used for educational purposes is indicated with citations.”

I think I qualify under the “criticism” heading, at least that is the gamble I am making. If I suddenly stop posting I might be enjoying some leisure time at the behest of His Majesty. There are comments, but precious few of those (let’s hope that is not a bad sign).

Joel’s voice is excellent. It starts calm and nicely paced. There is no startup music and no loud equipment noises. He does get a bit louder as if trying to communicate through projection alone. That said the video is not ideal ASMR material. To be restful I think you’re going to have to reduce the volume a bit. (I’ve commented before that inter-video volume changes are a problem on mixed playlists like that compiled by The Procrastination Pen).

On that basis, just one, video on this occasion.

That’s it on this occasion, more next time.

See you again next week.

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.

Photo by DeepAI

Sleeping With ASMR

This week nothing whatsoever is working. As such I have time to stop and have sympathy for people who struggle for sleep. I notice that the links between sleeplessness and dementia are being used as a fuel to stoke our fears.

I’m not sure that a terror about losing your mind is exactly the mindset you need for a long, restful snooze. Just in case you would prefer a restful track designed to be quiet and to distract those kind of thoughts, the Procrastination Pen exists as a site that reviews video tracks in the hope of finding the odd one that may do that. If it turns out that you get ASMR affects from the video, so much the better but you do not need to regard it as a pre-requisite for enjoying the videos.

There is a playlist of tracks that have been reviewed so far and it always occurs at the close of these articles. So if you want to give it a review, scroll right to the end and try it for yourself.

For a while now, I have been swaggering on about having a Calm subscription and how much quieter I am finding it all than the advert-infested YouTube experience. It is true that if you have a subscription to Calm, you probably already make more use of it than you do of YouTube for night-time relaxation. Not because YouTube videos are not restful. Many of the ones already covered by this blog are quite adequate in this respect (some of them are even great).

However, the insistence of ramming loud and distracting adverts into every interval does make the experience in the round a little more testing.

I am on the search for some other free resource with restful tracks of some kind that does not require commitment to receiving a ton of adverts. When I locate such a thing, I will flag it here.

Today’s Calm track is this one:

https://www.calm.com/app/player/XYoEpl-gZW

It’s Like This

NARRATOR

Tamara Levitt

AUTHOR

Tamara Levitt

I like Tamara’s voice. Sometimes I think it might be my favourite voice on Calm, sometimes not. I enjoy the content that she delivers but I often listen to Jay Shetty or Jeff Warren, dependent on what the track seems to have in it.

Mel Mah is much more about activity and I have to say I have not yet bought into the activity aspect. It is probably one of those New Year’s resolution things. To Do but not yet To Done.

The track is a little over ten minutes so it probably will not quite be enough to doze off to unless you are properly tired already. (Perhaps if you’re more bought into activity than I am and, hence, have come in from a long run or similar).

This track is about acceptance which I suppose is not a bad skill to have if your life is heading towards Alzheimer’s.

Recently I have been considering a professional ASMR artist at this stage. So why buck the trend if it seems to have worked for us so far.

This week the video is this one:

【ASMR】Eye Exam for Bloodshot Eyes and Vision Loss🏥 | Ophthalmology Roleplay【Eyelid Injection💉】

It is from the channel Runa ASMR【るな氏】, this channel has 236K subscribers three hundred and nine videos eleven playlists. The longest playlist has nearly one hundred videos in it. This seems to be an ASMR artist that is doing something right.

There are notes of course “299,990 views Sep 10, 2025 #ロールプレイ #mouthsounds #asmr

#roleplayasmr #asmr

#お耳 #talkingasmr #asmrvideo  #makeyousleep     #mouthsounds 

#originalstory #ロールプレイ  #ロールプレイ #医療ASMR #doctor #clinic

💭視力良くなりたいヨォ、コンタクト毎日変えるの大変だヨオ

🎮セカンドチャンネル

   / @るなちの遊び場 

🌙メンバーシップの参加はこちらから

   / @runaasmr575 “

However, I cannot read them.

Google translate at least reassures me that there’s nothing untoward here: “299,990 views Sep 10, 2025 #roleplay #mouthsounds #asmr

#roleplayasmr #asmr

#ears #talkingasmr #asmrvideo #makeyousleep #mouthsounds

#originalstory #roleplay #medicalASMR #doctor #clinic

💭I want to improve my eyesight, but changing my contacts every day is such a pain.

🎮Second Channel

/ @Runa’s Playground

🌙Join Membership Here

/ @runaasmr575″

Comments are permitted but the feedback is predominantly using a character set I do not understand, so they could be instructions for building a space shuttle. More likely they are commenting about how marvellous the video is because that level of adulation commonly accompanies professional ASMR artists.

The video is a little under thirty-nine minutes and so is a little longer than anything we have listened to recently. It has no startup music for which I am very grateful. The voice, as you would expect, is excellent.

Fortunately, when playing, the subtitles were in English so I’m at least clear it didn’t consist of swearing. Sadly, the keyboard features rather loudly, at least initially. But given how good the voice is, I think it is worth persisting with.

At intervals it does not appear to be about the voice. There are tapping noises, liquid sloshing noises, container unscrewing noises, pouring noises, clicking noises, gloves-related noises, equipment noises, liquid noises, plastic crinkling noises, sounds of a pestle and mortar being used to grind stuff.

All of these are a waste of time for me, I’m only here to listen to the voice. But I am betting each one is a trigger for someone. It does mean that we get a lot less of the voice than we would do otherwise, which is a shame.

I still think the voice makes it worthy of a review, why not listen for yourself.

I also think I will be revisiting this channel in the future.

I’ve been spending a lengthy amount of time of late evaluating the sleep offerings through Calm and falling asleep to them. Some excellent voices involved but given Calm is not free it would not be of much service if I start evaluating the content of Calm.

As a result, I have not written much in a while regarding YouTube content and I have been bolstered by the fact that I had written a great deal of content in the past and it was simply a case of editing it sufficiently to bring it up to date before pushing the correct button to put it out there. Calm is certainly interesting and some of the content is worth listening to but whether it is worth the money I can only leave it up to you to decide.

For me it is good to have something else available after YouTube decided to take my channel down one time, and with it all the playlists I had spent time curating. Where anybody has the power to do that to you it is well worthwhile having some other strategy available.

This is probably the message of everything available via the Internet. It is at best transient and so it is not too sensible to base anything permanent around it.

Today’s video draws from previous work indeed it is from an old favourite channel Moran Core from the Moran Eye Center. (UK readers note that is apparently the correct spelling of centre).

The video is this one:

Learning the Ophthalmoscope

It is just five- and three-quarter minutes so don’t sneeze or you’ll miss it. It’s another professional video and as we have established by now, these videos tend to come with notes (not uncommonly because they also serve to promote a service of some kind).

This video has the following notes:

“194,819 views 11 Aug 2018

Title: How to Use the Direct Ophthalmoscope

Author:  Tania Padilla Conde, 4th Year Medical Student, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine; Christopher Bair, MD and Michele Burrow, MD

Date: 08/10/2018”

Tania seems to have a good voice for us, although the volume for me was a little loud, sufficient to sound echoey in the space where it was recorded. The video starts without extraneous startup music which is so rare that sacrifices need to be offered up to the video-recording-god in supplication for the beneficence shown.

If you are listening to this one as part of the larger Procrastination Pen playlist, you might be rolling over to the tablet and giving the volume down button a couple of disgruntled presses. Tis a shame that I do not have control of the videos in the playlist or I would normalise the volume of them a bit. I too am sometimes awakened when the playlist changes from a quiet video to a louder one.

In this case the video is interrupted by a comment by Tania which is even louder. It is all a shame because otherwise she does have a good voice.

Tania does not appear on another video on the Moran Core website so if we are going to stick with her, then a search of YouTube is in order.

Tania Conde returns quite a number of channels and a brief perusal reveals that the majority are just not going to be helpful to us.

Using “Tania Padilla Conde” instead reveals a lot of content in Spanish.

This one:

Nancy Reynoza Entrevista a la doctora Tania Padilla Conde

Which is at the pace of Speedy Gonzalez and so not at all restful.

And a couple of playlists

The first one is:

COVID-19

Consisting of twelve videos. Ranging in length from two and a half minutes to in excess of twenty minutes. Not one of them seems to be a medical examination as such.

I am also hampered in that I have zero comprehension of Spanish, so I am trusting that nothing untoward is being relayed as part of the video.

The first video of the playlist is:

Cómo usar máscara correctamente

This video starts way-way too loud and it continues at a fast pace, this is really not a suitable video for us.

Como tratar los sintomas de COVID-19 en casa.

Double the length of the previous one it starts just as loud with fast paced music. This is just not conducive to sleep.

¿Qué es la hidroxicloroquina? Ensayo clínico aprobado por Kristi Noem en South Dakota.

Continues as for the previous two videos and as such I am convinced there is no purpose in reviewing the rest of this playlist. There is nothing here that we can make use of ASMR-wise.

The second playlist is this one:

Health/Salud

Somewhat more hopeful (given the title) that there might be restful content. It contains fifteen videos ranging between two and three quarter minutes and in excess of twenty minutes.

The first video is this:

Como tratar los sintomas de COVID-19 en casa.

And oh no just as before loud start up music. It strikes me that this is eerily similar to those that we’ve just looked at. So, unfortunately, I think that this playlist isn’t going to offer anything useful either.

On that basis just one, short, video on this visit.

Onwards till next week.

That’s it on this occasion, more next time.

The Moran Core 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.

Photo by DeepAI

Sleeping With ASMR

This week I was thinking how easy it is to feel that people are not being supportive. The mind can fancy a journey of its own. Simply not hearing from someone can do it. Finding that some significant life event occurred and they did not tell you, perhaps. It is not surprising therefore, that the mind can go on a restive journey just as you’re trying to get some sleep.

Those with mental discipline instruct the mind to obedience, no doubt. The less self-controlled do well to distract it with something restful. For such a purpose did the Procrastination Pen first start reviewing restful videos, many moons ago now.

This week, for the first time, a Calm track that is dedicated to getting you off to sleep which has some possibility of doing that:

https://www.calm.com/app/player/pBsp3Sb6MT

Yours, Finn

Andrew Scott reads a series of letters from a writer to his long-distance lover — pondering place and time, longing and belonging, and the meaning of home.

NARRATOR

Andrew Scott

AUTHOR

Florence Skelton

It is calm, the voice has a great tone, there is an absence of music (God be praised). I’d say this one is well worth a review on the assumption that you can. Calm is a paid-for offering and I’m not about to recommend that you shell out for it, if you haven’t already.

Each week, I check out an offering from a professional ASMR artist to see if it is a big improvement on the inadvertent ASMR videos that I set up the blog to review; goodness knows how long ago now.

This week I thought I’d review the following:

POV assessing your spinal function, flexibility assessment & neurological exam | cranial nerve test

It is from the channel asmr august. That channel has 252K subscribers, two hundred and eighty-seven videos, eighteen playlists. Quite a few subscribers, so I, for one, have very high expectations.

The video is a little over thirty-two and a half minutes long. Given it is a professional ASMR video you will be unsurprised to realise that it has notes:

“506,222 views 7 Apr 2025 #asmr #sleep

soft spoken assessing as you sit still

• palpation of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine

• testing your nerves

• checking for slipped discs

• ligament and muscle touching

• movement camera tilting

• reflexes testing

• cranial nerve exam

• neurological exam

• video to sleep

*My content is for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as actual medical/beauty advice. I am acting and not a professional.

#asmr #sleep”

Fortunately, not the great long tortuous notes which we sometimes come across.

Comments are permitted and given this is a professional ASMR artist, it is unsurprising that they are predominantly positive. That just seems to be how it goes with professional ASMR artists.

There is no startup music, thankfully. There are however equipment noises, paper noises, clothing rustling noises, scribbling noises, noises from the donning of gloves, noises from spraying, quite loud blood pressure cuff sounds.

It is not the most whispery presentation I have heard and as we would expect, the voice is excellent. It occasionally descends into breathy. None of this is obtrusive or excessive. In fact, I think asmr august is worthy of a future visit.

Recently, I have been finding that the playlist just is not working for me at all. In fact, several nights I find that I sit in front of the television until finally sleep comes and then it does not seem to last long.

For this reason, I am thinking of waging war on the playlist to ensure that only the highest quality items remain in there.

Today’s blog item comes from an area that is well-established in this blog now, that of eye-related examinations.

Qpercom presents Observe in Action: Eye Exam OSCE Station

It is five and a quarter minutes long and bravely supports comments, a number of which (as we have come to expect) are critical. The Internet, and more particularly YouTube, generating a number of experts who know much more than the ones who actually create content.

It’s a professional video and so, as we would expect, it has notes: “24,624 views  23 May 2013

Homepage

This video demonstrates how examiners use Qpercom Observe to assess medical students during an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). For further information or to schedule a demonstration at your institution please visit http://www.qpercom.com

Contact:

Tel: +353 91395416

info@qpercom.com

What is an OSCE exam?: https://www.qpercom.com/what-is-an-os…”

In case you are interested that final URL is: https://www.qpercom.com/what-is-an-osce-exam/ which should help clarify an OSCE for those (like me) who have not been exposed to one.

It starts without music, which is fantastic., However there is a sound like a football whistle at the start which is most disconcerting. The medical professional announces herself as “Elaine” (possibly misspelled). The patient is “Francis”. Both participants appear to have Irish accents. In fact, the voices here are the true highlight. Both are very relaxing to listen to.

People wander across the camera. Hopefully no one will actually be watching though but lying there listening and trying to get some rest. There is the constant background hum (almost certainly air conditioning) – we’re getting used to this. There is then a further whistle sound after the initial examination concludes (about 3:35 on the playing time).

I often complain that a bit of editing would make some videos perfect and so again here. Eliminating that damn whistle would be a true asset.

The second part of the video is intended to be a contrast with Dr Macdonald the medical professional (again, this may well be misspelled).

Despite the fact that this is supposed to be a bad exam, it is equally good sound wise. Immediately afterwards, there is yet another whistle sound.

I have a feeling despite the great presentation this extra whistle noises are going to consign this to the archive list at some point in the future.

The participants are documented. The “Patient” who announces himself as Francis is in fact Michael Browne. Elain Loughlin is the first medical professional and Niamh Mc Donnell the second.

The channel is Qpercom and it has thirty eight videos, and most of these do not appear to be that useful from our perspective.

There is one playlist QPC https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy-XOfRwSfY6II-w_4sDlCl4kPmWEgFMu

Which seems to focus on videos that are not useful for ASMR (eight of them). It appears to be a collection of videos to sell the Qpercom product. Good for them, not so useful for us (particularly as it seems to feature a great deal of enlivening music, the last thing that you want when trying to get to sleep).

Therefore, in this case I think it best to restrict myself to videos in which there is actually some kind of medical examination taking place. This restricts those that are available (and those available are short, in terms of duration).

Of these, we have:

Qpercom Basic Life support

One- and three-quarter minutes and sadly it starts up with that whistle noise again. Otherwise, there is an ongoing background noise (a low hum which could well be air conditioning). However, if it were not for that whistle noise it would be great for our purposes. Then they commit the offence of repeating the whistle noise – twice at the end. I will trial it in the Procrastination Pen playlist but I’m pretty clear that if it becomes irritating, it is going in the archive.

Qpercom Basic Life Support- Short

Only forty-five seconds surely this time they cannot be including a blasted whistle noise. Oh but they do. It is basically a cut down of the one featured just previously and all of the comments above for that one apply here as well. Although at least there is only one whistle noise in this one.

Qpercom presents Observe in Action: Breaking Bad News OSCE Station

A little over nine minutes, but that gives time for the initial whistle noise again. There is a small background noise (a hiss). It is quite muted, the voices of both participants are excellent. Without the whistle this would probably be premier class.

There are further whistles as there is a transition between participants. And just to round it off a further whistle noise.

Qpercom presents Observe in Action: Handwashing OSCE Station

Just less than two and a half minutes. The whistle noise as expected, and a lot of noise which I think is the sound of running water hitting the bottom of a stainless-steel sink. There are equipment noises and a whistle noise as there is a transition between presenters. To conclude another whistle noise.

I notice the credits refer to NUI Galway, as expected this has a YouTube channel it has 1.2K videos and 5.51K subscribers, but history tells us that the videos will be about promoting the University (quite rightly) so I will not be investigating that any further.

Qpercom presents Observe in Action: BMI OSCE Station

A bit less than seven and a half minutes. Comments are of course critical. There is that whistle noise again but otherwise it is calm. Again, the voices of the participants are excellent, if only the whistle wasn’t included. There is another whistle as we transition between presenters (roughly half way through the video). A further whistle noise at the end.

Really the whistle noises ruin what is otherwise a good experience.

Qpercom presents Observe in Action: An electronic OSCE Solution

A little less than five and three quarter minutes and the last possible candidate on the site I can currently find. None of these have been ideal, with the whistle noises, and this one has additional noises from a slamming door and a very echoey track. Presumably the action was filmed in a large space with minimal sound deadening in place.

I’m going to run them in the Procrastination Pen playlist but only because the voices of the participants are great. The additional noises distract from the experience and, to be fair, it will probably result in all of them hitting the archive list before too long. However, you will get the time to review them before it does so…

The Qpercom 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.

Photo by DeepAI

Sleeping With ASMR

I am poised to go on a trip. As with every trip that anyone takes anywhere, the payment in cash is a mere fraction of the payment that is required. There is the use of time you do not have, for booking, for checking, for verifying, for transferring and/or for communicating.

There is the dedication of additional time in the workplace to prepare for what will be an onslaught of material that you will have been unable to manage during your absence. There is then the consequent impact on sleep, for if your day was already busy (and whose isn’t), where is all that additional time coming from?

If you have a similar experience you may retire in a state of higher “excitement” than is useful for proper sleep. You may have spent longer than recommended on the screen evaluating places to stay or flights to catch. You may have some bad news about some aspect of the trip that has left you disappointed.

You may be concerned that the funds you thought were available are now going to have to be found via credit card, overdraft, or borrowing elsewhere.

Each item in its own way can impact your sleep. So, if you find yourself decorating the nighttime air with expletives over your inability to sleep, perhaps it is time to distract yourself with something restful.

For just such a purpose did this range of blog posts commence, rather a long time ago now. Just occasionally I receive feedback, even more occasionally it isn’t of the scam variety. If you feel the blog has strayed from where you would like it to be by all means feedback about it. I might even do something about it.

Of late, I have been linking to a meditation on Calm. I have a Calm subscription, and I rather like it. The reason I like it particularly is because I am fed up of the loud and intrusive adverts that are thrust into a great deal of web-based browsing. In particular, if you are relying on a playlist of restful videos, the inclusion of intrusive adverts is just not going to help.

The downside of Calm is that you have to pay for it. The slightly more minor downside is that the web-based version has no way of chaining the material together (say, in way of a playlist) and so it is strictly one thing at a time.

Given my recommendations of late have been meditations of no greater than ten minutes then I think (rather like this article) anything I have mentioned from Calm recently would be something of an appetiser. The YouTube content (which is generally longer) very definitely forming the main course.

Here is today’s Calm recommendation:

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

Daily Calm

Thinking

Narrator

Tamara Levitt

Author

Tamara Levitt

Tamara’s voice is one of the voices I prefer on Calm, it is very restful. Some of the other artists produce material that I prefer, but Tamara would be my go-to voice for relaxing most often.

This one is a little less than eleven minutes, so you’ll need to be quick if you’re going to fall asleep to this. It is about obsessive thinking, which maybe something keeping you from sleep and so probably directly of relevance.

I have been, recently, evaluating a professional ASMR artist in these articles, rather as a counterfoil to the inadvertent ASMR material that I prefer. Today we have:

ASMR Roleplay | Your First Therapy Session (help for stress, anxiety, intrusive thoughts)

Straight away we get the impression that is going to be one of the more whispery of offerings. Nothing spectacularly wrong with that. However, I often remark that if this is supposed to be a genuine therapy session I’d be quite surprised if anyone providing therapy did so by whispering at me. But I live to be surprised and Whispering Bob’s therapists could turn out to be a genuine thing.

It is nearly forty-six minutes long, so substantial amongst videos we have recently reviewed. And it has notes: “996,903 views 15 Dec 2022

Hi guys! This is a roleplay I’ve been wanting to do for a while now! It’s a therapist roleplay in which I whisper, type, ask lots of questions, calm you down, give you mental health tips, light a candle, do breathing exercises, flip through a workbook with you, write notes, demonstrate EFT tapping, and much more. 💜

Please note that this ASMR video is a *roleplay* – I’m not a mental health professional. I did try to recreate how my first ever therapy appointment went though. 🙂

Until next time!

🌱Socials🌱

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☀️Support☀️

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As is usual for a professional ASMR video, a healthy set of notes and a healthy set of self-promotion. So far, so expected. Comments are permitted and as you’ll know (if you have read any other articles recently on this blog) the aura around professional ASMR artists is such that all commentators seem to have left their nastier tendencies at home and praise is heaped upon the video.

It comes to us from: Sarah Lavender ASMR, with 474K subscribers, three hundred and seventy-five videos and ten playlists. Sarah Lavender is a hard-working ASMR artist.

There is a whole playlist dedicated to medical style videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLymIhVfp2ZPx4yTyy4412qeylQ1YjI0bi

This is a subject which has been the grist to our mill for some months. It might be that you’ll want to give that playlist a try.

All that being said, I tend to have high expectations of professional ASMR artists and, of late, those expectations have not really been met. There are some interesting decisions around sounds which I do not like (but I am sure only exist because so many ASMR fans do like them).

In this case the voice is excellent, and often I wish that the video would stop right there in terms of included noises. Here we have ceramic noises, clothing-related noises, various clicks, taps, crackles, keyboard noises, clucking noises, writing noises, scratching noises, liquid noises, even fingernails on glass. I’d prefer that none of these had been included but I think I’m safe in assuming there will be an ASMR devotee somewhere that loves every one of those noises.

It has a tendency to be a bit on the breathy side. However, on the plus side, it seems a lot less visual-orientated than videos reviewed on this blog of late. This makes listening to it as an aid to sleep substantially more worthwhile. Sadly, it ends with music but it is neither loud nor extended. You might want to give this video a try.

The core purpose of this blog article like the many before it, has been to focus on inadvertent ASMR videos – i.e. videos that are restful despite the fact that they were created for quite another purpose (of late, habitually videos on a medical theme).

I think the Procrastination Pen playlist is beginning to graduate into the more serious leagues given how large it is getting and the number of videos that I have now archived from it in the drive to capture continued quality from it.

Hopefully you are finding this to be the case, and I would encourage you to comment if you are not finding it as workable as you would like.

I thought I should explain the named playlists as these are not as dynamic as the others, and this has always been by design. The rules have been that where I find a YouTube channel which has more than one video that might be useful for sleep, I create a playlist which is named such that it references the original source of those videos. This is not as common as you would imagine. Not infrequently I find that there is one gem of a video on a channel which is the sole diamond in the coalmine. Hence no named playlist is created.

Where named playlists exist, however, they remain static as at the point the blog item is published. There is no further reviewing of it and no attempts to weed from it. This was by design. I reasoned that people who choose the named playlist over the main Procrastination Pen playlist are doing so because they have a fondness for that set of videos and probably do not want to have anyone messing with them.

I still recommend that you focus on the Procrastination Pen playlist as this has the focus of attention. It gets updated regularly and videos which turn out to contain irritating noises are despatched to the archive list. The aim being that it remains pristine, usable, restful.

Today we are back to eye exams with this video:

Easier Ophthalmoscopic exam

A little over six and a quarter minutes so it isn’t one to delay you for long.

In terms of a playlist the length of the video matters little as the next video pops up automagically. I have noticed two downsides of short videos however:

One is that the volume of any two videos is unlikely to be the same, meaning that as the new video pops up there is a possibility of being deafened. Or worse, woken up just as you were drifting off.

Secondly, YouTube tends to choose the between-video moments to slot in some of its louder and more energetic adverts. These seem not to take into account time of day, video theme, (if I’m watching relaxing videos do I really want a video to start loudly or at two hundred miles an hour?) or, despite apparently using your info for advertising purposes, the preferences of the viewer. It surprises me the number of adverts I get that are totally of no interest whatsoever and loud, so – so loud.

Therefore, these shorter videos may expose you to more of the energising, “crush your goals” nonsense that seem to act as click-bait on such adverts. If so, I apologise.

For this week’s video, notes do exist, but are refreshingly brief: “76,075 views 27 Jul 2017

This video shows how to easily find the optic disc in less than 5 seconds”

Comments are permitted and for a change are mostly positive. However, there are no ASMR-related comments – which is usually not a good sign, frankly.

The medical Professional is M. Kyu Chung MD. Dr Chung has a great voice. The video starts without startup music, there is not background noise discernible – so far, so good. The “patient” is not introduced.

The Channel Myung Chung for that is where this video is found, contains playlists which are really of no assistance to us. There are five videos including the one first reviewed, so it is quite within the scope of this one article to cover them all.

I notice that none of them are particularly long either. I hope the adverts that you are “gifted” are restful ones…

Korsakov method dilutions

This is just under eleven and a half minutes long. There are brief notes: “7,401 views 18 Mar 2020

Demonstration on how to make a Korsakov dilution for virus management.”

As usual the comments have somewhat variable (and not always helpful) content. This time the microphone seems to be fighting against a very large space. The video sounds distant and muted. An alarm starts to go off and no one attends to it. That is quite distracting.

I’m also not clear whether homeopathic content is likely to encourage many readers to listen to it. The evidence against homeopathy seems to have been overwhelming.

There is no medical examination here as such. Adding those factors together I do not think that this video is a suitable member of the Procrastination Pen playlist.

How to use the otoscope/pneumatoscope

Just slightly over five minutes, so we won’t be held up long in listening to it. The notes associated with the video are equally brief: “84,702 views 27 Feb 2018

This video describes a neat trick to effectively use the pneumatic insufflator.”

The usual array of comments, some affirming a number less so, some just whacky, no ASMR related feedback though I notice.

The video starts without introductory music – which is a plus. The sound is a bit muted as if a less than optimum microphone is in use, possibly use of the inbuilt microphone rather than a lapel mic, for example.

Mr Chung’s voice is a good one. It isn’t loud, fast or hesitant.  However, on the downside this is more of a tips for using equipment video rather than a medical examination video as such.

Easier IV Placement

Just a little less than six minutes. Already, I am feeling that the subject matter might not be that restful. The notes are again brief “4,687,387 views 17 Feb 2017

Easier technique for IV placement”

The comments are variable as expected but a number of commentators report that they did find it off-putting.

Dr Chung remains consistent voice wise. But again, this is a description of a technique rather than a medical examination as such.

Although there is no extraneous noise in the video and the presentation is as measured as in previous videos featured in this blog post, I think the subject matter is such that it will not be a comfortable member of the Procrastination Pen playlist. Therefore, I am discounting it.

An Easier Thyroid Exam

Just over seven and a half minutes. The notes continue to be brief: “683,734 views 17 Dec 2014

A demonstration of a more accurate method of performing the thyroid exam using an anterior approach.

By M. Kyu Chung MD

http://www.chunginstitute.com”

Which makes a change from the enormous number of notes used to market a product.

It is quite refreshing in fact.

The comments if anything are more unhelpful than associated with other videos in this blog post, including the odd comment which indicates a person really should be consulting a medical professional rather than watching videos on YouTube.

The video starts in a muted fashion, which is very welcome given we are so used to funky start-up music.

Again, Dr Chung has a great voice for our purposes. There are elements of the video which are silent which might be distracting (these are used for explanatory content, but you won’t know that if you are listening rather than watching).

The examination is gentle and careful. The explanation of what is happening seems to be thorough (and some of the comments confirm that to be the case).

Occasionally the microphone sounds like it is a long way from the Dr (a lapel mic would have helped, I suspect).

The Dr Myung Chung 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.

Photo by DeepAI

Sleeping With ASMR

Someone recently bemoaned the decline in evening classes. That back in the 1970s, people would come home from work, head off to a local college and learn to throw pots or paint by watercolours and this now seemed to be a declining art. I am not certain about the statistics, but the account at least seems believable.

There now seems to be this perception that any personal time needs to be snatched from sleep, from lunchtime, or from that ever so useful time originally given over to thinking.

Perhaps, when the engine is running at 6000 revs, then it is hard to let it slow down again to idle, and maybe there we find the current fascination for sleep.

In any case, the Procrastination Pen exists to try to look at sleep. Mainly from the approach that you distract that busy mind through restful background noise.

For a while now, I have been giving the odd recommendation from Calm. I’m not paid by them and I realise that you have to pay a subscription in order to listen. The advantage for me is that you then do not have to put up with the loud and obtrusive advertising that populates the intervals between YouTube videos.

I have seen that it is now possible to pay for an advertising-free experience on YouTube and I have been considering it. However, this would mean that my recommendations would be in ignorance of the reality for most, which is that just after a nice peaceful video something loud and distracting will kick in. There seems to be no allowance for the fact that it is 3am and no consideration that if the video you just listened to is peaceful, why would you want an advert based upon Monsters of Rock circa 1985 to follow it.

Anyway, here is today’s Calm recommendation:

Daily Calm

Interruptions

NARRATOR

Tamara Levitt

AUTHOR

Tamara Levitt

https://www.calm.com/app/player/8szz-qSorG

I like Tamara’s voice and this one is about interruptions and how to deal with them, which I think is likely to be relevant for everyone. If you have access to a Calm subscription why not take a listen. It is a little over ten minutes in length.

I was listening to a video this week as part of the stuff I have to keep up with. It is not medical and so I won’t be listing it in any playlist, but I contend that the voice is just excellent.

Three Decades in Kernelland – Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net

If this is of any interest you might want to give it a review. It is also squarely an “inadvertent” video as it is plainly not designed to be relaxing…

I have been, recently, evaluating a professional ASMR artist in these articles, rather as a counterfoil to the inadvertent ASMR material that I prefer.

YouTube have now decided that as I took a moment to review a steampunk-related ASMR video, now I am the world’s greatest steampunk fan and my usual set of suggestions based upon medical themes have now all got a definite sci-fi tinge to them.

Hey I can live with that. Hence although this week’s professional ASMR review is definitely medical, it is “not as we know it – captain”.

It comes to us from Dreamscape ASMR who most definitely does not need any promotion. The channel has 406K subscribers with one hundred videos and five playlists. This number of subscribers for that output shows a surprising level of efficiency. I am guessing something must be going very right.

The video is this one:

Taking Care of You When You’re Sick 🤒 SCI-FI SOLARPUNK ASMR ☀️ [Unusual Remedies, Deep Resonance]

It is a shorter than I have reviewed of late given that it is a little over twenty-six and a quarter minutes. There are a mountain of comments in the usual ASMR professional adulation mode. I wish I had whatever ASMR artists have…

the notes have the habitual level of self-promotion, so I’ve chopped them a little, the edited highlights are:

“1,286,378 views 4 May 2024 #cinematicasmr #ASMR #asmrroleplay

NO MUSIC VERSION:    • Taking Care of You When You’re Sick 🤒 SCI-… 

You find yourself battling a mysterious illness, one that manifests in an array of strange symptoms—like chromatic sweats, haptic hallucinations, and polarized vision. The city hospital dismissed your case as spring allergies…But I know it’s something more serious than that. After exhaustive research and numerous tests, I’ve begun to suspect that your condition might be a rare sensitivity to the recent solar flares. Here, in the quietness of my eco-friendly sanctuary, I will care for you. Using my scientific expertise, I am committed to unravelling the mystery of your illness and developing effective remedies. You are the most important person in my life, and I will keep you close—watching over you with unwavering vigilance—until we uncover the truth behind these unusual symptoms.

…

I hope you enjoy the ambience section at the end! I love when there’s at least 10 minutes of nothing important happening in ASMR videos so I can actually fall asleep. Scratchy pencil sounds are one of my favourites 🙂

–DREAM”

Even edited that is a healthy set of notes I’m sure you agree.

It starts with music – which is not great – and the music continues during the speech – even less great. I wasn’t taken by the voice to start with (obviously the only person, given the in excess of one million views). I did like the setting but I was less keen on some of the attendant noises, beeps, strange sci-fi related echoes. I did like the running water noises but, for me, it is always about the voice and I wasn’t as enthralled as all of those one million listeners.

I am not as bothered by paper-folding noises, and definitely not keen on the buzzes and hums that were designed to make the sci-fi atmosphere authentic. Of course there are the noises from objects being moved, objects being opened and closed, but there were also artificial voice sounds (which I wasn’t keen on).

I got the feeling that this was a more visual-orientated experience than the title would indicate. For me ASMR is about the sound. By about half way I was looking to do something else which is not a great sign in itself.

So this one is not for me, but over one and a quarter million viewers disagree so why not give it a try.

Moving on to the part of the blog that started the review process all those months ago, the locating of and the review of inadvertent ASMR videos and, to date, this has mainly consisted of videos on a medical theme.

As the weeding process of videos that do not stand the test of time in the Procrastination Pen playlist of ASMR videos, I am finding that I do not share the taste of some sites that exist to curate ASMR videos.

There seem to be videos which are considered good ASMR but which contain loud noises from equipment, distracting background noises, or strange interruptions from people, equipment or even animals.

I don’t think that such videos really belong in a playlist which is designed to provide the background to a person’s sleep time and so, I have been dispatching such videos to the archive list whether they receive a recommendation or not. At the moment I seem to be weeding the average of one video per week in this fashion.

The implication of which is that I had better keep generating more blog posts or that playlist will become so short it will be barely worthy of the name.

For today’s video we are back to an old favourite. She does not have the world’s best ASMR voice, that could easily be someone like Hollie Berry, it is a little too loud for a start. However, I do like her style of delivery and some of her videos have stood the test of time in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

The video is this one:

Eye Examination 2

It has notes which are thankfully brief: “151,236 views  17 Oct 2015

Jessica Nishikawa demonstrates common components of the eye examination. Subscribe at    / jessicanishikawa 

Follow Twitter @JessNishi”

It has comments and some of those comments are from ASMR fans, so with any luck we should be on solid ground here.

The video is a little under four minutes so hardly there at all really. (Lot’s more space for loud and off-putting YouTube adverts (grrr)).

It starts quietly and completely without any startup music. (Heaven be praised).

There is no concluding music, which is no less miraculous. In fact, this little video is more or less ideal.

For regular readers you will have spotted that this is Jessica Nishikawa and of course that is also the name of the channel.

Whenever I review a video from a channel which has multiple videos (this has twenty-six of them at today’s date). I look to see if there are other videos on that channel that could also be useful in terms of ASMR/sleep promotion.

In this case we have a video which is Eye Examination 2 which pre-supposes the existence of a Eye Examination 1 video to match it (and if we are luck 3, 4,5 and so on).

In this case we are not lucky. There is just one other video in the Eye examination series and it is this one:

Eye Examination

This too has notes: “22,511 views  11 Oct 2015

Jessica Nishikawa demonstrates common components of the eye examination. Subscribe at    / jessicanishikawa. Follow on Twitter @JessNishi”

Again, some comments from ASMR fans, so this could be a good thing.

The video is a little over four and a half minutes and there is no introductory music. There is, however, the air conditioning from hell. it is as if the microphone is under the air conditioning outlet. We have encountered this before and it makes for very distracting listening. As if in compensation Jessica is raising her voice here quite a bit more than in the previous video.

Thankfully, there are no equipment noises, and after a brief delay the person recording must have cottoned onto the fact that the background noise is oppressive because the recording volume suddenly decreases. Would that there was an air conditioning sound filter and that it had been applied.

In deference to the fact that this is the only extraneous noise, I am going to trail this one in the procrastination Pen playlist. However, I do not have high hopes that it will persist there for very long.

The Jessica Nishikawa 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 post why not subscribe to this blog.

Until next time.

Photo by DeepAI

Sleeping With ASMR

Of late I have been finding that just shutting out all noise using the Bose QuietComfort headphones has been enough to allow me to sleep. However, this has been right on the tail end of a period where I was using the Procrastination Pen playlist extensively.

For each of you I imagine that sleep varies, and it is doing what you can on the day to get the maximum rest.

I have been recommending the odd track on Calm based on the fact that I found it helpful. I recently tried “The Hidden Life of Mushrooms” read by “Alan Sklar” https://www.calm.com/app/player/iM8hEBPaao. As expected, Alan has a restful voice and so it makes some good bedtime listening. However, Calm is not free and I am not encouraging you to pay for it.

I am actually finding that for me one of the Calm Dailies is often more listenable than the dedicated sleep presentations. If you do find that the track isn’t for you, the other advantage of the dailies is that they tend to be ten minutes or less.

Recently, of course, I have decided to inject a little variety into the blog by reviewing one video by a professional ASMR artist. The outcomes have been a somewhat variable even amongst those that I have reviewed. Even more so in those that were rejected.

It’s interesting to find that the very criticisms I level at inadvertent ASMR videos are often found with professional ASMR videos as well. This leads me to suspect that I maybe looking for something esoteric in such videos, which others care less about.

However, given the main characteristics for me are a quiet, calm voice with little extraneous noise, I find that a bit surprising.

Today’s video starts with music, and I am not keen on startup music as you know.

ASMR Clinical Trial Medical Assessment for Headache Pain | Trigger Test Assortment on Real Person

The musical start is being used to advertise a Patreon page and as you also know, I’m not rabidly keen on advertising either. However, it could be worse. No one stops the video to declare that their sponsor is “Tod’s burgers”, or similar.

The channel is: Siesta with Sarah ASMR the channel has four hundred and sixty-nine videos and 44k subscribers so I think we can say that Siesta with Sarah is a hard-working ASMR artist. However, at least at the present time, I was unable to find the channel on the ASMR Index.

The video is just over forty-three minutes long, so a substantial one. The voices as you would expect are excellent and the tone great. It is, again, too focused on whispering. I say again in that other ASMR professional videos have also focused on whispering. I would not expect an actual medical professional and patient to be whispering together, unless they were sharing something clandestine.

There is a background noise which is probably air conditioning. I do find it odd that ASMR artists decide to include this as it is one of the factors that tends to mar genuine medical videos.

Wherever the video was recorded there is a reasonable amount of traffic noise, presumably from a nearby road just outside of the building.

There are many rustle noises from clothing, which some people probably find restful.

The concluding music is thankfully brief. Of course, I do not really have a playlist for these videos as the intent of the blog (to date anyway) has been to review inadvertent ASMR videos. However, I will put this one in the sweetie jar playlist in case it is of interest.

But enough of these distractions. The business of this blog of late has been to review inadvertent ASMR videos.

Today’s video is:

How do you do an Eye Exam on an Infant?

This one is a professional video and so has notes associated with it: “131,644 views 28 Mar 2017

Tons of parents ask Dr. Luke Small how he can do an eye exam on a 6-month-old! With a guest star Kenzy, Dr. Small shows you the steps he takes while examining your infant’s eyes.”

Comments are permitted and, for once, they are supportive. The video is eleven and a quarter minutes, so it’s not going to break any length records. It starts without music – hip-hip. However, there is some very impressive air conditioning noise, boo. By impressive I mean intrusive. Dr Luke Small is a tad loud to start but he gets a much milder voice when dealing with the infant.

There is a whirring noise from a small toy used to attract the attention of the child. It is a very quiet and gentle presentation however, whenever Dr Small interacts with the child.

The channel is: Armstrong & Small Eyecare Centre it has seven hundred and ten subscribers twenty-nine videos and four playlists. If we’re looking for similar material, I do not believe that the playlists are going to be of great assistance.

Here we are looking for eye exam material located on this channel and that features infants. This follows the theory I have that adults in videos dealing with children are much more softly spoken than adults in videos dealing with fellow adults.

Scrolling through the videos the next obvious candidate is this one:

Children’s Eye Exams Trailer

The notes are: “600 views 12 Dec 2020

Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre

1140 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3G 0S7

204-786-8991

http://www.armstrongandsmall.com

Armstrong & Small Eyecare Centre

710 subscribers”

This one is a little over a minute and sadly starts with music, and it is rather loud music. Unfortunately, the music then continues for the entire video. Not exactly what we were looking for therefore.

The very last video which appears to have anything at all to do with this area is this one:

Children’s Eye Exam in Winnipeg, MB

just less than four minutes so barely there at all. The notes are “621 views 8 Jun 2015

Our Winnipeg optometrists at Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre specialize on paediatric eye care and eye exams. Schedule an eye exam for your child at 204-786-8991!

Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre

1140 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3G 0S7

204-786-8991

http://www.armstrongandsmall.com”

It starts in the manner of a news programme i.e. one person interviewing another person. Here Dr Small’s voice remains the most relaxing but the format itself is not relaxing. The air conditioning noise is now very muted to such an extent that it is barely perceptible. Shame that couldn’t have been the case on the first video. Sadly, this isn’t the kind of video that we were hoping for either.

So just one video this week.

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 to the Procrastination Pen where, for greater than a year, I have been reviewing ASMR videos. I understand that for a number of people ASMR is so much falderol and, for people who have that view, I would say that the ultimate aim of the Procrastination Pen playlist is sleep. The finding of relaxing videos is just a pathway to creating a tool that makes it easier to fall asleep and to go back to sleep if you wake during the night. To make the waking during the night less likely, videos with sudden changes in volume, excessive noise, and random interruptions will consign the video to the rejected pile (there are quite a few such videos).

The outcome is a playlist – the Procrastination Pen playlist in fact. I listen to this most days and I am constantly tweaking it to remove any videos with irritating characteristics which for some reason did not bother me before. In this fashion, I hope to produce a quality playlist which you can use in lulling yourself off to sleep. 

Each week there will be an article like this one, in which I explain the reasoning behind selection and rejection of certain videos, and I flag the playlists at the end of every article. (If you’re short of time, just scroll to the end and pick the playlists up from there).

I recommend that you listen to the playlist via YouTube rather than embedded in my blog. For one thing, YouTube offers the shuffle function for playing playlists which enables you to hear the videos in random order.

I am always open to suggestions for great videos although, to date, I tend to review videos that are inadvertent ASMR videos rather than those by professional ASMR artists. But I am thinking of changing this, so never say never.

This week’s video follows on from the tradition of eye examinations featured on this blog.

Having Cataract Surgery? Here’s everything you need to know!

It rather bravely permits comments and, as expected, a number of these comments are from people who would perhaps be best placed consulting a medical professional, rather than commenting on a video.

There are no obvious ASMR-related comments.

I often find that videos which are professionally produced have a rather detailed set of notes associated with them and this one is no exception. The notes state:

“1,366,499 views 29 Apr 2020

In this video, I go over all the nitty-gritty details you need to know about before your cataract surgery. Common questions that I answer include: What is a cataract? Does everyone get them? What kinds of symptoms will I have as my cataract gets worse? What does cataract surgery entail? What is a lens implant? Are there different choices for my lens implant? What are the restrictions after surgery? Does the surgery hurt? What are the risks of surgery.  How much does everything cost? Does my insurance pay for the surgery?

Cataract surgery is a wonderfully rewarding and highly successful surgery but it can be scary when you are faced with eye surgery. If you are thinking about cataract surgery or have already scheduled your surgery, this is the video for you!”

The video is a little less than half an hour so is fairly substantial in terms of videos I have reviewed of late (but certainly not the longest one I’ve listened to).

The video starts with music which intrudes over the top of the presenter’s voice. I have no idea why presenters do this. In fact, the presenter starts out muted but once the music stops that improves a great deal.

The medical professional is Allison P. Young M.D. who, at least initially, does not have the most relaxing voice. However, the video seems to improve as it progresses (one of those videos where it would be great to set the start time some way into the video).

There is a fair amount of technical terminology, but this does not seem necessary to comprehend in order to relax to the video. Most of the difficult terms are explained sufficiently, which is the motivation behind the video. However, this tends to mean it is a bit of a monologue. On first listen, it did not descend into boredom but whether it will have longevity in the Procrastination Pen playlist or will ultimately be weeded to the archive list remains to be seen. The pace is perhaps a little faster than I would have liked, however I suppose if it had been any slower then the video would also have been much longer…

I notice that Allison is presenting from Stone Oak Ophthalmology Center. It is interesting to see a lengthy discussion on insurance, this is something I don’t have to think about under the NHS. I can either qualify for a procedure or I don’t. In this case you may qualify and yet be unable to pay for it. That is certainly food for thought.

One feature to be aware of is that the video seems to have artificial breaks in it where YouTube adverts get inserted. The ones I was listening to were somewhat louder than the video itself, your mileage may vary.

Sadly, the video also exits to music and, yet again, it plays over the voice track. I’m going to trial this video in the Procrastination Pen playlist. However, I’m not sure if it has legs enough to last there a long time.

The YouTube Channel is: The Eye Surgeon.

It is not uncommon for me to explore the channel when I find one good video to see if there are other relaxing videos that may be worthy of including in the playlist. The channel has only seven videos but 17.5K subscribers which is a fair number for so few videos.

It sounds like it is well worth reviewing the channel in total given how few videos there are to review. Most of the videos appear to have been posted three years ago so it has the feel of a channel that is not actively maintained. The upside of which is that if the videos stick around for a long time and are good for relaxation, they are also likely to be in the Procrastination Pen playlist a long time.

What is the Light Adjustable Lens and how do we use it in cataract surgery? | The Eye Surgeon

This video is just a little over 6 minutes, substantially shorter than the last one and thankfully this time no start up music, heaven be praised.

The notes are equally brief: “8,728 views 13 Feb 2023

In this video, I discuss the newest lens implant option for cataract surgery, the Light Adjustable Lens. We will talk about how it is different from prior lens implants and who is a good candidate for the lens.”

Again, comments are permitted and again, a number of people asking the kind of medical questions I would guess would be best asked directly of one’s doctor rather than as comments on YouTube, this seems to be a trend. Perhaps in the future diagnosis will be by social media…

The video has really horrendous background noise. This seems to be the dreaded air conditioning noise which we are well used to by now. It mars a number of videos that have been reviewed on this blog, some have sufficient compensating factors that I tolerate them for a while in the Procrastination Pen playlist. However, if you do take a look in the archive list, a fair number of the videos that ultimately have been consigned there have been put in that place due to excessive background noise.

In this case I do not think it is worth trialling the video in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

What is Macular Degeneration and how is it treated? | The Eye Surgeon

As before notes: “7,528 views 23 Feb 2021

In this video I will give a brief overview on the different types of Macular Degeneration and how they are treated.”

The comments, as usual, are somewhat variable, but do not seem to include any ASMR-related comments.

The video announces that February is macular degeneration month. I’m sure all those people rushing out to buy over-priced flowers and high calorie gifts will be relieved to discover that is what February is known for.

The voice track is muted and includes a fair amount of background (air conditioning) noise. There is an intrusive alarm noise acting as encouragement to subscribe to the channel, which I imagine in those of us trying to drift off to sleep is likely to have the opposite effect.

The video is a little less than five and a half minutes and for me could have eliminated the first half a minute and still been a useful video.

It is again a monologue, but fortunately, in this case, brief. On the plus side, the presentation is more measured than in the previous videos covered by this blog post. Had it not been for that alarm sound, I would have said it might have been the best one so far.

As it is, I think I’ll trial it in the Procrastination Pen playlist but distracting noises like that alarm sound is one of the prime reasons for weeding a video out to the archive list, so I do not have high hopes for its membership in the Procrastination Pen playlist for any great length of time.

DRY EYES | How to stop the burning, stinging, tearing and blurred vision | The Eye Surgeon

There are notes as usual: “38,027 views 24 May 2020

Dry eyes affect almost everyone at some point. In this video, I review the reasons our eyes get dry and some simple ways you can treat them!”

As before we find a range of comments and only a few are of much relevance. As we have seen earlier in this blog post some people really need better availability of medical treatment. Feedback on YouTube is probably not the way to get a definitive diagnosis.

This video is in excess of twelve minutes and so a bit longer than the previous one. Again, the audio seems to be muted but this time the presentation is a bit more measured in delivery. Sadly, there is funky start-up music and boy it is really pacy. The delivery is again a monologue – no featured examination here. The muted delivery means that at least any background noise is held somewhat in check.

More music on the way out, as if rather than sleeping I fancied a trip to a discothèque. This is very borderline. I think I’ll trial it in the Procrastination Pen playlist, but my feeling is that music is going to get it the boot before too long.

FLOATERS | When they are normal and when to call your doctor | The Eye Surgeon

The notes for this one are: “156,943 views 8 May 2020

Floaters are usually just a nuisance, but sometimes they are warning signs of a much bigger problem like a retinal tear or detachment.”

It is a little over nine and half minutes so not huge. There are comments and I am beginning to understand that some people use comments as if they were talking to their own personal counsellor. Perhaps this explains some of the esoteric responses that are seen associated with some YouTube videos.

The video starts without music but at a fair old pace. But just as you’re settling in, the funky music starts. Oh dear.

The subject is a little alarming. The delivery is rapid. The background noise though is muted. It is a monologue again, with no medical examination as such.

Of course, as the video concludes more of that music. I suspect that over time each of the videos featuring startup and tail end music will hit the archive list as newer and quieter videos are found but for the moment, I’ll trial this one in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

STYES! | What are they and how are they treated? | The Eye Surgeon

A slightly less alarming subject than the last one, although I doubt it is going to win in the attractiveness rating. Just less than seven and a quarter minutes long. The notes as with the previous video are brief: “303,387 views 19 Apr 2020

A “stye” is the most commonly-used term for what is technically known as a “hordeolum.” In this video, I review why we get styes in the first place and the usual stepwise treatment plan I use in my office. Hope it is helpful!

Feel free to check out my website for more eye education!

www.stoneoakeyes.com”

A number of the comments as before seem to be hoping for a response giving medical advice. Perhaps we are seeing a future in which social media will advise you whether the chest pains are because you ate a strong curry or are about to expire due to a heart attack…

Again, the video commences with very active music, not the stuff of sleepiness I’m thinking. The presentation is a monologue again and it is quite fast paced as well. At least post the music, the volume settles down.

However, it returns at the end just as peppy, which is a shame for us slumber lovers.

Blepharitis | 2 Easy steps to banish red, crusty, itchy eyes | The Eye Surgeon

A little less than seven minutes in length. As before there are a few notes: “120,613 views 16 Apr 2020

Blepharitis is a very common condition of the eyelids that causes flakey, itchy, irritated lids and lashes. In this video, I review the basics of blepharitis and some simple steps you can take at home to get your eyes feeling great again!

Products mentioned include:

* Microwavable warm compresses: Several brands available – here are a few links.

http://ocusoft.com/ocusoft-dry-eye-ma…

https://www.bruder.com/eye-care/dry-e…

* Lid scrubs:

http://ocusoft.com/ocusoft-lid-scrub-…

https://systane.myalcon.com/eye-care/…

Feel free to check out my website as well for additional eye education!

https://stoneoakeyes.com/”

There are also comments, including thanks from the people whose products are being endorsed here. (To be clear I am not endorsing any products; I have no idea how effective they are).

The video begins in a muted fashion, although perhaps a little too fast paced, but again, music follows which is just too energetic for our purposes.

However at least that music is brief. The format is a monologue as before, no examination here.

Again, it concludes with music but this time it is quite short.

The Eye Surgeon 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 mulling over the idea of making this available in audio. I have seen other blogs where the authors have done this.

I have a PC, a microphone and a copy of Audacity (which is moderately up to date). How hard can it be?

However, I am evaluating videos with the occasional critical air about people’s voices. I can hardly compare myself to Morgan Freeman. Hence, I could be opening myself up to a set of (justified) criticism.

Whilst I consider that as a future option, let’s take a look at today’s video.

We return to Moran CORE which has been a favourite of ours on more than one occasion.

Today’s video is this one:

Basic B scan Examination Techniques 1

And for once I am content that I have not reviewed this video previously.

As always, in our peruse of this channel, we find a professionally produced video. When we find a professionally produced video, it usually includes notes:

“8 Feb 2018

Title:  Basic B scan Examination Techniques 1

Author:

Date: 9/15/2016

From Moran CORE Collection: http://morancore.utah.edu”

Reasonably succinct notes in this case which, of course, leaves us thirsty for more understanding. (Oh, just me then).

It is just over six and a half minutes and so positively a glimmer in comparison to some we have reviewed.

Comments are not permitted. (usually a great idea) however the upshot of which is that we have no clue as to whether other ASMR fans have found this one. (In all likelihood they have).

Definition:

A “B scan” turns out to be ultrasound.

The video’s introduction is without music (wahey). But also, without any details of the participants (boo). The medical professional has an excellent voice and there is little obtrusive background noise. (Heaven be praised). Even the habitual air-conditioning noise seems to have been given instructions to “keep it down a bit”.

The exam proceeds at a measured pace and there is no hint of elevated voices, such as when talking to a classroom. This is quite a surprising combination and one which marks this video as suitable for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

Given the video is at this standard, it seems sensible to locate other videos with the same participants. However, given we do not know for certain who they are, there is the need to identify another technique.

In this case, I searched the channel for “B Scan” and there are a number of such videos. I then filtered visually to include only those with visually the same participants. This gives us:

Basic B Scan Examination Techniques 2

As for the previous video, so for this one. Perhaps the volume is a little increased. Possibly the air conditioning has decided to up its participation a little. But otherwise, much the same. Even down to the lack of start-up music. The notes are similar and I think, therefore, no longer worthy of reviewing.

The video is another short one at a bit over five and a half minutes. The participants are the same but, again, they are unidentified. There are no comments permitted.

The medical professional still has a calm voice but is now a bit more “projecting to a room”, which is sad given the standard of the previous video.

I still think it is worthy of inclusion in the Procrastination Pen playlist. However, as regular readers will know, it may still get despatched to the archive list if after a while it turns out to be more irritating than I first thought. (Some videos do not stand up well to repeated listening).

Basic B Scan Examination Techniques 3

The more alert amongst you will have noticed a theme to the titles so far. This does not persist, so don’t take it for granted. A little less than three and a half minutes. It isn’t around for long. I’m not a fan of artificially combining videos. However, in this case, I think I would make an exception. If I had some dispensation, I would combine videos 1, 2 and 3 into one video as it would be more helpful for people drifting off, and to delay the inevitable YouTube advert interference for as long as it is feasible to do so.

This one is more like the last video than the first one. It is a little louder than the first video and the air conditioning is certainly more noticeable. However, I still think it makes it into the Procrastination Pen playlist. Let me know if you disagree.

Immersion Techniques

The titles no longer follow a theme and neither does the length of the videos which seemed to be reducing. Now we have a video at just less than four and a quarter minutes in length. The same participants, the same noise levels, the same absence of music of any variety.

I think that the medical professional has decided that the virtual audience isn’t quite paying the level of attention that she would like and so, on occasion, raises her voice quite a bit. However, the examination is still nicely paced. I am still of a mind to put this in the Procrastination Pen playlist, but I keep the entire list under review.

Biometry

The starting image is startling (even alarming) as if the patient has recently been liberated from the Borg ship and needs eye implants removing. The video is brief at less than 3 minutes and shares the characteristics of videos that have gone before. So, if you can get past that first image, there is nothing scary in it.

That’s it for this week. Hopefully you found at least one video here that you enjoyed.

The Moran Core 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.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

I have now been listening to the Procrastination Pen playlist for so long that I have realised that some elements of it are appearing in my dreams. Recently, I was arguing with a person I work with (in the dream) over their rights to reuse the entire text from a video from Moran Core, having convinced myself that it had been lifted wholesale and reused for an education purpose. (In fact, I suspect it was simply playing at the time and I overlaid my dream content with that from Moran Core).

On that basis, I had better be cautious about the material that I incorporate into the Procrastination Pen playlist or some of you may be having nightmares.

Today’s is another video drawn from a rich resource which we have covered before. This is the nursing student video, created as some element of their course. The clues are all present – domestic setting being the main one of course. In this case the use of a dining chair for the patient to sit on, we have seen a sofa even what appears to be the student’s own bed.

At just shy of eleven and a half minutes this is a nice length for one of the videos we commonly see. This one has no comments (phew) the downside of which is that we do not know if the ASMR community has happened across it as yet. (I would hazard a guess in the affirmative).

There are no notes – this happens with professional videos occasionally but more usually is a symptom of an amateur video as we have seen before.

The “patient” introduced as “Mr Evans” and the title of the video is:

S. Evans Thorax/lung Assessment

It is probably sensible to assume the husband of the medical professional involved.

Mrs Evans (I’ll guess that is who it is) starts a little loud.

Matthew Evans is the patient DoB 06/07/1984 (i.e. July in case you are reading this whilst located in the US or are using the US method of describing dates). So, if Matthew is the patient, S Evans must be the medical professional.

This is another one of the videos which has comedy “privacy” at the beginning – i.e. miming providing privacy when none is provided.

In fact, Matthew seems to have a better voice for our purposes than Mrs Evans does and fortunately he gets to talk a reasonable amount (he is subjected to a battery of questions). Interestingly there is no attempt to explore the answers which seems to show the student obeying some hidden checklist as to what has to happen in an examination, rather than using the information for anything useful.

Part way through a baby starts crying in a remote room, which is a tad distracting. I kept hoping that someone would go and find out what was wrong with the baby.

The channel is MGA Nursing, it has just forty subscribers which is to say the least odd. However, it has forty-three videos on it and all of them look to be medical examination videos – i.e. this is good news for us.

Fortunately, the videos are all labelled using an identifier for the medical professional. In this case we have a number of videos for S Evans.

The other videos for S Evans are as follows:

S. Evans Neuro Part 1

This is nearly sixteen minutes long and so it is a bit chunkier there are no comments and no notes so that might well be a theme for all of them.

Again, Matthew has a better voice but here we find out the medical professional is called Susan. Again, the “patient” Matthew is subjected to a barrage of questions and it is, again, not clear why.

Mrs Evans continues a bit loud; it is possible all of these videos will be marginal in terms of the Procrastination Pen playlist. I’m quite active in terms of weeding recently so we’ll see how long they last in the main list.

Susan seems to be consulting a checklist throughout the examination which reinforces the view that a series of steps have to be covered to comply with the purpose of the video (i.e. a requirement of the course in which Susan is involved).

We are quite fortunate in this video in that Matthew gets to talk a great deal more often and his voice is a much more restful one than his wife’s voice.

It is interesting to see Matthew fail some of the tests. This is something not seen before in one of these videos but, again, it isn’t clear what is going to be done about it.

S. Evans Neuro Part 2

This is much shorter at a little less than seven minutes. The setting is relocated to a domestic bedroom this time.

Again, it is a little loud to start. It is interesting that some of the vibration tests just do not seem to work (either that or Matthew is considerably more honest than some participants we have heard in the past).

During the actual examination things are a good deal quieter, however I still rate Matthew’s voice over Susan’s.

S. Evans Abdomen Assessment

This seems to be quieter at the start, there is the comedy privacy mime again, which this time occurs off camera. Again, Matthew is subjected to significant interrogation at the beginning.

At just over eleven and a half minutes this is similar in length to the first one we saw in this blog post. However, it is much better in terms of volume for us I think and makes a better candidate for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

All in all, a more gentle examination than the ones that we have seen previously in this article.

S. Evans Eye Assessment

A little under eleven minutes and we are back to a dining room chair for the patient. Again, with the initial questioning. The great thing is that Matthew gets more time speaking.

However, at points Matthew is a bit loud which makes this less useful from an ASMR perspective.

After this one I am making some guesses because the video titles cease to contain any reference to S Evans. However, I believe that these videos contain the same two participants so I have included them below.

IMG 3025

I would say that this is the same two people, it is just less than nineteen and a half minutes long – but the standard of title naming seems to have been lost. This just looks like a default naming system used by a recording device such as an iPhone. So perhaps this was just uploaded from such a device and no modifications were made to it.

We are back to the bedroom as a setting. This is reasonably quiet and is similar to videos we have already seen in this article previously.

This, again, contains the baby crying which was so off-putting in the first one of this series. No one seems to jump and run, so potentially there is someone else in the house responsible for the baby’s care (or the baby is next door and has blast furnace bellows for lungs).

IMG 2916

Again, this is the same two participants. At the time the video is being shot we learn that although Obama is president Trump has started campaigning. Although Trump became president in 2017, he started his campaign in 2015. It is quite likely therefore the video was shot in 2016 which also fits with when it was posted (September 2016) so the dates line up. This time we have notes (perhaps to compensate for the absence of a useful video title): “26 Sept 2016

S. Evans. Physical Assessment- General Survey September 25, 2016”

Matthew also confirms the date.

The video is a little less than three minutes and so is a very brief one for us.

Matthew gets a reasonable amount of talking time which is good.

IMG 2934

This is slightly over four minutes so again is very brief. It has the same two participants and starts a little loud, I think. Again, Matthew gets to talk a reasonable amount. The actual examination is quite quiet and gentle.

There are baby noises in this one too, and this time the baby sounds to be in the self-same room that the participants are in. I’m assuming that someone nearby is doing the baby soothing, bouncing on knee, or what have you because neither of the participants seems at all bothered by this.

It does get to the level of loud in this one which I think is sufficiently distracting that this one cannot be included in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

Assessment: Ears

The quality isn’t great here but I am making the guess that this is the same two people.

This is a little under eight minutes and so is back to a better length. It has a moderately quieter start than some of the previous videos considered.

Again, there are baby noises but the baby is back to a remote room. I think we can conclude that the baby is in the same house. But possibly not Susan or Matthew’s responsibility.

So overall more the “acceptable” rather than outstanding in terms of relaxation for sleep purposes. I’ll trial them in the Procrastination Pen playlist but the weeding of it continues apace so some or all of them maybe flushed out in a future weeding process.

The MGA Nursing 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.

Photo by Kristin Brown on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

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…

The channel is Anna Cason.

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.

Definition:

Crepitus – noise when moving a joint

Does anyone not have this?

Neurological exam at home assessment

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.

Until next time.

Photo by Christian Krebel on Unsplash