Tag: Calm

Sleeping With ASMR

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

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

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

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

Today’s video is this one:

ASMR Appointment with Your Doctor

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

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

Unsurprisingly VisualSounds1 ASMR is also on the ASMR Index.

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

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

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

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

Macleod’s examination of speech

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

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

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

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

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

Macleod’s examination of the facial (VII) nerve

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

The Farsight Playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:

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

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

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

The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:

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

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

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

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not unexpectedly the Cozy Hospital appears on the ASMR Index.

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

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

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

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

Peripheral vascular

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

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

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

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

Abdominal

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

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

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

Skin, hair, and nails

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

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

The Leah Barlow Playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:

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

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

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

The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:

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

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

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

Until next time.

Picture DeepAI.org

Sleeping With ASMR

I came across this one initially from here:

Physical Examination #2 (ASMR)

This is on Channel ASMR Exams which as the channel name suggests the video has been edited to enhance the ASMR effect.

However, it was obvious that the video originated in a medical school somewhere.

The comments however give it all away: “I’ve solved the mystery of these two. After some intense digging, I found that her name is Jan Victoria Scott, and he’s an impulsive improv actor named J. Chachula (first name near impossible to find). Dare I dig deeper? Okay. I have discovered “J” to be his nickname, his real name is “Julian Chachula Jr.” He owns/directs/teacher an improv group known as “The Flying Machine Theatre Studio“, and he (alike Vicki Scott) is from Raleigh, North Carolina, or areas nearby it. His parents are Cuban immigrants, and he is okay with Spanish. Victoria Scott just finished teaching her last class at Duke University in Summer 2017, and she’s going to move onto either retirement or other things. She lives in (more specifically) South Shore, and she’s a heavy supporter of “Conquer Paralysis Now“. She graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science degree in 1981, and earned the Master of Health Sciences degree in 1991. She taught this education program for 20 years.”

That is very helpful, this should mean that the original is going to be available via Duke University.

However a search on YouTube reveals that there is no such video (perhaps it was taken down a very long time ago). So for our purposes we are stuck with professional ASMR channels who have retained the video. In essence this is a cheat, however it looks like there are no alternatives.

The video has a title page Duke Health The Complete Physical Exam. Duke Health still has a YouTube channel. This has three-hundred-and-sixty-eight videos at the date I checked them but this one isn’t one of them.

Returning to the video – Vicki has a very good voice for our purposes and there is a good interaction between Vicki and “Mr Allen” (probably misspelled). At in excess of forty-five minutes this is a long exam and a long video for ASMR however it might be a good length if you’re really struggling to get to sleep and the dreaded YouTube adverts keep kicking in and snapping you back awake every time you finally get to doze.

I notice Vicki uses “it looks symmetric” which must be grammatical but I would have said “looks symmetrical”.

She also uses the term “stop breathing” and “breathe” whereas I would have expected “hold your breath”. “Stop breathing” if feasible being a lot more final in its effects. I’ve seen this phrase used before in other examination videos (no doubt some that will feature on this blog) so I have no doubt it is correct despite my misgivings.

There is some humour here so it is nicely relaxed (which you may have noticed is not true of a number of the student videos where some participants look like they are on the way to the gallows).

For those (like me) who had no idea about an otoscope, it’s a device used for examining the ears.

I think Vicki Scott may have a voice on a par with the quality of Hollie Berry and that is fighting talk ASMR-wise. It is definitely worthy of inclusion in the playlist – it makes some of the existing ones in the playlist seem a bit lacklustre by comparison (perhaps it is soon time for some judicious weeding).

Inguinal nodes – another mystery term – these are lymph nodes which can be felt in the groin area in healthy people.

The video gives credit to the participants including Physician Assistant Vicki Scott, MHS, PS-C and Mr Allen J Chachula with copyright set at 2003 so twenty years ago. This gives credence to the comment above about the participants (together with some of the information found elsewhere on the Internet).

Some of the comments seem a bit nasty. This is a tiresome attribute of a number of videos I’ve looked at recently – be nice people. It is best probably to ignore comments if it is just to get to sleep. Some videos I notice hide all comments and judging by this are none the worse for it.

The videos I can find for Vicki include the above one.

This one:

Duke PA Program Complete Physical Exam PART ONE

Which is on channel Natural Massage. This is just a bit longer than twenty-five minutes which is a more usual length for edited ASMR videos (well those not involving looping in any case). It has the same title as the previous one but starts with an introduction that we did not see before. In essence it is substantially the same but including some parts missing from the previous video. Therefore, many of the prior comments remain valid. Despite the repetition I think I can include it in the playlist although it may suffer a future weeding effort as that list starts to get more unwieldy.

This one

ASMR Duke PA exam part 2 for night time

Which is effectively a black and white version. The channel is ASMR Clips. The content of course will be familiar it’s just a black and white version. It is just over twenty minutes long so if anything a better length than the previous two. However I’m debating the relevance of it given we have two previously which surely must be enough for the ASMR material we need. At the moment therefore I am not going to add this one to the playlist. Let me know if you disagree and I’ll add it in there.

This one

ASMR Duke PA exam part 1 for night time

Which is also in black and white and on the same channel as the above video. This one is twenty five minutes and by now I am really, really familiar with this material. There is nothing new here that I can perceive so this one will not be in the playlist either.

As you can see these are not even found on one channel and one set are simply black and white variants of the earlier (colour) videos.

Still it is helpful to know that there is some background to the video even if the originating organisation no longer host it.

In fact there are sufficient number of channels hosting this video that it must be something of an ASMR legend.

The Duke University school of medicine is here:

https://www.youtube.com/@dukemedschool

perhaps at some future point I will check it out for ASMR material.

I have not created a playlist for Vicki Scott – ostensibly there is just one video but in different edits.

However I have added the two colour videos to the overall playlist of videos covered so far on this blog, which is here:

if you liked this blog article why not subscribe to this blog.

Photo by Aleksandar Cvetanovic on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

This one is a bit different in that the subject is chiropracty, (a subject I haven’t checked into before).

Hips, Legs, TMJ, Deviated Nasal Septum, Neck and Shoulder Pain- Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

The “patient” here – Daniela seems to be very fond of talking. It is not that restful – at least to start with. Dr Gonstead, the chiropractor here, is much calmer and easier to listen to.

“Dr. Rahim Gonstead Chiropractor” is the channel. Checking the whole channel has become the habit now. If I find one video I look to see if there is a greater resource worth mining. After all why just leave it to chance that I’ll find lots more ASMR videos in the future.

Perhaps if anything he is a little on the quiet side (probably only in contrast with “the patient” in this case though). Wait awhile though – it gets better. For example, later Daniela’s mother is talking and she has a great voice.

Examining this channel there are in excess of five hundred videos as at today’s date. I think they’re being used as a business promotion vehicle and so this may explain the sheer number. Still, I am very impressed.

There is no way I can feature that number of videos in a single blog post – I think the longest post so far was twenty three videos (and I felt that was a bit long). I’m sure that I can return to Dr Rahim in the future and pick up some of the other videos.

It turns out that Daniela – for that is the lady who is featured in the video above – has a playlist on this channel dedicated to her. This consists of eight videos which is a much more workable number. This first one is the longest. Some of the subsequent videos include chiropractic treatment which is not that pleasant to watch – I’m going to be exercising a strong censorship on such things. I’ll include them in this blog post though in case other people are still keen to view.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – Daniela

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4nw79kfDE25x__XIZk9-It2bMcNeCmm_ is the original playlist, it includes the above video and the following:

Hips, Legs, TMJ, Deviated Nasal Septum, Neck and Shoulder Pain – Part 2 – Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

Not sure about the intro music although it’s better than some of the Warwick Medical School Videos.

Dr Gonstead starts a little loud for me but it soon settles down. Daniela does not seem to talk as much, which is a bonus. Her mother really has a much better voice. Some of the thuds are a bit shocking but not so much that I want to delete it from the playlist. To be honest, the reactions are more disturbing than the joint noises in any case, best not to look.

Given how much pressure Dr Gonstead puts on at intervals I am somewhat relieved he is professionally qualified. It obviously looks more dramatic than it is and fortunately it sounds ok. If you’re of nervous disposition probably best to listen rather than watch.

I think the funky table/chair is fascinating although the motor powering it could sound a lot less like a power tool for me.

I’m not sure what the vibratory tool is he uses on Daniela’s jaw but it is zero on the ASMR scale as far as I am concerned.

I think I’m going to start excluding those where the vibratory tool is used from the playlist – I can’t see how anyone could sleep with that sounding.

Hips, Legs, TMJ, Deviated Nasal Septum, Neck and Shoulder Pain – Part 3- Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

This starts off with lovely, calm walking – nothing in the way of popping and crunching noises so a brief respite. I’m not sure if I’m being taken in but the “patient” here does seem to be progressing rather well.

Unfortunately, we get the vibrator tool again which is way too loud. And the motorised couch thing ditto. Outside of that I’d say this is excellent. Another one not to include in the playlist therefore.

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Mother gets adjusted also – Part 4 – Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

This is actually quite relaxing to start with. Perhaps because the sessions have been ongoing the relationship is more chilled, a lot less talking. This is the second longest video of the set. Perhaps it is because we have seen a few now but I am less disturbed by all the manipulations than at the start. (I still don’t like the motorised couch though).

More with the jaw vibration tool (which makes vacuum cleaning seem relaxing – I’d love to edit that bit out).

TMJ here is temporomandibular joint.

He also adjusts Daniela’s mother who has a great voice but a less good squeal. A great ASMR candidate if she didn’t make such loud noises on manipulation, once or twice I was sure she could wake the dead. (Not helped by extra vibratory tool application). Another one not to include in the playlist.

Daniela’s Back, Neck, TMJ, Deviated Nasal Septum, Elbow and Wrists HELPED – Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

Daniela is back to the chatty Daniela. It would seem that she and Mum did not keep a follow-up appointment and, as a consequence, things have reverted a little. The initial exam is great ASMR-wise. The manipulations are not that off-putting. Daniela is a little loud at intervals but the jaw vibration tool excludes this one from the playlist sadly.

Back, Knees, Ankles, Neck, TMJ and Arm PAINS HELPED *Round 2* Dr. Rahim Chiropractic,

It starts out as an explanation of Daniela’s condition (assisted by X-Rays) so this is not so much an exam. However, have patience – the exam proper follows that discussion. We still have the mobile table sounds and any number of joint pops. They probably work for someone – for me they’re just a distraction. Sadly, it’s back with the vibration machine and that is just so loud. Again, this video won’t be in the playlist

Daniela and Mom’s FINAL visit with Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

Nearly there, this has been a long post and an even longer time spent reviewing videos. It seems a heel lift is the answer, it’s just persuading the patient to use them. Nice quiet discussion at the start and it all seems so positive (if you’ve taken the time to trawl through the others).

I’m not sure if it’s tired eyes but to me the video seemed lower quality. But in practice I just get to listen to them and if you’re using them for sleep as well, I would guess that you’re in the same boat. This one is a bit vocal in places – more than even in previous videos. The result is that there are less chilled ASMR-style moments. In addition there is copious use of the vibratory tool – so good only if you skip past that. I’m not clear how you’re supposed to do that if you are half asleep.

I think the quality of the playlist is going to be the main appeal of this blog so if people find material in the playlist that they’d like excluding let me know and I’ll edit those videos out.

I may even start a process of doing this at intervals myself – quality being more important than quantity in my view.

Best Reactions to CrunchY CrAcks! Dr. Rahim Chiropractic

No No No No. Definitely not playlist materal.

So just one video makes it to the playlist so I will not create a new playlist for Dr Rahim Gonstead.

The overall playlist of items featured on this blog is here:

If you liked this blog article why not subscribe to this blog.

Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash