Recently I had occasion to browse YouTube using a smart TV. The app for YouTube browsing turns out to be a cut down of the version available via a web browser. For a start the shuffle function does not exist, the ability to skip adverts does not crop up and it took some searching to find the Procrastination Pen channel at all.
However, I am pleased to report that despite all that, the playlist still stands up pretty well even when forced to play each video in order. Some of those early videos have become like old friends now.
It also gave me the chance to identify the odd one that is ripe for weeding and push it over into the archive list – by this mechanism does the main Procrastination Pen playlist keep being refined and improved.
Today’s video is this one:
Head-to-Toe Assessment NR 304
Comments are permitted and we can see that ASMR fans have already been here and done that. NR304 turns out to be a nursing exam. The online references to it appear to come from Chamberlain University College of Nursing but that is not to say it is the only university to offer it.
The video is twelve and three quarter minutes long so a good average length for a medical examination video. And this seems to be again another video produced by students as part of their course. (we have a great deal of experience of this now and the results can be somewhat variable).
There is some background noise. There are conversations happening nearby both are quite distracting.
The medical professional is “Nadia”. She has a great voice which is somewhat overshadowed by the other conversations just off camera.
The “patient” is Jackie Santiago (almost certainly misspelled) with DoB 6/9/97. However, thereby is a trap for the unwary, this is the US dating system so almost certainly 09/06/1997, so June therefore.
Each of the participants has a tunic with a crest on it which is just a little too fuzzy for me to make out the name of the institution.
However, the Chamberlain University College of Nursing has a very similar logo.
So it could be that this is the location.
Chamberlain appears to be in Addison Illinois and unsurprisingly it has its own YouTube channel.
This is filled with the kind of promotional videos we have come to expect from such channels.
The channel is Nadia Hussain. This has just one video posted there years ago at the time I am looking at it, yet despite this there are four hundred and two subscribers. This is quite amazing and possibly speaks to the ASMR-y nature of this video.
I would completely be in accordance with that if the extraneous noises were not punctuating this video. It is also a shame, given the nature of her voice, that Nadia did not post any further videos.
In the brief intervals where no conversations from elsewhere are overheard this is a very good video. It even lacks oppressive air conditioning noises (which is very rare as we know).
Sadly, there is no more from Nadia, she does not seem to have any other channel, so presumably she went on to make good her career and never looked back. Good luck Nadia, but very sad for us.
So until next time then.
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.
Some people have echoed the concern that the material to write a blog dedicated to ASMR is soon enough going to dry up and I shall come to an abrupt halt. Recently, however I have signed up to an ASMR group on Facebook. This group receives ASMR posts daily and a great many of them. It seems likely that there will always be ASMR material. It also seems that the popularity of ASMR isn’t going to wane in the short term. ASMR seems to have now been established as an interest for a sufficient time that I think it unlikely that this is a fashion or a fad.
What will perhaps be more challenging is the area I have chosen to explore, which is of ASMR-inducing videos where that was not the initial intent of the video. I find this a great deal more interesting, like uncovering a diamond in a coal mine.
It does mean quite a bit of work in sifting through the very many unsuitable videos. However, the mental reward when the like of Hollie Berry or Shane Brun are discovered does to some extent compensate for that. Although, unsurprisingly, there are many more videos which are not of that calibre.
Every once in a while, I will take a side route to illustrate videos that are not quite on theme but might be of interest. If, one day, I cease to discover new inadvertent ASMR there is always the world of professional ASMR to take a look at. It might even be that readers of this blog will encourage that direction, perhaps to advertise their own ASMR material, for example.
For now, I have another video to look at.
Head to Toe Assessment: Greta Garber
This is quite brief in terms of the videos we have looked at of late, at just over six and a quarter minutes.
The notes are informative: “18 Nov 2020
Head to Toe Assessment done by Greta Garber on November 18th for NSG 261 Skills Test #2”
NSG261 appears to be one in a series of exams with NSG262 and NSG263 material also being readily available in terms of study guides, quizzes, advice and so on. So it does not appear to uniquely identify a specific institution. Where colleges offer NSG courses these seem to be in relation to a nursing qualification, so it might be that NSG is just an odd abbreviation for nursing.
Greta Garber is the medical professional in this video, the “patient” is Audrey Stephens (almost certainly misspelled). Given this is filmed in 2020 it might have been when Greta was at Miami University.
Miami, of course has its own channel with around hundred and ninety-seven videos at the time I am looking at it. However, we have experience of university channels now and mostly they are about promoting the university (unsurprisingly) and experience tells us it is a poor source for ASMR material.
The address is given which sounds like “233 Gaslin”, but which almost certainly is nothing like that. Many of the commentators have mentioned that whoever is handling the camera probably had a bad cold that day, or at the least is used to breathing through their mouth. At times it sounds like someone trying to make a certain kind of telephone call.
The poster for Phi Mu turns out to be a “fraternity” at Miami. I’m not at all informed about what a fraternity would do or why they exist. This one seems to exist as a way to meet like-minded women, which amongst other things, seems to be involved in some charitable events. Perhaps that is why all fraternities exist. Interestingly, the word seems to originate with the term brotherhood, which makes its re-use as a term to define a group of women interesting. American websites seem to more typically use the term “Sorority” to define a group like this. I’m not sure of the ramifications (which could potentially be political).
Although it starts a bit energetically – it seems like it was quite hard to take it all seriously – the video settles down and becomes quite gentle (in places anyway).
The channel is Greta Garber there are four videos of which this one is by far the most recent. The others do not look very promising as ASMR candidates.
cheer winter
Given the music and photographic content I would say it is a nostalgic celebration of success designated for participants only. Definitely of no use for an ASMR video.
meniscus
well, the title is medical so it promises to be more interesting. The music at the start is a lot less so. It is slightly over two and a half minutes so really not very long. The video includes the channel owner and someone called Kayla, who on the face of it has a much better voice.
It was obviously filmed in the equivalent of a canteen with the background noise that we have come to expect from such locations. It then appears to move to a more medical room with a similar level of noise. There is the air conditioning unit running which could have doubled as a cooling plant at Chernobyl. It could have been a very good video in principle but I think it is more likely to keep you awake than lull you off to sleep.
VOTE GRETA GARBER FOR SECRETARY
Loud, so loud. Really not at all what we want to hear.
So that’s it. Not a huge one this time I’m afraid, but I’m sure that we will have next time another for your delectation.
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.
In a previous blog post I pointed out that there was a whole page of videos on the Internet that had no affiliation (that I could determine) to YouTube, and that therefore I was unable to embed in a WordPress page for viewing.
In addition, I felt that the videos could be better shown to you if I took them and uploaded them to YouTube on my channel. However, I am not a copyright expert, and in my amateur way rather thought some very well-paid people in threatening clothing might send me a formally-written letter if I tried it.
So I looked out for a contact email and found that the owner Dr Michael Koller had died. This is not only very sad but very regrettable in that I could not ask him if I could upload these videos to my channel on YouTube. I have approached Stritch via email, but each time I look at the website there seems to be another email to try and so to date I have not received permission (or a flat refusal) to use them.
The upshot is that the blog posts on this page tend to be a little dry as they are not dotted with friendly-looking embedded videos. However, given I habitually recommend that you go to YouTube to play the videos in my usual posts, and in this case, you simply have to go to the page to play the videos, there isn’t a great deal of difference.
I would feel that I wasn’t doing my part in telling you about the material that is out there if I simply limited myself to YouTube.
However, I don’t want to dwell too long on material that cannot be actively linked to (other than via URL) so although it will make this blog post a long one, I intend to cover off the remaining videos on that page in this blog post.
As part of this process, we satisfied ourselves that where there were complete and part videos under the same title. That the part videos were simply parts of that complete one. That is, you could get the material from all the part videos simply by watching the complete one. This will save time here; I can link the part videos for interest but cover only the complete videos. In addition, the included text files seem to only be of academic interest to those on the course for whom it was intended, so we have no need to review those.
15 Minute Screening Neuro Exam; Dr Michael Merchut
This starts quietly and thankfully devoid of startup music. The video is just over twelve minutes in length. Dr Merchut turns out to have a great ASMR voice, and had this been available on YouTube it would have been in the Procrastination Pen playlist. This is a loss to the list and to the ASMR community.
I’ll ignore the part videos as they have nothing extra to contribute. The complete video starts with startup music, which fortunately is neither too long nor too loud. Dr Merchut returns and gives a reasonably lengthy introductory speech. The entire video is a little over forty seven and a half minutes.
His voice is not quite so excellent in this one, but this is in comparison with the last one which was actually rather good.
Nancy again the “patient”. She featured in our previous blog post.
Again, I think if this video had been on YouTube, then it would have already been in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Again, I’ll focus on the complete video only. In this case it features Dr Koller. We know that we are on safe ground with Dr Koller, in fact we have already added one of his videos to the Procrastination Pen playlist from YouTube.
This also begins with startup music but this time it is really going for it. The video quality is also on the abysmal side of poor. The sound has the normal background we would expect by now (air conditioning again).
The video is a little less than twenty-three and a half minutes. The initial presentation style is a little halting and, although this is the point of the video, it proves to be distracting.
Dr Koller is doing the narration which is great but somewhat intermittent (more narration by Dr Koller would be welcome as he has a good voice).
The music then kicks in again at breaks in the video. The sound has a metallic edge to it.
Although Dr Koller is as good as we are used to, the way the video is structured makes it more stimulating than anyone really needs when they are trying to get to sleep. Even if it were possible, I do not think that this one would be finding its way into the Procrastination Pen playlist.
This time just one video available, again with Dr Koller. This is just less than twenty-five and a quarter minutes and thank goodness there is no startup music. There is an ever-present air conditioning background drone though.
Dr Koller still has a good voice for our purposes. In this case though, I’m not certain the subject matter is that fascinating to anyone who isn’t in the medical profession. However fascinating is not that useful in getting off to sleep so this video might be a great fit.
Part way through we have loud clunks due to equipment noises (metal drawers being pushed in and out), just the kind of noise to stir someone from sleep as they were dozing off.
A great deal of thought has gone into the positioning of gowns and drapes in this video and apart from equipment noises, it is a good video for us. It’s a shame about the equipment as otherwise it would have been a great Procrastination Pen playlist candidate (well had it been on YouTube in any case).
Full Body Skin Exam; Estelle Kahn MS4 and Dr Anthony Peterson
In this case there is no “complete” video, so no choice other than to review each in turn.
Unfortunately, there is start up music and it is really dynamic stuff too. Estelle initially does not have a true ASMR voice, sometimes this happens when the person is presenting rather than examining someone however.
This introduction is a little over four minutes in length. If you are watching it is slightly distracting that Estelle seems to be reading a script which is slightly off camera.
I’m pretty sure that even had I the opportunity, this one would not be in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
It starts with door opening noises which are a little distracting. We see this in student assessment videos of course, soft-close not being a thing in medical establishments.
Dr Peterson has an excellent voice. He might be worth checking for elsewhere in case there is other material available. As expected, Estelle’s voice is much more muted during the examination. The examination is gentle and methodical and the whole video lasts only a little under nine and a quarter minutes. There are occasional equipment noises, equipment not having been designed to slide quietly in use apparently. All-in-all it is quite a good video. If it had been on YouTube this would be a strong Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
Dr Peterson presenting and this is great as he has by far the better voice for us. There is no startup music – yay. There are occasional loud moments; watch the volume. Dr Peterson appears to be consulting notes at intervals, although if you’re just listening you will not notice that. The whole video is somewhat under three and a half minutes. This would’ve been a good Procrastination Pen playlist candidate (had it been on YouTube).
Reviewing the complete video again, the entire video is thirty-seven and a quarter minutes. It starts with some positively starship enterprise style music; very grand; very distracting. Straight away we seem to be in the soundscape of a public area, there is some kind of hubbub in play. Dr De Stefani is narrating this one. He does not have as good a voice as Dr Peterson sadly. There are telephone noises which Dr De Stefani has to talk over.
When the examination of the baby commences it quietens down a great deal. Of course with examination of a baby, the baby starts to complain about it. Not substantially so though. In fact, this was a good baby to choose as she appears to be so chilled under examination. After a while she does lose patience and lets us have it crying wise.
Background medical establishment noises continue; a repeating electronic beep sound at one stage, sounds of other babies at some distance who are a bit less chilled, muted conversations from adjacent rooms, distant equipment noises, an occasional telephone and of course the continuous accompaniment of air conditioning noises.
Although this is in part a great video, I think these distracting noises would discount it from the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Definition:
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome: effects that occur as a result of a mother drinking (alcohol) while pregnant.
Just the one video to look at a little over twelve minutes and it starts with startup music and there is a constant background hiss happening as if the entire thing was recorded on an LP and then poorly stored.
For some reason after a minute that hiss disappears entirely. Dr Sterling does not have a natural ASMR voice but by no means the worst that we have heard.
The delivery is measured and even and accompanied only by the hmm of air conditioning.
It’s sad about the start as otherwise this could have been a good video for us.
Looking at the complete video then, it is just under twenty five and three quarter minutes. Dr Lento has an impressive voice, impressive in its volume I mean. After the start-up music it is quite surprising to find the voice of the presenter louder than the music.
The “patient” is Sal – or that is what it sounds like. The volume also exposes the metallic sound to the audio track which we encountered with a previous video in this blog article.
This video really isn’t a suitable one for our purposes.
Only one video to review, eleven and three quarter minutes and again with the startup music. The videos are now starting to fall into a theme. Dr Bill Hopkinson who immediately has a better voice for us. He is quieter, more measured in expressing himself but he does attempt to compensate for that with the loudest washing of his hands I have encountered thus far.
We encounter Sal again as the “patient” – they obviously had him around and so were going to make good use of him. This one seems to have less background noise, certainly less hiss than encountered in previously videos in this article.
The actual video quality is no better though, not that I suspect you would be watching in any case.
PCM2 Musculoskeletal Provocative Exam; Dr Neeru Jayanthi
In this case there is no “complete” video so there is no choice other than to review each video in turn.
Less than three quarters of a minute so do not blink. Dr Neeru Jayanthi who on the basis of this amazingly brief video has a good voice for our purposes. Eric is the “patient” here. There was still time to sneak in introductory music (boo), although the background noise for some reason is a great deal more muted in this one, probably not enough here for me to consider it for the procrastination pen playlist.
Just a bit more than three and a quarter minutes – none of these are winning any length contests. This would be a good candidate for the Procrastination Pen playlist if it ever appeared on YouTube (hint Stritch hint).
Just less than one- and three-quarter minutes probably not long enough for any playlist, in fact the way these are going it would be better to combine them into one long playlist – which I sense is probably how it was filmed in the first place and then they were divided up for (presumably) educational purposes.
Just over one- and three-quarter minutes, again no extraneous noises and a good presentation. A good combination of these videos would make one good one for the Procrastination Pen playlist – assuming anyone uploaded it to YouTube.
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.
You may remember the explanation of the origins of the term “sandwich breath” in one of the blog items previously. Here, in the comments, we have someone who refers to it. So I think it is safe to say that the ASMR community are all over this video already.
Neurological Exam Video
The introductory section tells us that the client is “Rachel”. Straight away, we get the feeling that we are back in the world of student videos of which we have seen the odd one before.
The participants who are unable to take it completely seriously, the background noise, the loud start to the video as if the medical professional is trying to project to an opera house, the participants in casual clothing. The location appears to be some kind of meeting room, rather than a hospital bed, we have a long table and chairs. In the background someone is tapping away on a laptop keyboard (the keys are quieter than expected for a desktop version). There is also the continuous noise of air conditioning which we know and dislike.
It is just shy of sixteen minutes. Ashley continues quite loud but Rachel has a much better voice. Fortunately, Rachel gets to contribute or we could pack our stuff and head home.
The camera person is a bit fidgety with a finger intruding into view occasionally – so far, so normal student video. At least the keyboard noise dissipates fairly early on.
Strangely where one would anticipate use of a tuning fork for sensing vibration someone raided the canteen and came back with an actual fork left over from lunch and is using the handle. As if Rachel was likely to get any sense of vibration from it. That’s probably one of the stranger pieces of student adaptability that I have seen this far. Many of the commentators also point this out.
The T-Shirt with Alpha Omicron Pi on it, is not much of a clue to location with many universities having one of these in both the United States and in Canada.
Then there is the use of a spoon as a reflex hammer, which I would think just would not work. However, it is attempted here, which is surreal to watch. However if you are using this video for sleep it is likely that you will not be watching as such.
There are six videos on this site which leaves five more for review.
All of them are posted four years ago which fits with requirements for a programme of study.
KINE 305 Introduction Video
Here Ashley self-reports attending Cal State St Marcos, and being in her fourth year there. Given the videos are all posted in the same year it is probable that all of them are connected with that course of study.
This university, of course, has its own website, which refers to KINE305 as being a course in Movement Anatomy.
California State St Marcos, as usual, has its own YouTube channel. This is exactly in line with our expectations: having lots of university promotional videos.
It looks like Ashley did a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science.
This is useful info but not a useful video for ASMR purposes. However, at least it confirms that the video is not a construct put together by a professional ASMR artist.
Mock Client Exam Video
Here we find that the client is called “Chris” and he really seems to have a very boomy voice. Either that or the recording equipment is trying too hard. There certainly is a lot of background noise, air conditioning again, I think.
There are no comments with this video so apparently no ASMR fans this time and I think there is a good reason for this. Rachel had the better voice in the first video and of course this time no Rachel.
The location looks domestic with another building visible through the window. Doors to what appears to be a cupboard are directly in view.
At intervals, the air conditioning starts to sound like a 1950s vehicle that has been revved rather manically and is flailing to recover. I guess if you live in conditions that require air conditioning you acclimatize to the constant noise, but it isn’t great for ASMR purposes.
Axial Exam Video KINE 305
The client is “Olivia”. It again appears to be a meeting room, however at least the air conditioning is a bit more under control than in the previous video. Ashley is a little quieter here (mostly) which is quite welcome. Olivia really has nothing to say and so I am not clear if she would have a good voice in ASMR terms.
Some people are talking away in a neighbouring room which provides a muted background to the sound at intervals.
Again, there are no comments so I assume no ASMR devotees. There are one hundred and forty nine subscribers though, I notice.
Orthopedic Exam Video
Here we have Chris again, who must sing bass, I think. He could make mahogany vibrate with that voice. It is back to a domestic setting, a kitchen this time. Here we discover that this is Christopher Carmichael (so reasonable to assume – brother). Again, Ashley seems to need to speak to us without the aid of microphone; her voice is really loud here.
At intervals the air conditioning goes all Apollo-space-program-rocket-launch. I think someone may need to replace some bearings or something like it.
All told, the video is not that great for our purposes.
Client Exercise Video
This is designed for someone called “Mike”, presumably a client or as I more usually refer to them “patient”.
It starts loud, but at least the air conditioning has been taken round the back and shot through the head.
We’re in a domestic setting again, a dining room potentially. The kitchen is visible (well an oven anyway).
It’s just that bit too loud, sadly, but I am in no doubt that “Mike” found it efficacious.
That is the last for Ashley on this particular YouTube channel, However Ashley has an alternative YouTube Channel I notice.
I’ve no idea why that should be (perhaps Ashley misplaced the password to access the other one). There is just one video on that channel which is three years more recent than the videos on the previous channel.
AT Final Project
This is just over half a minute so blink and you’ll miss it. Sadly, it decides to go with music as a backdrop and worse still funky loud music, eek and no no no.
That’s all the videos available. Only one video was worthy of consideration and that was really a stand out amongst this set. It was helped a great deal by “Rachel”. If I could work out who “Rachel” is I would stand some chance of finding her channel wherein there might be some great material.
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.
I’ve noticed when waking from a playlist-accompanied sleep that YouTube is not always respecting the use of shuffle and repeat functions. Recently I can wake up to some completely unknown (and non-ASMR related) video, usually accompanied by loud adverts.
I’m not certain what is causing this because the issue kicks in whilst I have been asleep. However, I am embarking on a weeding of the main playlist to try to ensure it contains only quality videos now. Some do not seem to have stood the test of time. I will keep monitoring in the hope that this resolves the issue. Perhaps a problematic video is the cause of the problem.
If anyone has seen this before (and better still resolved it), do please get in touch.
Today’s video is this one:
Lung Examination – Jessica Nishikawa
At just less than fourteen minutes not far off the normal length for videos we have seen on the way to creating the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Jessica Nishikawa initially starts a bit loud (well the video is designed as an educational vehicle) but has a good voice for our purposes. I think the patient might be called Makata (probably nothing like that spelling). There is a mountain in Hawaii called Makana so I would guess that is a much more likely name. I’ll stick with that as the spelling from this point onwards.
There is of course the background air conditioning noise that we are used to by now but it is not as oppressive as some we have heard.
Some of the comments are not study-related but there are no obvious comments from ASMR aficionados. Given how diligent such people are in seeking out material it is unlikely this is a brand new find, however.
The channel is Jessica Nishikawa, there are twenty-six videos on the channel which is a few too many to cover in any one blog post.
The old trick of narrowing down the videos to cover by choosing any available playlist is not going to work. There is only one playlist which does not appear to be on the same subject. You can see what I mean:
A quick visual review of the available videos though reveals that only a subset of them feature Makana as the “patient”. This seems an adequate way to focus down the videos for this review.
The next video to feature Makana is this one:
JVP Exam – Jessica Nishikawa
Like the previous one posted seven years ago and at not much over two minutes is quite a brief one. As a professional video of course, it includes notes: “29 Oct 2015
Jessica Nishikawa demonstrates the JVP examination.
Subscribe at / jessicanishikawa
Twitter @JessNishi”
This is consistent with the last one and also deserves a place in the Procrastination Pen playlist, I think.
The next video featuring Makana as the “patient” is this one:
Heart Exam – Jessica Nishikawa
A little halting to start, but it soon settles down. Again, there are several non-medical comments. Any video poster on YouTube must have to get used to such comments (or deny comments altogether, which on reflection, seems rather sensible).
The notes are similar for all the videos so I won’t document them for this one. This video is five minutes long, which isn’t exactly huge. It remains consistent with the last one. In fact, like all professionally-produced videos we have seen, if you like one of them it is quite a strong indication that you are going to like the remainder.
And that’s it for videos featuring Makana. However, we have now proven that the channel is rather a good source of relaxing videos and so I have every belief we will be back here again.
The Jessica Nishikawa playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The overall playlist of videos covered so far on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The videos weeded out because over time they are just not as good as the others is in this archive list:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop my listening to log on, this interrupts the 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.
In searching for new ASMR videos I’m prepared to try various avenues. You will have noticed that on occasion I do voyage away from the main theme, which to date has been medical (and similar) examination videos.
Despite the attrition of videos slowly being removed from YouTube, the Procrastination Pen playlist continues to grow and hence I can afford to be quite critical of its contents and to weed out those that are less desirable for sleep promotion than at first thought.
The overall playlist as usual appears at the end of this article, so if you are short of time scroll straight to the end and pick it up from there.
If you’re still reading, onto today’s idea.
Of late I have noticed that some gruff and loud presenters seem to calm down and go quiet when dealing with young people. Today’s is a foray into that area therefore.
It is this one:
Rachel Bridges Head to Toe Assessment
As expected, it is quiet, calm and methodically presented. The only thing I would say is that you might need to turn the volume up a bit.
At just over twenty-five minutes, it is quite a good length and it seems others think so too as the channel has over two thousand subscribers as at today’s date. However, (probably sensibly) comments are not permitted which means I cannot tell if ASMR fans have already tracked this down. (As we’ve seen before some comments are less than helpful).
The small person seems suitably entertained including being tickled at one stage, I think.
The medical institution is not identified. Rachel has an identification badge but I cannot make out what it says.
There is as expected continual background noise (probably air conditioning) as we’ve heard before.
I would guess from the orientation of the video (Portrait mode) that it was taken using a mobile phone or similar device.
Rachel maintains a conversation with the small person throughout, including in areas I thought they would find hard to comprehend.
I think this one belongs in the Procrastination Playlist, although it might be subject to future weeding.
This one is posted in 2018 to the following channel:
The videos on here range from five years ago to five months ago and there are only four of them. There has to be a reason why there are quite so many subscribers. I would make a wild guess some ASMR fans have got here before me.
Looking at the other videos:
September 15, 2017
Very brief, just over a minute and appears to be reading from a piece about nurse practitioners. Rachel has a good voice but this one does not seem to be a great fit for the playlist. I think this might be an assessment piece for a course which is in line with other videos that have been featured before.
Another very brief video:
January 20, 2023
This one is on the role of a psychiatric nurse mental health practitioner, again, it is reading from a script and is not a good fit for the playlist.
The next one is another “Head to Toe” but without the small person (the person involved is more adult sized). Let’s see if my theory about people changing behaviour based on whether a person is a young person is supported by the second video.
The video is this one:
R.Bridges Head to toe assessment
Straight away the presentation is a lot faster than the last “Head to Toe” on this channel, and a lot less measured. However, the tone remains quiet. The presentation is so fast in places I am not sure what medical terminology is in use.
I have a feeling that the “patient” here actually has a slightly better voice (than Rachel). However, he gets little to say (he is also unidentified).
Comments are permitted but there are no comments that are helpful to us (such as where this is for example).
However, at one stage the badge comes into view and I believe it states “NP Student” at “Indiana Wesleyan”.
So at least we have identified the location, if not the “patient”.
We’re back to landscape mode with this one but the background noise persists. The volume is slightly louder, not markedly, but I would say the approach is less gentle (than the first video in this article).
It is just over nineteen and a half minutes so still a good length and on balance I would say also belongs in the Procrastination Pen playlist. However, I keep reviewing this playlist and videos get demoted to the archive playlist all the time based upon their long-term sleep promotion effects (or otherwise).
The video goes out of focus at one stage but, given you will not be watching but lying there praying for sleep whilst listening, I think that’s unlikely to affect you.
As is not atypical for assessment videos. There are occasional thuds as equipment is relocated – in the past I have weeded videos for this, and this one might be another that goes the same way.
I notice that (like me) the patient has apparent problems with the heel to toe exercise (not great if you have dodgy balance).
So a couple of videos from Rachel worthy of conclusion and so, as is habitual on this site, I have created a Rachel Bridges playlist:
The main playlist on the Procrastination pen is (as always) here:
The archive list of videos which whilst once in that main list were found over time to be less listenable than at first thought is here:
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I hope that you continue to find them restful
If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.
After quite a few blog posts and a rather large number of draft blog items which never saw the light of day, I still remain interested in ASMR videos. I still listen to the Procrastination Pen playlist most days. I rely on it to drop off to sleep, commonly if I wake up stark awake in the early hours of the morning. For this reason I have high hopes that if you are reading this in the hope of getting some insomnia relief, especially if you know that you are susceptible to ASMR symptoms, that at least one of the videos I have found so far will become one of your favourites.
As is now typical the full Procrastination Pen playlist is referenced at the end of this blog item. If you are short of time scroll all the way down to it – hop over to YouTube – hit the shuffle function and get some restful moments.
If instead you’re keen to find out what new video I have happened across in my searches, it is this one:
Skin: Demo Exam
Back to the funky music which we know and are not at all fond of. It starts off a little energetically but it soon settles down.
It’s a professional video and, as we have seen before, it comes with a reasonable set of notes “17 Feb 2016
In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused skin exam is conducted by Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD. https://www.drboham.com/
N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”
Comments are denied (probably wise) so I cannot tell if other ASMR fans are here before me, but with a video like this, the odds are that they have been.
It is just over three minutes so a short one for us but it is calm and measured. Dr Boham has a good voice for us I think and is worthy of checking further – in case she features in other, similar videos.
It has 2710 subscribers and is therefore popular and with twenty videos on the day I’m looking at it that is quite some achievement. (Some sites we have seen have many more videos than that).
There are four playlists and the great thing is that there is one playlist dedicated to Dr Boham – this makes life a great deal easier. The play list Skin Exam
has four videos of which the above one is video two in the set.
At first sight the others look less promising. They appear to be more presenting than medical examination as such. However, it is worth giving them a proper review.
Sadly, there is no relief from the funky start up music, people love their brand even if it keeps other people awake!
This starts out as a presentation by Dr Boham which is not reassuring. However Dr Boham does have a good voice for us. The downside is that at every interval (within what is a very short video at only four and three quarter minutes) the funky music plays again. This gets rather tiresome.
The notes are as follows:
“14,451 views 17 Feb 2016
In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused skin exam introduction is conducted by Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD.
N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”
However, I have come over all charitable (Dr Boham does have a rather good voice) so I am going to include this in the Procrastination Pen playlist for now (it may be a victim of subsequent weeding).
Skin: Teaching Exam
Notes again: “17 Feb 2016
In today’s medical practice, knowing how to spot physical signs of nutritional imbalances during a routine physical examination is an essential diagnostic tool. This nutrition-focused skin exam is conducted by Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD.
N Sight is presented by the Institute for Functional Medicine.”
This is actually video three in the set, video two being the one that we first came in with. Yet again the funky music. Dr Boham starts off a bit energetic in presentation. This is sad given the standard set by the video we started with.
However, I still like Dr Boham’s voice and I’m rather fond of the way in which she pronounces “Capillaries” so I am (at the moment) prepared to let it into the playlist. In any case at just shy of four and a half minutes it is really short. It is a shame I can’t delete the music and make it a decently quiet video.
And so to the final video:
(in this playlist anyway)
Skin: Conclusion
Annoying music – tick, really short video (this one just over one and a half minutes) – tick, duplicated notes from the other videos in this playlist – tick.
In an ideal world the video would have no music at all.
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 are 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 part way through a playlist in order to log on, this interrupts the flow/sleep dependent upon how long you’ve been listening. 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.
In the drive to create the perfect night-time companion (I mean the Procrastination Pen playlist rather than any other type of companion that might have sprung to mind), I sometimes weed out so many videos that it all looks like a roadside verge when the strimmer operator has been a little too enthusiastic.
Added to this is a high rate of attrition, which shows that as fast as I write about videos, people are then taking them down. Given that some of them might be being taken down due to legal reasons (such as copyright offences), it would be unwise of me to keep copies of such videos to re-upload them again (or I might find the entire Procrastination Pen YouTube channel quietly disappears).
One day I may tire of maintaining the blog, and the YouTube channel, (and the Facebook page, and so on and so forth) but I’d rather like that decision to be mine, not imposed by a copyright official at YouTube.
I’ve been weeding the playlist recently, such that the Procrastination Pen archive playlist is quite healthy in size and the Procrastination Pen main playlist (the reason we’re all here I assume) is a bit smaller. Quite enough to act as a restful companion, perhaps not quite long enough to sustain many more YouTube video take-downs.
To this end, I need to get ahead and post a few more blog posts and fill that playlist up again. Apologies if on such occasions you are notified of more blog posts than you are keen to read in the timescale. If you are short of time, scroll right to the end of this blog post and find the Procrastination Pen playlist there. Flit over to YouTube, pull up the playlist, engage shuffle, lay back, and relax.
If you’re still reading, this is today’s video:
Abdominal Examination – Explanation
It is from a university and so one assumes a professional video. As such it has notes:
This is a detailed explanation of the abdominal examination illustrating technique and patient interaction.
The film was produced by practising clinicians to aid the teaching of clinical examination skills. It starts at the point when the clinician has finished taking the medical history and begins the clinical examination.
Presented by Mr Adam Scott MS FRCS (Edin) FRCS (Eng) Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon. Produced and Directed by Dr Irene Peat FRCR FRCP, Dr Nicholas Port MBChB BSc and Jon Shears.
I love it when we get details about participants – it makes the video so much more believable i.e. less likely the participants are making a professional ASMR video and masquerading as medical professionals to do so.
Mr Adam Scott is referenced in several websites and so unless those ASMR professionals are getting really great at subterfuge we can be very happy that this is the real thing.
Sadly, the URL that purports to lead to further videos leads just to the University of Leicester website so I am guessing the page, where those videos were, has now gone.
The video itself is just less than eight and a half minutes and so not huge in terms of videos that we are used to.
The patient is introduced as “Debbie”. Immediately Mr Scott is quiet, methodical, patient and not overly energetic. All-in-all what we would look for in a presenter of relaxing night-time videos.
There is a background noise (perhaps air conditioning) but not as terrible as some we have heard.
The channel on which this video appears: University of Leicester is huge, it has twelve hundred videos at the time I am looking at it. It seems very unlikely that it will be feasible to ferret out the gold from amongst all the other videos. Those promoting the university, covering other disciplines taught by the university, students wanting to try their hand at video-making, and so on.
I think the approach here is to look for Adam Scott MS FRCS (Edin) FRCS (Eng) Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon (I would search for “Adam Scott” but sadly this is not an uncommon name).
The results of such a specific search on YouTube is that we have only five videos of which in overview only one more is suitable for our purposes:
Abdominal Examination – Demonstration
This is four- and three-quarter minutes so even shorter than the last one and is pretty much the same in all respects. One of the great things is the lack of introductory music, which is not missed in any sense whatsoever.
It would be even more great if there was an absence of background noise.
This is a real-time demonstration illustrating technique and patient interaction involved in the Abdominal Examination. The film was produced by practising clinicians to aid the teaching of clinical examination skills. It starts at the point when the clinician has finished taking the medical history and begins the clinical examination. Presented by Dr Adam Scott MS FRCS (Edin) FRCS (Eng) Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon. Produced and Directed by Dr Irene Peat FRCR FRCP, Dr Nicholas Port MBChB BSc and Jon Shears. More Clinical Examination materials can be found at; http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/msce…”
The video basically covers much of the ground of the previous video so it isn’t new material.
Then there are three videos whose descriptions lead me to suspect that they are promotional in nature:
This has just twenty subscribers so a lot more niche than we are used to.
The notes here are: “416 views 19 Apr 2018
Spire Leicester Hospital Colorectal surgeon Mr Adam Scott talks about bowel cancer, the signs and symptoms, bowel screening and when to visit your GP. https://www.spirehealthcare.com/spire…”
Although this is a presentation, Mr Scott has a great voice and I would be tempted to include this video in the playlist. However, I suspect that people may well find this off-putting (it is a scary subject).
The Channel has only five videos and it does not appear to have any material that we can use for night-time relaxation.
The next video (and the one after that) both appear on a channel: PPM Software. This has one subscriber and three videos of which Mr Adam Scott makes up two of those – to me this appears to be promotional material.
The first video is just half a minute:
‘PPM’ Software, Client Testimonial
There is funky music – uuurrrgh.
The recording is loud with loud background music and of course it is very short, not the sort of thing we’re looking for at all.
The next video is more of the same:
‘PPM’ Software, What our Clients say
This repeats the above almost exactly but is twice as long. It is designed to sell a product and I do not think we can make use of it at all. This one isn’t for the Procrastination Pen playlist.
So, two videos for the playlist. Just enough to create a playlist for Leicester University.
However, if the quality is this good, I think we’ll be back with Leicester university again in the near future.
The University of Leicester 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 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.
If you have been reading this for a while then you will notice that this is a return to a channel we’ve been to before and if you haven’t then you’ve been missing out and a whole breadth of reading experience awaits.
As usual I will be reviewing some YouTube videos for their ASMR potential and, if they are considered fitting, they get to go into the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Behind the scenes I continue to review that playlist over time, booting out those which are less brilliant than hoped, so that the main list should continue to be full of the best ones I have found so far.
I welcome suggestions. Any video which was not intended to be an ASMR video but which is effective in that respect and, if I agree that it is a good one, it will turn up in a future blog item.
Today’s video is this one:
The Exam for Ankle & Foot Pain – Stanford Medicine 25
It fits with the medical examination theme which has run through quite a number of these blog items (although I do ring the changes occasionally.
At just under seven and a half minutes it isn’t very long but given it is from a medical school it shares with a number of professional videos we’ve seen the provision of a healthy set of notes which are these:
“19 Jul 2018 Stanford Medicine 25: Musculoskeletal Exam
This video is brought to you by the Stanford Medicine 25 to teach you the common causes of foot and ankle pain and how to diagnose them by the physical exam.
The Stanford Medicine 25 program for bedside medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine aims to promote the culture of bedside medicine to make current and future clinicians and other healthcare provides better at the art of physical diagnosis and more confident at the bedside of their patients.
Bravely this video permits comments, but one outcome of which is that I can tell ASMR fans have been here long before me.
By now we are familiar with the format of videos from this channel. Firstly there is the introductory music; not as loud as some we’ve heard but it would be great if it could be dispensed with altogether.
As is the patient for this video “Chad” as well (hopefully I did not misspell that).
Dr Christopher starts a little loud but settles into her stride pretty swiftly. Sadly there is the ever-present background noise which we’ve heard in other videos and may well be air conditioning.
However, I think for this post we will stick with Dr Christopher. For this purpose, a standard YouTube search is an approach. This brings up three videos, the one we started with and two further videos.
This is the first one:
The Exam for Shoulder Pain – Stanford Medicine 25
Just under ten and a half minutes, so more substantial in terms of length and it is pretty much like the last one (professionally produced videos have the advantage, or possibly the disadvantage, of being consistent).
The notes are:
“19 Jul 2018 Stanford Medicine 25: Musculoskeletal Exam
This video is brought to you by the Stanford Medicine 25 to teach you the common causes of shoulder pain and how to diagnose them by the physical exam.
The Stanford Medicine 25 program for bedside medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine aims to promote the culture of bedside medicine to make current and future clinicians and other healthcare provides better at the art of physical diagnosis and more confident at the bedside of their patients.
The same medical professional, the same patient. The same approach, the same background noise, the same music and so on.
Again, ASMR fans are way ahead of me – see the comments. The earliest I can see is over a year ago as at today’s date but of course not every ASMR fan is going to fill in the comments.
As before the video gets quieter and therefore more appealing the more it proceeds. If you feel that the start is a little loud it is worthwhile persisting with it.
This is the second one:
The Exam for Knee Pain – Stanford Medicine 25
Notes again:”19 Jul 2018 Stanford Medicine 25: Musculoskeletal Exam
This video is brought to you by the Stanford Medicine 25 to teach you the common causes of knee pain and how to diagnose them by the physical exam.
The Stanford Medicine 25 program for bedside medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine aims to promote the culture of bedside medicine to make current and future clinicians and other healthcare provides better at the art of physical diagnosis and more confident at the bedside of their patients.
Yet again, comments from ASMR devotees, so it is consistent with the other two.
Just under eight minutes so not huge. Again with the start music, sigh, and then reacquainting ourselves with the background noise. Same medical professional, same “patient”.
This is the last in this set that I can find and the last in this blog item. The comments as for previous videos in this post apply equally to this one.
There is also a lead out set of music and a statement about copyright, either of which might prove to be distracting over time, if so these may ultimately get weeded out
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 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.
In previous blog posts I have been promisingto come back to this channel in the future. When we left it, there were a great many videos remaining. However, I did not want to get into a glut of videos as it is a distraction from the unintentional ASMR that this blog has been focusing on. As I’ve previously said, this is a bit of a guilty pleasure as the channel is dedicated to ASMR and therefore all of the curation work has been done. Assuming the channel owner has any taste, I should be able to just sit back and let the ASMR sensations wash over me.
However, it is not unknown for the odd jarring-pick to crop up on these sites and therefore I propose to give each video a formal review much as I would have done had I plucked it from a channel dedicated to medicine or to wood-block printing.
As far as I can tell, the videos remaining number sixteen, so I’ll cover eight more here, and a further eight in one final blog post in the future.
The channel of course is ASMR Exams and regular readers will know that I have given a thorough look at this channel, not once, but twice. Some of the videos do seem to have been worth the effort.
Of the remaining, this one is the first video:
Physical Assessment (ASMR)
This is twenty-one minutes long and has no notes and so no immediate clues about the video. Comments have been permitted and as expected some of them are properly unhelpful.
Straight away, this is incredibly quiet. I have the volume turned right up and some of the speech still eludes me. However, on the positive side, it is too quiet for any offensive background noises to be heard.
The “patient” appears to be “Bernette” (that could well be an erroneous spelling) and the medical professional is Mary-Beth Robbins.
The location has the appearance of a professional medical establishment but for some reason has artwork on the wall (possibly a famous historical medical figure). Mary-Beth is very calm and gentle, however, Bernette seems quite amused by the process. So far, so student assessment video. It’s just that this one seems to have taken a hit on the volume control.
At the point of the eye test, we get a view of the other patients in the room and it becomes obvious that they are all dummies, in the manner that they are made of plastic, not that they are especially gullible. So far, so student educational establishment.
Mary-Beth has a prominent name tag but I just can’t see it well enough to determine if it identifies the location. However, there is that large “W” which is discernible.
In all quite excellent which is what we would expect from a channel dedicated to ASMR of course.
Physical Examination (ASMR)
This video is a bit longer at a bit over thirty minutes. Again, there are no notes, again there are comments, and again the comments are often unsupportive.
This video starts a bit loud. Lauren the “patient” (possibly misspelled), the medical professional does not introduce herself.
This time the setting appears to be domestic rather than professional.
The volume seems to wander about a bit despite the fact that the two participants remain a consistent distance from the camera/phone used to film it.
The quality of said camera must be off a bit too, if you did decide to watch rather than listen; it appears 1980s VHS quality. The medical professional is wearing a name badge but given the fuzziness of the output I defy anyone to read it. Therefore, there are no clues as to who/where this is.
Later in the video, the dog decides to be a semi-hidden participant by lying under the table on which Lauren is sat. Dogs seem to be natural hams as we have seen. I also notice that the medical professional is wearing carpet slippers (which might now be the standard hospital garb, for all I know).
Neither participant seems to have a natural ASMR voice but at least the soundtrack seems to lack extraneous noises. Lauren in particular seems to have quite a loud voice in fact. Also, at intervals Lauren coughs and that is quite loud in comparison with the ongoing interaction.
The medical professional as well has her loud moments, as if attempting to project to a large room. (Perhaps she is stood in a large room although you would not know to look at it, the camera being focused on one small corner of whichever room they are stood in). The medical professional also seems to be regularly consulting something (perhaps a checklist) but you won’t notice this at all if, as I recommend, you simply listen to this.
This might be a bit marginal in terms of the Procrastination Pen playlist. I will trial it and reserve the right to weed it out in the future.
Physical Examination (ASMR)
This time there are no notes and (thanks be to God) no comments either, no more snide nastiness, we can fast-forward directly to the content.
This one at thirty-four and a half minutes is slightly longer than either of the videos covered thus far. It shares the “is this out of focus?” appearance of the last one, so is obviously trading on the sound rather than the visuals.
It starts amazingly loud, like “ohmigod I was asleep” loud. The “patient” is introduced as Courtney (probably misspelled) the medical professional as “Holly” and unlike the exalted Hollie Berry, sadly, she does not have an ASMR voice, not in any way. More your “oyez, oyez, oyez” kind of voice. At intervals I would label it a shout rather than conversation. Fortunately maintaining that volume appears to be too much of an effort such that it ameliorates a bit. However, the presence of ongoing and easily overheard conversations in neighbouring rooms then becomes a distraction. In addition, we have the presence of continuous background noise like the sound of a 1950s reel-to-reel tape recorder.
It is a great shame but it does go to show that just because a video appears on an ASMR channel does not mean it is actually a great ASMR video. It is worth taking the time to evaluate for yourself; I am sure this happens on the Procrastination Pen equally as much as on ASMR Exams.
This one does not belong in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Chiropractic Adjustment LOOPED (ASMR)
As I have already established I really do not like looped videos.
Several commentators do love this one though. At twenty three and three quarter minutes a bit shorter than the last two.
The medical professional has a great voice, but the marvelousness of that voice is ameliorated to a great extent by the sound of conversations from adjacent rooms. There is also the off-putting sound of the clicks and clunks used in chiropracty (we’ve covered these kind of problems before). There are whirring noises from the equipment being moved accompanied by whistling noises of escaping air which sounds like a dump valve. Perhaps a sound more for car videos than those for ASMR.
All-in-all this one does not belong in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Physical Examination (ASMR)
An absolutely whopping fifty-one and a half minutes (and some change). This is a physical examination going for the truly methodical.
The comments are variable (aren’t they always). The video quality is of the soft-focused variety (and that is being charitable). The background noise is of the intrusive type, air conditioning most likely. The patient is identified as “Kylie”(probably misspelled) and there is a crucifix on the wall which may give a clue to the location.
The medical professional is “Kristen” (again spelling may well be wrong) and she announces that this is a Head-to-Toe assessment. (We are well used to these by now).
Kristen is not the quietest and certainly not a natural ASMR voice. There are thunks from equipment at intervals but thankfully no conversation from adjacent rooms this time.
At regular points in the video there are breaks in the recording, as if this huge video were actually an assemblage of shorter videos. In cases like this, I always prefer to have the shorter videos and for you to be able to play them using the YouTube shuffle function.
The shoulder badge on the medical professional appears to be a stylised cross, so good luck determining which medical establishment it is from.
The medical professional at intervals is consulting something (I assume some kind of checklist) which gives this the feel of a student assessment video.
I do not like ASMR videos that have been assembled from other videos and I don’t think that this is of sufficient quality to make an exception, so I will not be adding this one to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Physical Examination (ASMR)
Twenty-six and three-quarter minutes, comments again and by now we know the kind of content they are likely to have without even checking them.
This begins in a much more thorough fashion in that we have names and location. Monica Barbara a student at the University of South Florida. As we would expect the university has its own YouTube channel dedicated to promotion, there are 655 videos and 11.1K subscribers. There are ten playlists but no obvious candidates for ASMR material.
Of course, “Monica” and indeed “Barbara” might be misheard and misspelled.
The patient is introduced as “Alisha” (again spelling might be off there). The visual quality is of the type as if someone smeared Vaseline all over the lens. There is, again, the constant hum of background noise (probably air conditioning). In addition, this time though, there is a profound echo, as if it is being filmed in a large corridor. I notice that Alisha seems to be perched on a table with a cloth over it so hardly the bespoke medical centre. However, it does not have a feel of the domestic environments we have often seen in student assessment videos.
That echo though does prove to be somewhat distracting. I think Monica would have to be using a profoundly minimal whisper to escape its effects.
In fact, Monica does not have a natural ASMR voice so we have a sound that verges towards the boomy. (Think Bonnie Tyler in an echo chamber).
On balance I do not think this belongs in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Neurological Physical Examination (ASMR)
This one is just under thirty-one minutes. The comments reference some ASMR “In” comments that you will be familiar with now if you have followed this blog for any period of time. I swear some people comment because they can, rather than to say anything meaningful less helpful.
This is filmed against a dark blue curtain as if it was set up purely for filming. The quality of both video and of sound isn’t that great, to be honest. It is about the same as home taping in 1985.
It kicks off with a mental test and it isn’t that quiet. Rather the “patient” is quite quiet but the medical professional has quite a deep voice which he is using to full effect. The patient is Milena Pavlova (almost certainly misspelled) and it was filmed on 25/07/2000, (UK Format so therefore in July). Goodness knows what it was filmed on as I would imagine that the quality produced by equipment was somewhat more advanced than this by then.
The location sounds like something-haven hospital, possibly Shoalhaven, although that hospital is in Australia and neither participant sounds spectacularly Australian.
Given that Milena feels it necessary to tell us that Bulgaria is in South Eastern Europe, one imagines that this was not actually filmed in Europe where a large number of people would already know where the country is.
I notice that a copy of the New York Times is used as an illustration of a newspaper to be used with patients. This indicates that the something-haven hospital is located in New York. The only one I can find is Yale New Haven hospital. Assuming this is correct, they have a YouTube channel with 124 videos, 1.51K subscribers and 16 playlists. No obvious ASMR content though.
It comes to a conclusion rather abruptly which leads me to suspect that there is another longer version out there. I’ll add it to the Procrastination Pen playlist in lieu of finding the full version.
Physical Examination (ASMR)
This is just over thirty-nine minutes and the comments associated with it are somewhat disheartening. It has a healthy amount of background noise and seems to have been videod in a classroom setting – this usually means lots of extraneous noise. The person teaching has a good voice but the air conditioning is properly loud in this. The video quality is also no better than others we have covered in this blog post.
Given the subject matter (breast examination) previous experience tells me that I should now be halted and prompted to log on. But not in this case for some reason. There is nothing on display but that hasn’t stopped previous login prompts.
There is feedback from the class. The people videoing are visible in mirrors in the classroom. People are coughing and shuffling (as is to be expected in a large group). There is laughter and equipment noises and someone keeps clicking the device that is being used for filming (probably fidgeting with their phone).
As is expected, the voices are a little raised as they need to project to the group rather than any individual. This is a shame as it could actually be quite good (well if someone put a bomb in the air conditioning).
This one also concludes rather abruptly but we have found some classroom-based tuition videos do that.
So, it isn’t the greatest, but I think worth putting in the Procrastination Pen playlist to see if it sits well there. It might get weeded out to the archive list in due course.
In summary, I do not share the taste of the owner of ASMR exams (or indeed of some of the commentators to the videos). However, I hope that means that the quality of the Procrastination Pen playlist is being maintained. I’ll revisit the ASMR exams channel again to attempt to capture the last of the videos. Most seem to have been posted about eight years ago so it should be possible to mop them all up.
The ASMR Exams 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 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.
The Procrastination Pen 
