Since I started writing about ASMR, this blog has been all about the Procrastination Pen Playlist. I realise that people who come here probably get the URL of the playlist and disappear again to listen to what I have found. Some, no doubt, having found the playlist on YouTube, never come back to the blog again.
As a result, I continue to try to locate new videos to keep the playlist updated and I have started to weed out those videos that I think might drive some listeners away. If you find any errors in the process do feedback and I will attempt to rectify.
UTEP Advanced Health Assessment -Lomack
This was first posted in 2015. I think the “patient” Regan occurs again in the video N5382 Mock interview below, so it is possible that Regan and Kelly are related perhaps?
Kelly states that she is attending University of Texas El Paso.
This is not the quietest and it does have background air conditioning noise. So far, so student video.
It is reasonably gentle however and is a decent length at nearly twenty six and a half minutes.
First In Last Out
I think the book under review is First In Last Out by John Salka.
One of the issues is that the text is being read out rather than presented as such. Sometimes when I hear this kind of material on YouTube, I am amazed at the unconscious skill people demonstrate when reading audiobooks. In this case, I do not think the video belongs in the Procrastination Pen Playlist.
Book review-First In, Last Out
This is helpful, it tells us that this is Kelly Lomack (We’d guess that from the name of the channel). It states that she is studying the Masters of Science Nursing at the University of Texas Arlington. the date would be in 2017, the date of her graduation.
As is usual, the videos are dedicated to promos of the university, rather than anything helpful in an ASMR context. This is exactly what we would expect.
Our video is a book review and is a tad monotonal. It doesn’t fit what we are looking for in a Procrastination Pen playlist member.
N5382 Mock interview
The above video is thankfully short. I say thankfully, because the sound quality really isn’t very good at all. It is in support of N5382.
It turns out that YouTube has many videos with N5382 in the title. Some of them refer to a “Health Policy Course” but not where that course is run. It appears the point is to talk to a political representative in a role play situation.
This isn’t really what we’re looking for, so I’ll discount it.
So, one video only for the playlist (but I think it is quite a good one).
Therefore, there will be no Kelly Lomack Playlist created on the Procrastination Pen. The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to this playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than too intrusive air conditioning sounds.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
By this point in the blogging process, the amount of research in pursuit of possible ASMR videos far exceeds the number of articles that have been produced. One finding has been that medical students produce a great huge amount of video output in connection with their courses. Unfortunately, the majority of that output is just not going to be of much use to us.
Sadly, it appears that students just do not have access to the recording facilities needed to reliably produce a relaxing video. Many of these videos suffer from excessive background noise, strange behind the camera noises, and loud extraneous sounds from the medical equipment that they are using.
It is without much expectation, therefore, that I take a look at today’s video which is this one:
General survey
This features Sandra who initially seems a bit loud for the standard relaxing video. As is usual, there is fake input – sanitising of the hands in this case. The patient appears to be “Avery” (although that is almost certainly a misspelling). The sound is not terrible in terms of one of these videos. But you can tell that the microphone is some distance from the medical professional.
The patient tells us it is 23rd September 2016, Avery also tells us which hospital, although I can’t make out what she says. In any case the surroundings lead me to suspect that this is more domestic than professional medical (flat screen TV on chimney breast, pot plants on a raised piece of furniture, painting on wall behind).
It is quite brief at just over two-and-a-quarter minutes and is marginal in terms of inclusion in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
The channel is MGA Nursing. This has forty-three videos at the time I am looking at it and forty subscribers. The notes against the channel tell me “These are videos for assignments in the course.” This tells me it is for college consumption only, after all, how would anyone else know which course we are talking about.
Middle George State University appears to have a nursing programme at the MGA campus. It is potentially possible this is the course that is being referred to.
They (of course) have a YouTube Channel with one hundred and eleven videos.
From the forty-three videos on the MGA nursing channel there is the usual need to refine down the number such that this does not turn into a huge blog article. Some of the videos include the participant’s names in the title but I notice some do not and yet, by appearance, the same people are participating. Therefore, I’m going to select videos by the apparent participants involved.
I selected the following video thinking that it might also feature Avery, but it turns out not so much.
Peripheral Vascular System
Maureen Bolmgren RN is the medical professional, the “patient” here is Margaret (I can’t hear the surname). We find that she is born 28th January 1996, but the advantage (for this article) is that there appear to be a few videos in which Margaret appears. We should be able to make those the focus of this blog article therefore.
Maureen has a tunic on with Maureen Bolmgren, RN embroidered on it. Maureen attended MGA, graduating in 2017, which fits as the video was posted in 2017.
The setting appears to be domestic as with the previous video in this article.
The strange thing I notice in this video is that Maureen appears to be reading from a pre-prepared script. That’s something I have not seen before.
Maureen seems a little loud initially for a true ASMR video. Margaret has a better voice but of course she gets to have a lot less to say.
Maureen seems quite hesitant, probably unsurprising given this is an assessment video. The advantage for us is that she settles down, becomes a lot calmer and quieter.
Heart and Neck Vessels
From this it is feasible to hear that Margaret is Margaret Taylor. It is otherwise consistent with the last one. Maureen reads from a script again. The sound isn’t as great as a professional video but at least it lacks background noises. The setting is the same as for the last video.
Again, Margaret seems to have the better voice but it might be because she does not say a lot.
Maureen seems to be looking at a prompt off camera for some of the video. Not that you’ll notice if you are using this to get to sleep. The approach is quite gentle but as before Maureen does not have your typical ASMR voice. It is quiet enough to be restful though, I think.
Neurologic Assessment-Maureen Bolmgren
As I said before, some of the videos include the participant’s names in the title, in this case of the medical professional. But there is no consistency in this naming convention so I cannot rely on it.
This is the Maureen – Margaret partnership again. By now the location and process are quite familiar. I’m not sure if I am now used to her voice, but Maureen seems less loud to me in this one. Margaret still seems to have a better voice.
One more Maureen – Margaret combo video remains. However, the MGA Nursing channel may be worth another visit to sample some of the remaining videos.
Last, but by no means least, we have this one:
thorax and lungs-Maureen B.
This seems familiar as if I have reviewed it before, so it is to be hoped I have not entered a duplicate video. I’m sure regular readers will let me know pretty swiftly if so.
There is the odd intrusive noise (including what sounds like a clock at one stage) but I think this is still worthy of inclusion.
The Procrastination Pen playlist is reviewed frequently so some of the less worthy videos get dropped to the archive list at intervals. Those with intrusive noises are ones that are most likely to get chosen for this “demotion”. The archive list only exists in case I remove somebody’s favourite.
The MGA Nursing playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to that playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than occasional intrusive noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Another week and onwards towards a longer playlist and another set of videos (from YouTube) to review.
Today we have another set from a student, presumably this was originally created as part of an assessment process.
As is typical for this type of channel, the last update was some time ago and now the channel is not maintained. We have already seen that some videos can be taken down and these could become the same, so my advice is “get ‘em while you can”.
The channel is Jordynlee21 and the updates are nine years ago (2015). There are four videos, which as you will see, have pretty much the same title but feature different “patients”.
There are no playlists available on the channel so, in no particular order, this is the first one.
Head to toe Ashley Brehmer- South University
The camera pans the room in the most disconcerting way. The initial verbal description is a bit drony, as if it is narrated by someone who is just going through the motions.
There is an ever-present background noise (probably air conditioning). This is a situation with which we are now well familiar.
As is usual, the channel for South University does not include medical examination videos.
I’m always fascinated by the terms used by those using a stethoscope such as “Intercostal Space”, this gives a good definition:
“2nd intercostal space (i.e., the space between the second and third ribs).
3rd intercostal space (i.e., the space between the third and fourth ribs).
4th intercostal space (i.e., the space between the fourth and fifth ribs).
5th intercostal space (i.e. the space between the fifth and sixth ribs).”
At intervals the presentation does settle down to be more gentle and is more the kind of video that we’re looking for (or “hearing for” if that could be a term).
In this case the medical professional is Ashley, I am not clear who Jordyn Lee (the name of the channel) is. The channel has been around since 2009 so considerably before the video.
Callie Donnay head to toe- South University
Again, with the maniacal whirling of the camera about the room, presumably to demonstrate that there are no prompts in the room for the student. However, I would have thought it straightforward to pan the room initially and then introduce material subsequently, but maybe I’m over thinking this.
The medical professional is Callie Donnay, again, the video is posted nine years ago. The air conditioning noise remains ever present. The “patient” here is the medical professional from the previous video i.e. Ashley Brehmer.
Sensibly there are no comments permitted; we’ve seen negative comments against such videos before.
Eventually the video settles down and gets reasonably quiet. I wonder if initial nerves in such videos is the reason that they often set off loud and settle down later.
There is the occasional clatter as equipment is moved around. This is distracting but not massively off-putting.
Alana Haas head to toe- South University
Alana Haas is the medical professional. Again, the camera pans the room. The “patient” confirms it is actually a hospital and not a domestic setting as we have often seen before. The patient states her name as Jordyn Hutchinson. The surname isn’t Lee – so perhaps she is not the owner of the channel. The patient states the date as 2013 so the video is posted somewhat later than that (which seems a bit odd if it is part of an assessment process).
Like the previous videos, the voice isn’t spot on for ASMR and the background noise is always present. However, there are periods of calm. Again, there are clattering noises which are only marginally distracting.
Jordyn Hutchinson head to toe- South University
Here, Jordyn becomes the medical professional. I’m not sure how common the spelling Jordyn is seen (I’m more used to Jordan). However, it is conceivable that Jordyn married and took the name Lee and hence the channel belongs to the self-same Jordyn.
I’m not sure how that could be verified as the videos lack any notes.
As before the camera sweeps the room and the medical professional starts off loud, so far, so familiar.
The patient is Alana Haas who appears in the previous video.
It settles down and is moderately quiet. I do often hope for another Hollie Berry but I think these videos are adequate for getting to sleep.
They’re going into the playlist and I’ll rely on the review process to sweep them into the archive list if they cease to be appealing.
The Jordyn Lee playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been working through that playlist repeatedly and some of the videos that were members have now fallen from favour. If any of your favourites are in there you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than unwelcome loud equipment noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
The first thing that strikes me about today’s video is the very quiet start. What a change to some of the canned music that usual precedes videos on YouTube. There is also the absence of oppressive air conditioning noises that plague so many of these.
The patient “Natalie” (possibly misspelled) announces that she was born 10/15/98 and the medical professional states “so you’re 20”. 10/15/98 is 15/10/1998 (UK Format i.e. October). We can assume that this is filmed 2018 which given it was posted four years ago seems to indicate that it was filmed and posted around the same time.
Head to Toe Health Assessment
The patient states that she attends Colby Sawyer college https://colby-sawyer.edu/ which is a school of nursing and so potentially where this video was filmed. Colby Sawyer, as expected, has its own YouTube channel with one hundred and thirty-eight videos, four hundred and one subscribers and three playlists. A brief check seems to indicate that sporting videos are quite important on this channel but, probably unsurprisingly, these turn out not to be videos suitable for a blog about ASMR.
For today’s video the channel is Marissa Nance and consists of this one video and no playlists.
I’ll make the assumption that this was for an assessment in that year and I’ll assume the medical professional here was Marissa.
It remains wonderfully calm and, judging by the comments, I am not the only one to think so. Many ASMR fans have checked this one out previously. Although sadly, the negative not to say nasty, comments are here as we have seen in the past.
This one is distinguished in that both Natalie and Marissa have calm voices, that is a rare (if not unique so far) find.
It seems over rather too soon, given there are no alarming noises throughout the entire video (something we have not always been able to say).
So that’s it, just the one for you today but I am certain more will be coming very soon. The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
(and now it includes the Marissa video).
The archive playlist of videos that were in the above playlist but found after repeated review not to make the grade, is here:
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 experience to log on, this interrupts the listening 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.
Recently, I am finding some variability around the efficacy of using just the ASMR videos to get some sleep. Some nights very effective, some nights a distraction, and some nights just not effective at all.
On such nights, I tend to lie on the sofa and tune into the dreariness that is late night television (dreariness is probably advisable as really compelling television is only going to keep you awake for longer).
However, there are other things to try, for example, there are free online meditation resources. Some people I am told find the discipline of meditation really diverting. I have until recently found focusing on meditation to be one more thing I do not want to do when I am tired and I want to sleep.
However, never say never, I recently have received a gift subscription to Calm and I am giving some of the meditations a try. So far without positive outcome, but you never know.
Meantime I am back to finding more ASMR videos. I am trying to stay ahead as I notice that some of my blog posts already have blank spaces where videos used to be. Videos are obviously being taken down.
Previously, we have dealt with the Sterling Freeman part of this partnership.
Now we have Olivia Rabone and, as we saw in that previous blog post, this looks like it is a video designed as part of an assessment.
Head-to-toe physical assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
As we have heard before, the ever-present air conditioning to provide an audio background for us. In this, Sterling Freeman is the “patient”.
Olivia Rabone attended Howard College Texas until 2022
Howard College has (as we’ve come to expect) has its own channel.
However, the badge on the shoulder of Sterling does not look anything like that on the Howard College Channel.
Sterling also studied at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
This college also has a YouTube channel. However, the badge is not like that on the uniform.
Sterling early in the video confirms that they are both at Howard College, Big Spring Texas. (Perhaps the college has subsequently changed its branding).
We also get the confirmation that this is 2019, which was very likely Sterling’s final year there (although Olivia appears to have attended for longer than that).
I always find it amusing that in these videos the students provide privacy by drawing an invisible curtain. We have seen this before of course.
I’ve seen a few applications of a blood pressure cuff in these videos. Given how far Olivia has to wrap that cuff around Sterling’s arm I think it might be bit on the large side.
The assessment proceeds at the pace of an express train. This makes me wonder if trainee health professionals are under the cosh to get things accomplished in the smallest amount of time possible.
Olivia seems to be reciting from a mental script as the empathy quotient in this video is not obviously high.
Against that, the tone is really pleasant; it is not excessively loud. It makes a good Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
The channel, unsurprisingly, is called Olivia Rabone. It has eight videos on it, which is a number I think I can cover here without over stretching your attention. (The Procrastination Pen playlist is at the end of this article if you want to skip to that point, simply scroll down to find it).
Although Olivia hosts this one on her channel the medical professional here is Sunny and the “patient” is Olivia.
Sunny has her own channel which might be worthy of a future review.
Judging by Sunny’s shoulder badge (which is the same as Sterling’s in the previous video) this is also filmed at Howard College.
We have the constant drone of force-driven air to keep the ears entertained. In this case the medical professional’s volume is not aligned with this background noise. It is quite difficult to hear what Sunny is actually saying. This might be ok if the air conditioning noise was more restful but I do not find that it is.
The camera appears to be a huge distance from the two participants. This is unusual for videos of this type. However, given we are mainly here for the listening experience I cannot judge this video solely on that basis.
Sunny at intervals seems to be distracted. Potentially she is trying to follow some standard assessment checklist.
This does make it a little difficult to relax into the experience (and fall asleep to it for example).
Overall, I think the sound quality discounts this video from the Procrastination Pen playlist.
This continues in the vein of the last video, with a high background noise in relation to the main spoken audio track.
Stacy Kuykendall is a remarkably common name in Texas it turns out (including one woman whose children were killed). The upshot of which is that I have been unable to determine if Stacy has a YouTube channel.
To be honest given this is set up exactly like the last one it didn’t stand a chance from the outset so I will not be adding it to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
The background noise on this is really intrusive, including what sounds like a whole flock of rock doves trying to outcompete one another.
There are a number of non-medical and non-ASMR comments with this video. But none of these have any interest to us.
There is the noise of overflying planes. At one point Olivia starts laughing, which given the challenges involved in filming here, is probably unsurprising.
If you’re watching as well as listening, there are also some strange artefacts coming from sunlight across the lens.
As before, there are occasional gaps as Olivia consults a checklist so it is a little staccato in approach.
It just isn’t there in terms of ASMR, so it will not be into the Procrastination Pen playlist.
CN’s & Musculoskeletal-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Here we are straight back to the partnership that we started this blog item with. Although the partnership is the same, it appears that someone stuck the microphone actually inside the air conditioning outlet.
The audio track is nearly completely occluded by the constant whirr that is going on.
It is a shame because in all other respects this is the equal of the video that we started with in this article, but I don’t think it can really go through to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Respiratory & Cardiac assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Yet again the background noise is high. However, I think this is just acceptable. It is very calm and considerably more methodical than some others featured in this blog post. However, it may well suffer an early weeding if it proves to be distracting on subsequent review.
A louder vocal track would have compensated for the air conditioning. Perhaps YouTube videos of the future will incorporate an air conditioning filter designed to eliminate all that excess noise.
HEENT assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
This seems to start a bit louder, but so does the air conditioning. I could probably provide a good service to listeners if I could somehow process all the sound tracks to eliminate background noise. Sadly, however I am no sound engineer.
There are relatively few comments but just shy of seven and a half thousand views, which sounds remarkable.
To be honest, I’m not certain it is a great Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
NG tube/EN/PN discussion
This is so much quieter than the others which must be down to the change of venue. This is filmed inside someone’s house. The start of the video though is not restful. It is almost in the format of a lecture with the delivery a tad hesitant.
Someone off camera starts coughing and Olivia is merely reading from a script.
This one isn’t for the Procrastination Pen playlist either.
The Olivia Rabone playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to that playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than occasional intrusive noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Having a bad day at work? Just want it to be over? Despair that you’ll ever chill enough to actually get any real sleep tonight? Welcome to The Procrastination Pen. Here the finest in inadvertent ASMR material is reviewed at intervals. Even better there is an ever-growing playlist of curated items for your delectation. And if after all that you’re still plotting ways to murder the boss in an undetectable fashion, at least you’ll get to listen to a relaxing video whilst you are doing it.
Today we have a video from a channel dedicated to health. Nothing could be more medical than that I am thinking and therefore any ASMR effects must be purely down to chance. So far so much the aim of this sequence of blog posts.
The notes are helpful, which we often do not find: “Jessica Nishikawa demonstrates some of the techniques of the Lung and Thorax assessment.”.
We know who the professional is before we start. Comments are turned off which is a breath of fresh air after some of the nasty stuff that you sometimes see.
We start with Jessica Nishikawa DNP, FNP-BC. DNP appears to be Doctor of Nursing Practice. FNP-BC is Family Nurse Practitioner – Board Certification
Unless you follow nursing, you, like I, may not have been aware these qualifications existed.
Suffice to say a highly qualified person then, but this is not why we are here.
The background hiss which we have heard often before is present here as well. Initially I thought I was going to exclude this video from the Procrastination Pen playlist, but it soon settles down to be less obtrusive than in some of the videos I have reviewed of late.
The “patient” is McConnaugh (probably nothing like the spelling). A quick search of YouTube determines that McConnaugh appears elsewhere such that he might crop up in a future blog post.
At intervals Jessica looks off video to her right. I’m not sure if there is a person there or if she has notes about what she wishes to cover. However, you’re likely to be listening rather than watching, so it is unlikely to affect you.
This is moderately good – no Hollie Berry but still worthy of a place in the playlist I think.
The channel BilderbackHealth surprisingly has only eight videos (including the above one), so we can comfortably cover this off in one blog post.
The majority of the videos feature Jessica – there’s a couple that look like they are not going to be on theme including one on Log Cabins so it might be that six is the total we’re going to be looking at today.
It is great to have a medical video from a medical facility (not someone’s front room) and for the noise of air conditioning to be absent. Having got used to background noises of late, it is fantastic what a difference silence makes. I may be weeding some of the more air condition-y (new technical term) videos from the playlist going forwards.
The presentation is lovely and quiet. Positively gentle at intervals.
Definitely a Procrastination Pen playlist member I think
The Cardio Vascular / Peripheral Vascular Exam Video.mov
McConnaugh is the “patient” again
JVP – Jugular venous pressure – used to diagnose types of heart and lung disease.
Thrill – a vibration felt whilst palpating a blood vessel.
This remains consistent with the first video we looked at.
I’m not sure if this is bias but the videos featuring Miley sound to me moderately more-gentle than those featuring McConnaugh. In any case this one is consistent with the HEENT video featured previously.
Connie is the “patient” here – somebody new. Interesting that cranial nerve one is generally not tested and yet how many of these videos have we seen in which people test coffee or even alcohol to verify that this nerve is functional (its function is for smell perception).
This is a bit more of an instructive tone than the ones that have gone before. However, it is probably indicative of the consistency of this set of videos that I even bring this up. Usually in a group of videos that I review we are lucky to have one or possibly two videos included in the playlist. In this case we very likely will include the majority of them. We have not seen that since Dr James Gill.
Chris is the patient this time (I’m a bit more comfortable with that spelling)
The best demonstration of abduction and adduction I’ve seen so far.
I’ve watched a number of these and have just realised that Jessica does her nursing in a set of high-heeled shoes, I have pity for her poor feet and respect for her endurance standing on her feet all day in those shoes.
Anyway, this will probably be the last time I actually watch the video (listening being the more usual approach) so this will be of no concern to me (and likely to you either).
I love the pronunciation of buttocks probably the first time I have heard it pronounced that way.
Another video the equal of the ones we have seen in this post previously.
It’s worth noting that Jessica has her own channel, which given the nature of these videos is very likely going to be the subject of an upcoming blog post.
The guitar music is good, but in other respects this is just not the quality of those that have gone before. This is not going to be in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
It also goes all funky subsequently which is just not conducive to great relaxation. (Entertaining though I’m sure it is).
Funky music from the outset, charming images but that isn’t why we are here. This is a poor fit for the Procrastination Pen playlist.
In general, an excellent set of videos and the largest consistent set of videos for the Procrastination Pen playlist we have seen in a while. This gives me more ammunition for ongoing weeding activity to perfect that playlist.
The Bilderback Health playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been working through that playlist repeatedly and some of the videos that were members have now fallen from favour. If any of your favourites are in there you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than excessive background noise.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
If you’ve wandered into the blog via a search engine then you may not have read any other articles in this series. A brief background to explain what this blog is about. The plan is to review videos for their potential for ASMR or at the very least the ability to soothe you off to sleep.
The main output is an ever-growing playlist and my unwritten contract is that this will always appear at the end of each article. The assumption is that if you just want to hear the playlist you can scroll completely through the article and take up the link at the end.
Today’s video comes from a channel that we have seen before.
The channel is MDforAll, it contains no playlists. I use playlists habitually for filtering down content (i.e., limiting the number of videos covered in any one blog post). The channel also has a large number of videos, at today’s date sixty-seven videos in fact.
In the previous blog article I decided to adopt the mechanism of featuring only those videos which all contained the same medical professional and patient together in each one. On that occasion it resulted in nine videos which was a more workable number for you to read about in that one post.
This is therefore a sensible mechanism for arriving at a sensible length blog post on this occasion as well.
A scan through the videos on this channel indicates that a number of them are way too loud for our purposes. They are designed as instruction videos and the participating medical professionals are obviously trying to project themselves. Fair enough, the videos were not designed for the purpose to which we are putting them.
Eye, Ear, Nose, & Throat Examination
In contrast this video is a nice fit. The person presenting (unnamed) is quiet throughout. The patient has little to say. The video quality isn’t exactly HD but, given we’re using it to sleep, then it is probably of little consequence. The sound is pretty good but of course accompanied by air conditioning noise. This is something we expect by now.
The video has notes but they do not tell us very much we don’t already know: “Physical Examination of The Eyes, Ears, Nose, And Throat.”
The comments reveal that other people have happened across this video for ASMR purposes, so we are certainly not the first here.
Having selected this medical professional, the number of videos featuring this person (on this channel) is now limited, to just three videos in fact.
Neck & Cardiac Examination
This continues in the same vein as the previous video. It is equally quiet and the background noise (which we are probably getting used to by now) is limited to air conditioning noises.
One of the comments indicates that this is from MSU CHM. Assuming this is accurate, this refers to Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. This has a channel on YouTube with forty-five videos in it. This channel might be worthy of future review.
At least the medical professional asks the “patient” to hold his breath rather than “stop breathing” which we have seen before this. As I commented previously slavish obedience to this instruction (if it were possible) could have very final consequences.
The heart sounds at one point in the video might prove to be a little distracting. Not least, that I think my heart beats a bit faster than this guy and yours might as well.
On balance though, I think this video is worthy of inclusion in The Procrastination Pen playlist.
Lymph Nodes & Thyroid Examination
This video is slightly louder at the start but that still does not exclude it from the Procrastination Pen playlist. The notes tell us nothing we didn’t know: “Examination of the lymph nodes”. But at least there are notes. The video fades out even as the medical professional is talking. This makes me think there was/is a longer version of this video out there somewhere.
Again, there is no identity for the medical professional listed so there is no way to check where this originated. For all we know there could be more of these. Unless a random YouTube search turns them up though, I’m afraid that this is it.
These videos have been consistent. They all belong in The Procrastination Pen playlist.
These are the only ones on the channel that feature this medical professional and this patient. From the review, I think this channel might be getting mined-out for ASMR related content but I may review it one more time to be certain.
The playlist for MDForAll (On The Procrastination Pen channel) is here:
The playlist which contains every video reviewed so far on the blog is here: (less any that have subsequently been weeded)
The playlist of videos that initially made the above playlist but after much review it was determined they didn’t really make the grade is here:
(I’ve kept them in that list in case you still find them helpful)
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop listening to log on, this interrupts the flow. You may not find this to be the case 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.
Following on from the previous blog post, there were a number of videos that I had not had the time to review in that article. I did promise (ish) that we might revisit the videos to see if any might be potential ASMR-generating or at the least restful and possibly sleep-inducing.
There remains a huge great list of videos still to review and so one extra post on this subject just isn’t going to cover it. Since then, I’ve also found that shorter posts seem to be more appreciated than longer ones such that it isn’t a fantastic idea to just plough on and subject you to page after page of video review.
In any case I suspect the driver for attending this blog at all is the output, which in this case is the playlist. In which case, stroll straight to the end where you will find it in all its splendidness.
So we return to ASMR Exams (the channel on YouTube).
By my back-of-the-envelope calculations, I think we had twenty videos which were neither reviewed nor added to any playlist (assuming they were any good ASMR-wise). I think five will do for this post, assuming that we find even one in those five worthy of addition to The Procrastination Pen playlist.
Let’s dive straight in:
Abdomen Exam (ASMR)
The professional’s voice is a little high-pitched to be truly restful. But at least it is quiet. A number of commentators dismiss this one as about as ASMR-y (potential official term) as a smack in the face with a wet cloth. However, the fact that the professional is a bit dithery does not (to me) discount this video. Although I suspect that the professional here may have struggled with whichever assessment, they were involved in.
At just shy of twenty-six minutes this is thorough indeed (although not excessively long in terms of videos that we have already seen on the blog).
The embroidery near to the left shoulder on the uniform of the medical professional states that the person is Maureen Bolmgren RN. In which case, given this is a quite tentative medical assessment this could have been when Maureen attended Middle Georgia State University. There is a channel for Middle Georgia State University with One Hundred and Four videos at the time I’m looking at it. This might be worthy of a future review.
Given a cuckoo clock kicks in at 18:24, I would guess that the examination is occurring in a domestic setting and so this is also indicative of a student assessment rather than a professional one. Incidentally that cuckoo clock is not at all restful. However, I will give the video the benefit of the doubt for the moment. It may get weeded out to the Procrastination Pen Archive at some future point.
If you search YouTube for Maureen Bolmgren you find this:
on a channel called MGA Nursing. This channel has forty-three videos and seems worthy of a future review.
Physical Assessment (ASMR)
Marina Bolshinsky introduces herself as the medical professional at the beginning.
Marina has a channel as well but it does not contain this video. The patient is Amber Rosenthal who it turns out is also a medical professional.
So this could well be an assessment video of the kind that we have seen before.
At 38:39 the video is a tad long and for me a tad loud. Other commentators have reflected the same.
We know the president is Barack Obama so it was filmed between 2009 and 2017. It appears that Amber and Marina would have been at Long Island University doing a Master’s degree at that time. Long Island University also has a channel which might be worthy of a future review.
This video also gets a bit dithery at intervals also a bit wordy with lots of nervous over-talking.
All told, this is not a great ASMR video and I won’t be adding it to The Procrastination Pen playlist.
Physical Assessment (ASMR)
There’s a helpful intro which states “Physical Assessment Head to Toe Examination Jamee Boutilier”. The “patient” is introduced as Jana. The university is also introduced but I can’t catch it. However, the shoulder badge reveals it to be Cape Breton University. which as we expect also has a YouTube channel (I might even review it at some point).
The video is chopped up into sections which when half asleep I doubt you will notice.
In fact, it isn’t startling in terms of ASMR but still worthy of The Procrastination Pen playlist I think. Future weeding might dispatch it, we’ll see how it settles in.
Physical Assessment (ASMR)
The health professional is Amy and the “patient” Tara (I think). They are in Missouri and it looks like a standard assessment video of the type we have covered before.
They have a YouTube channel (as you would expect) with three hundred and ninety-six videos at the time I am looking at it.
Physical Assessment (ASMR)
Reading the comments on YouTube regularly as I do, I get the feeling that some people add one because they feel they have to, they don’t contribute anything worthwhile.
The medical professional is Kelly Lomack (I’m guessing the spelling again). She kindly tells us that she is a paediatric nurse at the University of Texas El Paso. The patient is Regan.
As expected UTEP has its own channel, Seven Hundred and Sixteen videos as at the time I’m looking at it – it’s a possible for a future review.
Kelly also has her own channel which may also be suitable for a future review.
It is considerably quieter than the previous one, thankfully. The patient appears to be as delighted at the activity as if she had a sack of coal for Christmas rather than the Ferrari she’d been dreaming of.
Right up to the point that she has to stand on one leg with her eyes closed, whereupon she loses balance. I have never seen this test before and it looks a tough one. At least it raised smiles all round.
This one belongs in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
It came to me today that this series has been going on so long that I should provide an ongoing introduction to these articles, so that any newcomers will know what is happening. This needs to be brief enough though, so that the stalwart reader doesn’t get bored.
The aim of this particular blog series is to explore the use of ASMR videos for sleep. Specifically, to be helpful in the getting off to sleep and getting back to sleep when you awake in the middle of the night.
I’m assuming you have a device that can attach to the Internet somewhere near to your bed. On this device that you can open YouTube, browse to The Procrastination Pen playlist, click on shuffle, lie back and listen to the rest in peace. (This might require some kind of sleep-friendly headphones or similar).
My focus so far has mainly been on ASMR videos which have ASMR effects despite being designed for something else (most commonly medical exams so far). These are so-called “unintentional ASMR” videos. There are quite a number of these so I doubt we are going to run out of these any time soon. However, I do occasionally stray into the professional ASMR arena and select one of those videos that appeals.
Each article reviews a video or videos that came up on YouTube. These frequently are found through recommendation by YouTube. I then determine whether the ongoing playlist needs to be enhanced by addition of the reviewed video or that the video needs to be rejected. (In which case the video will still be clickable from the article itself – if you decide you rather like it).
You are free to recommend videos that you feel fit the bill or to disagree with my choices (I may even change the playlist in response to contributions).
At intervals, I review the playlist and pull out the less-successful videos into an archive list of those that seemed to make the grade but over time have not proven to be quite so restful. I use the Procrastination Pen playlist myself so I have a reasonably constant interaction with it.
Today’s video appears to have once been on YouTube on a different channel but was taken down for some reason. The comments indicate that it is a very welcome restoration.
The channel is ASMR Archivist and the notes state that its mission is “an archive for lost AMSR videos” (I assume that’s ASMR). This seems like the kind of place that we could enjoy.
That said, on exploring ASMR Archivist we find just one video (today’s video) and zero playlists.
So today’s article is going to feature just the one video.
Cate Darnell – Head to Toe Assessment
It is so popular that we find that it has an entry in the Internet Archive.
This indicates that it was deleted in 2020, but sadly not where it was deleted from – i.e. where its original home was.
As a consequence of being so popular we find that a similar thing has happened to this video as for the Vicki Scott video covered previously That is, the video is now posted in several places on YouTube. For example here:
On a channel called Sleep ASMR (which seems appropriate)
Our video is just shy of twenty-six minutes long so not the longest we’ve seen. It seems to start with “Miss Spagboll” (I’m sure I heard that incorrectly).
The badge on the patient is just not discernible enough to make it out however it could be Honors College which resolves as The University of Alabama in Huntsville. This has a channel UAH Admissions. This channel has forty-three videos and seven playlists but it appears this is all about marketing the university rather than medical examinations.
Possibly the Cate Darnell video once came from a Cate Darnell channel which has now gone.
Our video looks like an assessment video for a nursing university. We’ve seen these before of course. There is the normal level of background noise, air conditioning again, I think.
Cate has a brilliant accent and talks very quietly, just the sort of thing we are looking for in a video.
As usual the odd definition may help (well they do me – as I have no medical background) in this case bruit is an abnormal sound generated by a turbulent flow of blood.
I have no idea what Cate did next but for our purposes it is a shame that she did not produce a whole wealth of videos à la Dr James Gill.
The comments as usual are very helpful, one points out that details of Cate are online and that the video is over a decade old.
As many commentators state this is an excellent ASMR video. Definitely one for the playlist.
Sadly there will be no playlist for ASMR Archivist on the Procrastination Pen (there is only one video)
However, the overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
(and now it includes the Cate Darnell video).
The archive playlist of videos that were in the above playlist but found after repeated review not to make the grade, is here:
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 experience to log on, this interrupts the listening 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.
For newbies to the blog, a quick guide. As an old codger I am finding it increasingly difficult to sleep. After messing about for a while with different solutions, I found that a number of YouTube videos were relaxing. Even if I could not get off to sleep, they distracted me from the anxiety of realising I would be tired in the morning.
Sometimes this was enough to get to sleep. Sometimes if I woke up in the night, it was enough to get back off to sleep again. Sometimes I could content myself with lying there just watching the video.
I came across the “unintentional ASMR” category whilst searching YouTube and discovered there is a whole resource of videos which engender ASMR effects in those who are fortunate enough to feel them.
This started an idea, what if I went in search of videos that might be suitable for ASMR or at the very least be relaxing enough for sleep. What if I tried to find videos that did not appear to be listed on existing ASMR channels. I would then have a long playlist of relaxing videos and maybe some of them would not have been found by some people looking for ASMR videos.
I thought that my research may help other people – those who perhaps do not want to spend time finding relaxing videos but just want to get some sleep for goodness sake.
As I come across more videos I review them, post them up here and add the good ones to an ever-expanding playlist. Every so often I review the playlist and archive those that have not stood the test of time. Hopefully, eventually, the playlist will just consist of quality ASMR videos. I always welcome suggestions for membership/deletions.
Today’s was covered previously but in that case consisted of a compilation video (which was the following three videos somehow welded up into one. I usually dismiss these compilation videos but in this case the join was largely unrecognisable so I let it pass. After this blog article I may well be weeding out the compilation video in favour of the following (On the assumption that they are any good of course)).
NEU_General Exam – Part 1
Those who read the previous blog article will be familiar with the participants. If you haven’t read the previous blog article, I’m pleased that you are a new reader and why not go take a look.
As usual we look at the video and we look at the YouTube channel where it is found (in the hope other juicy ASMR videos might be discovered).
The channel is redbreadproductions it has fifteen videos as at today’s date and it would appear that we have snaffled the only three worthy of greater attention. Yay us and onto the review.
This video is Part One of a three-part video series
The intro helpfully tells us it is the Northeastern Physician Assistant Program 2010, which appears to be this one.
Northeastern has its own channel replete with the kind of self-promotional videos which regular readers will now be familiar with.
However I was amazed to find this one amongst them:
It is not exactly a positive endorsement but hey it is early days yet – some ASMR videos have only been up for 5 years for example.
Our video has a rather too funky intro music track – it’s a shame but not the first time we have seen this.
The intro then goes on to say “The General Physical Examination”.
The whole video is only six minutes and twenty seven seconds.
It suffers with a humongous amount of background hubbub. It seems to be extremely loud and the weighing scales even more so. Clang, bang wallop and so on.
It sounds like the examination is next to a staff canteen in which some truly hot gossip item is doing the rounds. The kind of thing where it would be tempting to open the door and yell “shut up” quite offensively only the lull would last all of half a second and then resume even more loudly.
In any case, for our purposes, this is a tad distracting especially when the background discussion descends into laughter.
The rapport between medical professional and patient is excellent so the associated noise is even more distressing.
NEU_General Exam – Part 2
Thank (pick deity of choice) the background gossiping has abated – perhaps between videos the participants went out with some duct tape and taped their mouths up. The video is just over nine minutes, so a bit longer than previously, and is so much quieter and more attentive it is like we’ve started a whole new series.
The aircon is of course a constant companion but it is almost welcome after the unwelcome additional noise of that first video.
I also like the noise of the tuning fork in this one which I have never noted before despite watching a large number of similar videos.
NEU_General Exam – Part 3
Some of the conversation has returned – a little more muted like a room full of children a fraction of a second after an adult has really screamed at them. (Just like that event – expect the noise to build and build).
However, the medical professional’s voice is truly excellent. It would be great to find further instructional videos in which she features (preferably in a quieter room). However, I have not been able to do so.
I notice she says “doing good”. I assume this must be correct although I would have thought “doing good” was being saintly and in this context I would have thought it was “doing well” i.e. in good health. I am obviously too awake whilst writing this else I would not notice things like that.
That’s all folks. A brief one this time, so you can get back to work and stop procrastinating. More next time.
These three just barely squeeze into the playlist as the quality isn’t amazing – they may well be subject to a future weeding process.
I’ve created a NorthEastern playlist for them here:
The overall playlist of videos covered so far in this blog is here:
The archive playlist of videos that were in the above playlist but found after lengthy review not to make the grade, is here:
I keep this in case people have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos regarding age verification is here:
I dislike these as they require me to stop and verify my age, I cannot be bothered to do this when I am trying to sleep. You may differ, in which case this playlist is for you.
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The Procrastination Pen 