Category: Techniques

Sleeping With ASMR

Recently, I have noticed that YouTube is just not cracking it on the nights when I am really fearsomely awake. In fact, it is just wise on those nights to get up again, pad downstairs, and watch some late-night nonsense whilst listening with the headphones.

Fortunately, TV now seems well supplied with some barely-watchable early morning viewing. (It’s almost as if they realise that a group of insomniacs are the only people awake in the early hours and that the last thing such people need is something actually interesting).

Sadly, those who turn their channels over to teleshopping are not so enlightened. My advice (if you are forced to resort to similar tactics due to sleeplessness) is to avoid at all costs surfing channels. There is a real risk that you will you happen upon channels trying to keep you awake in order to drive the purchases of mattresses, power washes or strange pruning devices.

You may also wish to give thought to the shape of your spine. For, if you do happen to drop off to some 1980s B movie, it is likely that the sofa will not turn out to be the most comfortable of resting places.

If you are intending to persist with the YouTube playlist as the source of restfulness however, I think I can be confident that you have come to the right place.

Regular readers will recognise the channel N Sight, because of course we have been here before.

Today’s video has a set of notes which are thankfully brief but which indicate that this is a professionally-produced video.

“13,274 views 2 Feb 2017

Michael Stone, MD demonstrates correct technique for blood pressure measurement with automatic and manual BP cuffs, and when to use each type of cuff. He also demonstrates simultaneous BP measurement (to assess autonomic dysfunction), and supine arm and leg BPs (for the ankle-arm index). N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine. Learn more at nsight.org.”

Comments are thankfully not permitted – no requests for free medical advice, no disparaging remarks about the participants but sadly no indication as to whether other ASMR fans have been here before.

I would guess that they have.

The video is this one:

Blood Pressure: Demo Exam, Part 1

It is a little shy of eleven minutes long and so it is not going to be your nighttime companion for very long.

Sadly, it starts with some loud and rather too energetic music – so far, so normal, we have found. Sigh.

The patient is introduced as “Steve” the medical professional is not introduced (well outside of those notes anyway). However, we do find that he (the medical professional) has a great voice, very calming and measured.

Today was the first time I tried the transcript facility in YouTube, and it is so very useful for me. Now I can get a visual check for things like the spelling of people’s names, which I am often convinced I have got wrong.

The medical professional seems quite happy with a reading of 128 (systolic) when I was pretty certain that 128 was pretty high…

The video then repeats the blood pressure test but this time manually, rather than with a machine. It is a little quieter but sadly, it means there is yet more music (as an introduction to this section). Comparatively the cuff looks like something unearthed from a Victorian sanitorium but as you’ll be lying down trying to get some sleep I very much doubt that you will notice this.

Yet more upbeat music and then there is a blood pressure test in both arms simultaneously (this is a test I have never seen). This time the automatic machines are in use and so there is the sound of the cuffs being inflated.

Upbeat music again and back to the manual cuff. I do prefer the sound of this being manually pumped vs the electric pump sound on the automatic machine. However, your preference might vary.

Yet more upbeat music and this time the blood pressure cuff is around Steve’s leg. Again, I have never seen this in use before this.

More upbeat music and then the video concludes. And cues straight into the next video which is this one:

Blood Pressure: Demo Exam, Part 2

There are notes “6,172 views 2 Feb 2017

Michael Stone, MD, demonstrates the correct techniques for measuring the ankle-arm index, dorsalis pedis & posterior tibial pulses. He then performs the raised leg oxygen saturation test, followed by carotid and radial pulse comparison. Finally, he concludes with the appropriate orthostatic hypotension exam. N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine. Learn more at nsight.org.”

This follows the same scheme of the previous one, same music, same participants. It is a little shorter at just less than nine and a half minutes. The sound of the doppler at the start of this video may be a little off-putting to some people (I didn’t find it so).

Straight into funky music again and this time the pulse is checked in Steve’s feet.

More music, then a check on the carotid pulse.

Music again, then a check inside the mouth. With emphasis on strong dental hygiene.

Music, and a check as Steve changes position from lying down to standing up. And onto tail end music again.

These two form part of a playlist on N Sight Blood Pressure Exam.

They appear mid-way through the playlist which consists of six videos in total.

The first video is this one:

Blood Pressure: Introduction, Equipment, and Patient Positioning

In which we find that the medical professional is Dr Michael Stone. Initially it is not a medical examination as such but a monologue. Despite this his voice is not elevated. Some people in this situation become a tad “shouty” as if projecting to a room. Dr Michael Stone does not fall into this trap.

The video is a little over sixteen and a half minutes so the longest we have seen so far.

However, the chance to punctuate the video with the same music track is not to be missed apparently. perhaps they paid a lot for it and want to feature it as frequently as possible.

It’s a shame as Dr Stone really has a very good voice for our purposes.

The notes have follow the same theme as the others: “3,422 views  2 Feb 2017

Michael Stone, MD, introduces this blood pressure measurement series, including key nutritional considerations for treating patients with abnormal blood pressure. He describes the necessary equipment, calibration needs, and changes in BP measurement over time. He then demonstrates appropriate patient positioning for sitting and supine blood pressure exams.

N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine. Learn more at nsight.org.”

As we are not learning to take blood pressure, I will discontinue including them as I’m sure they are of partial interest.

Blood Pressure: Demo Exam, Part 1

Blood Pressure: Demo Exam, Part 2

These two are where we came in.

Blood Pressure: Teaching Exam, Part 1

Like a number of professionally produced videos these turn out to be consistent. This can be great if the first one is marvellous. Less great if it was less than perfect. In this case it means continuation of that annoying music. Set against this, it means the continued exposure to the great intonation and measured delivery of Dr Michael Stone. Not for the first time I am lamenting that I cannot isolate this and remove the little musical interludes.

This one is just under sixteen and a half minutes, so one of the longer ones we’ve seen and in all other respects is similar, same doctor, same patient, same approach, similar notes, same approach to comments and so on.

Definition:

Insufflation: is the act of blowing something (such as a gas, powder, or vapor) into a body cavity

Blood Pressure: Teaching Exam, Part 2

Consistent with those we have seen, nuclear blast needed for the music track, embrace needed for the quiet voice of Dr Michael Stone. This one is nearly twenty minutes in length which is the longest so far. It has some unsettling doppler noises which might be off-putting to some people. There are also some loud car-related sounds indicating that a nearby road can’t be far outside of the building where this was recorded (or someone has a really loud exhaust). Long videos are also an excuse for YouTube to insert an annoying advert and they seem to have made good use of that facility here.

Blood Pressure: Nutritional Factors and Conclusion

This one is a bit less than six minutes and otherwise has little to distinguish it from those that have gone before. I just wish that Dr Michael Stone could produce a music-free version of each of these videos. That and drop some of the louder doppler noises. However, I still maintain that these are all worthwhile trialling in the Procrastination Pen playlist. (However, as you know, every once in a while I’ll get tired of the ones with irritating noises and drop them into the archive list. There is some chance one, some, or all of these may suffer that fate.

The N Sight Playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:

The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:

The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:

I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.

The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:

I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.

I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.

If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

After a period of reviewing videos I suspect that availability of ASMR material within the wider medical examination video material follows something of a normal distribution. I cannot prove it but the occurrence of truly awesome ASMR material such as Hollie Berry or Shane Brun is very rare and so they must be outliers.

More bread-and-butter material occurs somewhat regularly. The huge lift in the curve is of videos which are watchable but unsuitable. They are just not relaxing enough. Right out at the other end of the curve are some rather nasty videos which, thankfully, I rarely come across.

That being the case, the discovery of another Vicki Scott is a matter of trawling through a vast number of videos to uncover the jewel in the coal mine.

You can be certain that should I discover such a person they will be featured in this blog, and no doubt (like Dr James Gill) flagged as a favourite from that point onwards.

Today’s video is at the Hollie Berry standard which is fighting talk ASMR-wise.

Alexander technique lesson with Diana Devitt-Dawson

This is just under fourteen-and-a-quarter minutes so a quite typical length for us of late. The medical professional is Diana Devitt-Dawson the “patient” is Gita (probably misspelled). The film quality is not the greatest which is probably of little concern if you are using this to get to sleep.

Diana has a really good voice for us I think. Another smile-causing aspect is the absence of intrusive background noise which haunts some of the videos I have featured.

Comments are permitted and judging by the feedback, I am not the first person to notice how good this is for ASMR. Many are rating this above professional ASMR artists (I’ve seen a few such videos, and in many cases they are correct).

The sad thing is that the channel Diana Devitt-Dawson contains only one video and this is it.

Diana appears not to have any further entries on YouTube (this has heavy echoes of my experience with Hollie Berry).

There are reiterations of the same video featured on ASMR channels, such as this one:

Legends of ASMR – Diana Devitt-Dawson

So that’s it this time, I’m afraid.

I now think that the Alexander Technique might, potentially, be a source of more ASMR material. I’ll keep my eyes open and my search fingers poised.

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 Adam Kuylenstierna on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

If you have got to that time of life where you cannot remember the last time you had a decent night’s sleep and your daily consciousness is about walking around in a fog, you are in the right place.

For some little while now, the Procrastination Pen has been compiling a playlist of videos designed to be relaxing and to lull you off to sleep. If the bedroom has become a warzone with wakefulness, at the very least, you can lie there and listen to the videos rather than worrying about the sleep you’re not getting.

Today’s video comes from a source that we have seen before. It is from an institution that most people must be aware of.

It is this:

Demonstration of Teaching the Reflex Exam by Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

and like most professional videos we have covered, it comes with notes:

“27 Apr 2016  Skills Symposium – 2015

Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese demonstrates how he teaches the reflex exam on a real patient in front of an audience of clinical educators.

On September 28th & 29th, 2015, the Stanford Medicine 25 team hosted the first annual bedside exam symposium for clinicians and educators. The purpose was to share how we do bedside teaching and allow them to improve upon their bedside exam skills.

Learn more about past and upcoming symposiums on the bedside exam:

http://stanfordmedicine25.stanford.ed…

Visit the Stanford Medicine 25:

Website: http://stanfordmedicine25.stanford.edu/

Blog: http://stanford25blog.stanford.edu/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StanfordMedic…

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StanfordMed25

Google+: http://goo.gl/UBM7SP”

Dr Verghese it appears is some kind of powerhouse of the medical profession.

However, we are more concerned with whether he produces a great relaxing video.

It starts with the inevitable music, but fortunately, this is short and not excessively loud. Dr Verghese has a calm sounding voice but the video is a presentation so he isn’t completely quiet here.

The video has the benefit of being an interesting one as well, perhaps it will prove to be a distraction from your concerns about insomnia.

This is a definite candidate for the Procrastination Pen playlist I think.

It is from the channel Stanford Medicine 25, this channel has eighty-five videos and so a few if we were looking to review them all (perhaps that will happen with time but not all in this one post).

Our video is found in the playlist Skills Symposium – 2015

Normally this would therefore be the subject of our blog post. However there are seventeen videos in this playlist and given it is a symposium, some of those videos are rather long.

I think therefore we will focus on presentations from this symposium that feature Dr Verghese. This is a subset of the videos in this playlist. However, I suspect we will return to the others in the future.

Purpose and History of the Stanford 25 by Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

The same music, a similar start up format. So far, so expected for a professional video.

Dr Verghese remains excellent in this. Sadly, for us it is a bit more interactive with laughter at intervals, for example. I’ll include it in the Procrastination Pen playlist for now (as you know this list gets reviewed constantly, and those videos which turn out not to be relaxing enough after extensive exposure get archived from this list).

An extract from the notes is as follows: “27 Apr 2016  Skills Symposium – 2015

Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks at the opening of the Skills Symposium about the purpose and history of the Stanford Medicine 25.”

Why are We Doing this Teaching? – Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

“Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks why we’re doing this bedside exam teaching.”

A different but equally unwelcome start up jingle. However, Dr Verghese remains consistent in having a great voice. Although at just over one minute you are not getting a lot of it.

The 5-Minute Bedside Moment – Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford Skills Symposium)

“Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks about the 5-Minute Bedside Moment: our tool for teaching the physical exam at the bedside.”

He might be talking about the five minute bedside moment but he is taking two and three quarter minutes to do so.

Start-up music tick, notes, tick, same presentation tick. This consistency is such an asset when one video of a series is a good one (less good if it is a bad one). In this case these have all been good videos in terms of delivery and I shall be looking out for Dr Verghese videos in the future.

That is it for this time, thank-you for reading and I hope you get a restful night’s sleep.

The Stanford Medicine 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 Jonathan Fink on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

If you have not been here before, Hi and welcome. This series of blog articles is designed to help you fall asleep. It intends to do this is by the creation of a long list of YouTube videos enclosed in a YouTube playlist in which every one of the videos has been reviewed (some of them several times).

The playlist is always at the end of one of these articles so if you are not keen to do much reading, you can scroll straight to the end and go to the playlist. My advice is always to watch it on YouTube itself because then you can watch in shuffle mode which randomises the order. The videos occur in the order that they are reviewed, which means videos by the same individual tend to occur together. Listening in sequence has the potential to get a bit samey at intervals.

Today, I am reviewing a video that cropped up due to a search using an old favourite “ROM and MMT” search which we have covered before.

This is connected with Occupational Therapy and does tend to produce a range of good ASMR-y (technical term) videos.

Measuring Edema, ROM, MMT

This for us is a fairly lengthy video at just over half an hour. Typically, recently, we have been dealing with shorter videos. But forget the length, how does it measure up?

Unusually for some of the more recent videos we’ve seen this one has notes and they are informative notes. “25 Mar 2021

UE Capstone Assignment for TWU – Masters of Occupational Therapy”. Comments are turned off which is helpful because it keeps the vicious commentators at bay.

The notes seem to refer to Texas Women’s University.

The medical professional here is Jordan Hanigan who is listed in the 2020 Cohort.

There is even a title page to the video “TWU-Houston, ROM, MMT, Edema, Jordan Butler – 03/24/2021”

I was convinced that was spelled “oedema” but obviously not. In any case, March a few years ago is positively yesterday compared to some of the material we have been covering.

There is then a follow up page “ROM, MMT, Edema, Due to scheduling, I used three participants to fill the content of this video. Participants consisted of my spouse, sibling and lab partner. Covid restrictions were upheld for the safety of all individuals.” No clue as to the names of these participants. Although the first “patient” is introduced as “Ashlin” (probably misspelled). I assume Ashlin is the “lab partner” referred to in the second title page.

The video starts reasonably quietly but has the kind of background noise that we have become used to from student videos. (Air conditioning noises, other students talking in the background, furniture noises and so on). This is a shame because it would seem that Jordan has a good calming voice and a methodical approach towards the examination with no sign of hesitation or rushing.

At intervals, at least, the chatter dies down even if the air conditioning is a constant companion.

I notice that cars are passing on the road outside and they appear like small model cars so I assume this is filmed at some elevation. Not that you will notice if you are using this video to get to sleep.

The video then switches to a domestic setting – different setting, different noise level, now we have “Stu” who I assume is the spouse referred to in the second title page.

After a flurry of adverts of a quite distracting volume (when I was watching it anyway) it becomes a lot quieter. The volume really does seem quite a bit down on the start. This might be an issue if you’re lying in stupor and don’t fancy rolling over to push the volume control. However, the approach remains methodical and Jordan still has a good voice so I think I’ll let it pass. This video might get removed from the Procrastination Pen playlist at a future review. (It also has the benefit that all the background noise of the early part of the video is just not there).

By now, people will be used to the “don’t let me move you” prompt. This seems a standard phrase in Occupational Therapy.

Some of the abbreviations used seem confusing.

But working out what the definitions mean doesn’t necessarily help

• Abductor pollicis longus (APL)

• Extensor pollicis longus (EPL)

• Extensor pollicis brevis (EPB)

• Flexor retinaculum (FR)

• Pronator quadratus (PQ)

The video then goes straight to Megan (which might be misspelled). I assume Megan is the sibling spoken of in the second title page, possibly younger sibling but I am terrible at predicting ages. Jordan was nee Butler so I’d have to guess Megan Butler therefore.

Having the video segue from section to section like this is distracting. I would much prefer it was three separate videos of which the latter two are better because the background noise is absent. The section with Megan is a bit echoey.

Perhaps the room with the TV has a very high ceiling or something. It is domestic again. The clues are large sofa, large TV on cabinet, corner pot plant, rug on floor and so on.

It is possible that this latter section of the video is the better one in ASMR terms. However, part way through there is the noise of someone possibly sneezing in an adjacent room, this seems a hazard with a number of these assessment videos. Presumably it is impossible to tell people to “KEEP IT DOWN” whilst trying to video such things.

There is a dog objecting to being restrained somewhere with what sounds like a chain clanging against a door, that is pretty distracting too.

Eventually someone works out that the dog should be put somewhere else and it settles down.

In ASMR terms it would be better split into three. Perhaps discard the first section altogether and edit the latter two to get rid of the most distracting noises. Of course, we do not get that option. There are many restful moments in the video so I’m going to let the less restful ones slide. It might be that it will join the dreaded Procrastination Pen archive list in the future.

The channel is Jordan Hanigan but we are not going to get our ASMR kicks on the back of it because it contains only two videos.

The above one and this one:

OT Assessment Binder_ Jordan Butler

This is the older video and is not a medical examination as such. It literally seems to be running through a binder of course material. Perhaps it is a way of verifying that the work was actually done. Jordan’s voice is not as restful in this video and the rapid turning of pages is distracting.

I think that this one is not for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

So this time, just the one video. Perhaps you’ll be hungry for more material the next time we meet on this blog.

One video means no Jordan Hanigan playlist 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 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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

I’m sure this happens to a number of people who write blog articles. I often find that in reading back through the blog, I am not convinced that I wrote it. Certainly, there seem to be some articles that do not sound like me at all, as if I had on a Hyacinth Bucket accent whilst typing it. In any case, the endeavour is to produce high-quality output of the type that many of you will desire to read on a weekly basis. If you find that to be true do tell all your friends, by the way.

By this time, we are some way into the journey that has been “Sleeping With ASMR” such that many of you will be familiar with how it has worked so far. This is also how it is probably going to continue to work, unless one day I decide to shake things up a bit.

To fill in the gaps for anyone new to the blog, it exists to review YouTube videos. Each week I will find a video and review it to see if it might be helpful in the drive to encourage the restless to restful. I will focus on whether it is sufficiently quiet and whether the participants have a pleasant, relaxing voice. I will also point out the detractors such as loud equipment noises, oppressive air conditioning, background chatter and so on and so fifth.

Many of the videos I find are posted on a YouTube channel containing more than one video. Where this is the case, I will frequently take the opportunity to look at other videos from that channel to determine if any others would be great for relaxation or better still, could produce ASMR symptoms in those lucky enough to have them.

This week a video which is slightly less than fifteen and a quarter minutes in length, which is not lengthy in comparison with some we have seen.

Respiratory Assessment

Immediately the medical professional has a good quiet voice. Even though the style is of a presentation it is not overly loud which makes a nice change.

The video continues quietly and without extraneous noises, which is great to hear (or not hear perhaps). The video cuts at intervals abruptly from one scene to another, but if you are listening you may well not notice.

It does cut to background breathing noises which might be off-putting for some people. Also, the narrator abruptly changes to someone who is a bit louder (but still not overly loud).

I think I’ll put this in the Procrastination Pen playlist, but it might be subject to weeding in the future.

The channel is:

University of Manitoba Nursing Skills, there are eighty videos and 55K subscribers.

The University of Manitoba turns out to be a university in Western Canada.

Of course, it has its own channel with 1.2K videos as at today’s date. However, experience tells us that these will be predominantly about promoting the university and little to do with ASMR (unless it is quite exceptional).

The medical professional in the video chosen above appears in quite a number of the others. This makes slimming down those eighty videos to a number that can be comfortably reviewed in one blog post less straightforward.

However, as luck would have it the video selected occurs in an existing playlist:

Health Assessment

I will focus on the videos in this playlist, but I may well return to this channel in the future.

There are four further videos in this playlist as follows:

Abdominal Assessment

This video is a little under seven and a quarter minutes. It starts quietly again. There remains no clue as to the participants. The approach is gentle and considered.

This one is a substantial improvement on the first one selected in that there are no intrusive breathing noises added. No doubt for their educational rather than restful value (that is the point of the video after all).

CVS & PVS Assessment

This one is just less than seventeen and a half minutes so the longest we have seen so far and in fact the longest of the five videos in the playlist. At odds with other professional videos we have seen this one has no associated notes. But at least comments are denied (We’ve seen enough bizarre and rude comments to last a long time).

The presenter’s voice is really excellent and if it were not for the odd equipment noise or inserted sound track these videos would be up there with some of the better ones reviewed so far. As it is I will put them all to protracted listening review and if those extraneous noises prove off-putting, I will consign them to the archive list.

This one starts as beautifully quiet as the others. However, there are inserted heart beat sounds which may be off-putting to some people, they are louder than the medical professional for example. There is also a set of pulse sounds and associated crackles which are not fantastic either.

Neurological Assessment

This one is less than seven and a half minutes and as before it starts quietly. We discover that the “patient” is called Justin but still no means of determining who the presenter is. It is consistently quiet and so quite possibly the best one of the set so far.

Integumentary System Assessment

This is the shortest one of the videos featured in this article at just over six and a quarter minutes. It has the same approach as the others and so is equally quiet and well presented. I also like the intonation that the presenter uses, your mileage may vary. The medical professional is very gentle in approach and the video appears to be to be relaxing. Thankfully this one does not have any added noises. That is welcome given so many of the others do have this.

Overall this is a good playlist. I will add them to the Procrastination Pen playlist but some of them, I have a suspicion, will be weeded in the future.

The University of Manitoba Nursing Skills 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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

For those of you who have been following the blog the subject matter will not come as any surprise or the purpose of this writing. For everyone else welcome to the blog. It exists purely to review unintentional ASMR videos, to locate the best ones and to create a playlist of those videos.

The aim is to find the most relaxing videos on YouTube (or occasionally from elsewhere) which can be used to help you drift off to sleep, get back to sleep when you wake up in the middle of the night, and to completely fail to disrupt your sleep due to loud music, loud equipment noises or strange contributions from the air conditioning.

This week, a video which seems to fit into the range of student assessment videos, of which, we have seen more than a few already.

The entire Channel contains fifteen videos which is way more than I usually review at one sitting. However, as you can see the longest of these is less than seven minutes, such that I may make an exception in this case.

The video is this one:

Head, Face, and Neck

It is barely longer than three minutes so it isn’t going to take long to listen to. The medical professional is Leah and it is safe to assume that it is she who owns the channel (as we shall see).

The volume track is muted and sounds distant as if being recorded under water. There is the ever-present sound of air conditioning (which we’ve heard often before).

The approach is gentle and methodical. However, there is the noise of people apparently talking in the background. This is heavily muted though and so in this specific case, is none too intrusive.

The video has no comments and it looks like it is unlikely that we will find out where it was filmed. Although posted in 2023, of course, it could have been filmed at any time.

The channel is Leah Barlow and has eighty five subscribers – which isn’t a huge number in comparison to some we have seen.

There are fifteen videos which is a large number for any single blog post. However, in overview it appears that Leah appears with a different “patient” in several of these videos. Therefore, if we stick with Leah and the patient featured in this video, we have a much more restrictive list (we can return to Leah in a future blog post).

Musculoskeletal Exam Practice

This is slightly longer at five- and three-quarter minutes but still not particularly taxing in terms of attention. It is almost identical in terms of sound with the last one. I think the patient states her name as Mackenzie and d.o.b. 2/15/01 which for those of us in the UK is 15/02/2001. However, I had a hard time making that out and the spelling is probably incorrect in any case.

Again, the presentation is muted in comparison to the background noise which includes a healthy amount of chatter coming through from adjacent rooms.

There are loud noises as footwear drops to the floor, which may cause this one to ultimately be dropped from the Procrastination Pen playlist. (Off-putting noises are the commonest reason for dropping videos into the archive list). It is not the first time I have wished that I could alter a video in order to eliminate such noises, given that a number of videos are excellent in part, and dire in another part.

At intervals there are raised (even excited) voices from an adjacent room and this proves to be quite distracting.

There are also noises from the equipment as the “patient” moves around.

Neuro Exam Practice

Just over six and a half minutes and if anything, the background noise is trying for a starring role. The video proceeds as for the two we have already reviewed. It is gentle, methodical and, background noise allowing, relatively quiet. If there was a God of air conditioning then a few sacrifices need to be made to appease him or her. There are loud equipment noises and some hilarity about the loud equipment noises. (This will probably see it dropped into the archive list). Mackenzie seems to have developed a cold as there is much snivelling and coughing.

This one is really too loud, including some quite energised chatter from an adjacent room.

There is also entertainment due to the fact that Mackenzie proves to be ticklish.

Cardiac Exam

A bit over four and a quarter minutes. There is loud knocking to start with. Mackenzie seems to say that her surname is Delavaso, but it probably isn’t that at all. The air conditioning has started playing drums for Motorhead but thankfully the background chatter has settled to the level of irritating that can be safely ignored (I think).

Thorax and Lungs Exam

Four minutes long. Loud knocking to start, as before. More loud equipment noises more air conditioning noises, but the conversationalists have decided all the loud discussions of previous videos were dreadfully rude and so a background murmur is all that can be heard.

It would be truly quite a good video if the clunks and clangs of the equipment didn’t attend every movement of Mackenzie. Not the first time equipment noises have proved to be a deal breaker for this blog though.

Cardiac Practice

A little under five minutes and the microphone is now officially inside the air conditioning outlet. The voices in this are heavily masked by the sound of forced air.

This really isn’t suitable for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

Ear exam

Less than two and a half minutes, in other respects similar to previous videos. Leah has a good voice but the extraneous noises are at intervals off-putting or irritating.

I’m inclined to include this one, if only because it is so short.

Nose, mouth, throat exam

A bit more than four and a quarter minutes. The knocking at the start seems a little more muted but the background conversation has reasserted itself, somewhat irritatingly.

Mackenzie has an identity badge which could have told us where this is being filmed but sadly it is out of focus so I can’t make it out.

Leah seems much more hesitant in this one than the others we have seen here. There seems to be much hilarity again, so presumably both participants are uncomfortable with the process.

That’s it for this item, but I think we will be revisiting Leah in the future.

The Leah Barlow 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.

Until next time.

Photo by Tatyana Eremina on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

This week, for a change, I thought we’d look at a medical teaching video in the hope of finding some relaxing material. Actually, that’s no change at all as we have covered this channel and this institution in a previous blog post.

In that blog post I concluded that the sound quality really wasn’t all there. I limited the post to just five videos, concluding that a number of them were not going to make it to the Procrastination Pen playlist.

However, there was the matter of the remaining videos to review, so I thought I’d give the channel a second chance, in the hope that there is a diamond in the rough as it were.

As previously indicated the tutor is Justine Ward who desperately needs a better microphone and quieter surroundings to get the best sound on her videos. Sadly she has neither here.

The channel is Dominican College. The purpose of this set of videos is not completely clear. I do not think they were designed with audio quality in mind.

In which case I think I will limit myself to reviewing just five videos on this occasion as well.

September 22, 2019

A bit longer than the last (previous blog post) at four and three-quarter minutes.

It shares the same limitations as the others reviewed so far, in that the voice of the teaching professional seems to be at the end of a long tunnel.

One thing that does come across is how gentle she is with the “patient” in this. It is also the first time I have come across a video in which a person with restricted motion is reviewed (left shoulder).

Again, the video ends abruptly (this has become somewhat of a theme).

This appears to be a duplicate of the video called “C-spine and UE ROM screen 9/22/19”. We only need one in the playlist so I’ll drop this one.

September 22, 2019

Definitions again

Goniometer a device used to measure an angle.

Nares the nostrils.

Occiput the back of the skull.

Acromion the upper part of the shoulder.

It is interesting that the focus is on reimbursement based upon Insurance Companies. This is strange to a person in an NHS system that money payment for treatment is a contingent process, like stage payments on a mortgage. Health obviously having a very definite value in such a system.

It appears to be a duplicate of the one entitled “C-spine goniometry 9/22/19” we only need one in the playlist so I’ll drop this one.

September 22, 2019

Again, we see the extreme care taken in manipulating. With feedback felt about where rotation should cease. Any pressure on joints is applied with care.

September 22, 2019

Definitions:

Lateral epicondyle: the rounded bit on the outside of the elbow.

C-Spine and UE ROM screen 9/22/19

We can probably rattle through these barring any surprises because they are consistent in terms of sound quality.

C-spine Goniometry 9/22/19

We covered this above as the second September 22, 2019 video.

The Dominican College 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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

According to a guide I was reading recently, in order to be successful in the cut and thrust world of blog posts this really should be entitled “Ten ways to the sleep you’re hoping for” or similar. Apparently, I should have researched my audience so that I know I’m targeting a fifty-year-old non-smoker living in West Wales with her five cats and a small moped called Nigel.

As you can tell, I have not done that.

So if by some miraculous twist of fate you have happened across this blog post, welcome. I hope that you enjoy and if you feel so disposed tell all of your ASMR-loving friends. If you are living with multiple cats and a moped, or if you are not.

Today we are looking at a video from an establishment that even I have heard of. I am hopeful that it’s expertise also churns out medical professionals with a gentle deliberate manner and calm attentive voices.

Percussion of the Chest (Stanford Medicine 25)

It begins with a funky tune which, sadly has become the norm for such videos. However, the medical professional’s voice is actually quite good. This is quite obviously an instruction video but lacks the elevated volume and strident delivery of many such videos.

The “patient” is Geoff (or possibly Jeff). As usual for such videos some of the comments are not particularly relevant or even complimentary. I am beginning to prefer the videos where commentary is denied altogether.

A search around the Internet reveals that this is Dr. Abraham Verghese who even has his own Wikipedia entry and website.

(I wonder if it is feasible to create a Wikipedia entry for yourself, that could be quite fun).

This is not as great as Dr James Gill but is a worthy addition to the playlist, I think. The video is part of a playlist

In which there are only two videos. The second of which is

Stigmata of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Stanford Medicine 25)

(The same patient, the same medical professional, the same institution).

Again, with the funky music, which, thankfully is soon over. This is equally as good as the last one.

Sadly, it is also quite brief.

So, a brief playlist today but it would seem that we need to follow up with Dr Verghese in the future as he may be a great source of future ASMR videos. Look out for future posts of this type. The Stanford Medicine playlist is here:

The Procrastination Pen overall playlist is here:

I continue to harry this list with demands for ASMR perfection and so at intervals one or more videos drop from this list to the “playlist of Hades” (I mean the Procrastination Pen Archive list):

I keep them here in case I have demoted one of your favourites and you make a reasoned argument why I should restore it to Heaven’s glory (I mean the overall playlist.)

The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:

I hope that you have a restful sleep listening to the playlist. If you do why not subscribe to the blog (even I don’t know what is coming up next and it would be a shame to miss it wouldn’t it).

I Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae