Tag: Calming

Sleeping With ASMR

I realise that for people who have not been following (the ASMR theme on) this blog since the beginning might find this to be nonsense. For such people, a bit of background. With each blog article I review a video (mostly videos located on YouTube) for its ability to either produce ASMR symptoms or to be restful enough to aid in sleep. At the end of which the video either gets added to The Procrastination Pen playlist or it does not. The assumption is that ASMR aficionados will just go straight to the playlist and listen, but some of you may like to read the material before doing that.

For an idea of where this all began take a look at the initial ASMR blog post which will give you an idea.

I think we are on more solid ground today as this one is back firmly in the medical exam area.

The channel is Ryann McCarty and sadly for us is not going to be a rich resource of ASMR material. In fact, there is one playlist of music videos entitled Rye and the video that we are featuring today entitled:

Ryann McCarty Student Nurse health assessment performance

So this is all you get today I’m afraid – look at it as an appetiser – keeping you keen to see yet more. (Yes, that didn’t sound that accurate to me either). Posted in 2017 and nothing posted on this channel subsequently. (The music playlist was last updated in 2020). Hopefully Ryann is out there doing more important things with her life. The sleeve badge seems to be for Suny Downstate College of Nursing, only sometime subsequently they’ve had a rebrand.

Ryann announces herself at the beginning so we’re pretty certain this is the Ryann we’re talking about. Initially her voice is a bit loud but once the examination starts it begins to settle down (although I don’t think she will ever be a Hollie Berry).

At intervals, (despite the constant air conditioning sounds in the background) I found myself quite calmed by it.

At one stage the person behind the camera starts laughing which is a little disconcerting. (It is easy to forget that there will always be a third person in each of these one-to-one encounters due to the presence of the camera).

I also liked the comment about cold hands – one feature of using alcohol-based hand sanitiser is that your hands get properly freezing – although in other videos I have featured in the past the medical professional does warn the patient about the incoming iceberg.

The notes state “Week 6 lab- Final health assessment performance”. I’m not sure how the education process works but if Ryann achieved this level of proficiency after merely 6 weeks of education then I am impressed.

In all quite a charming short piece at twenty minutes and fourteen seconds. Worthy of adding to the Procrastination Pen playlist I think.

The overall playlist of all videos featured so far in this blog is here:

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Photo by Hana Oliver on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

Here I’m being completely unfair – I stick with the medical theme for ages and then change tack without warning.

What can I say? This was a YouTube suggestion I watched and I liked. That said it is outside the normal progress of ASMR blog items and so is a bit of a wildcard. I’ve included it because some readers may well like it.

There is also an associated website.

Woodblock Printing Process … in 3-D spatial audio

David has a reasonable ASMR voice not quite Dr James Gill, but still pretty good for ASMR. The video is not subdivided into sections and so it is to be hoped YouTube will not intrude with one of their noisier adverts.

There is a great write up in the notes about what was involved and the aim of the video – this is somewhat more than we have been used to of late – some of the videos reviewed recently having nothing in the way of notes (and sometimes just one sentence).

It is interesting to hear how much of a noise problem there is where David is trying to work. The sort of thing that makes me fear city breaks. That kind of outside noise would be enough to keep me awake for days.

I’m also in admiration that he can get up at 3am and still function. At that hour I would be an incommunicative zombie.

David obviously has a great deal more patience than I have.

After the intro there is no speech, so it’s an unusual one for me as I prefer people talking quietly. Think of this as a treat for people who get ASMR from brushing sounds, paper sounds, scrubbing sounds and so on.

There is a certain magic in watching the image emerge, a privilege I would not normally have as I’d be listening to the video rather than watching it.

As such I think this one is going to need special treatment as it does not really belong in the existing playlist. It’s more an ASMR item blogged for other people rather than myself.

At nearly one and one quarter hours this is a bit of a mammoth and probably stands on it’s own. However I am in the habit now of reviewing the channel on which it is found for any other ASMR-related content.

David Bull is the channel also the name of the person doing the carving.

I make it one hundred and thirty five videos at the current time, which is rather too many for a blog item. Given this is a diversion from the main subject I had better strongly limit this for fear of rebuke and shock-horror loss of reading public.

Sadly I can’t find a playlist (provided by David) that includes this one.

The playlists available include:

I think not to test your patience too much, I’m going to focus on the last one as it contains only four videos (however I fully intend to return to David’s channel in the future).

Creation of the Fox Moon woodblock print

Ukiyoe Heroes (11) : Fox Moon – preparation for carving

This video starts with David again, as we have established, he has quite a good voice. The printer though is not at all good in terms of ASMR.

This, unlike the previous one, is narrated and so is much more in keeping with our normal ASMR video.

Ukiyoe Heroes (12) : Fox Moon – carving the key block

David has a cold so less talking sadly. The carving is fascinating but of course usually I would not be watching it. There is persistent background noise – possibly air conditioning.

There is also a guest appearance from David’s neighbour.

The speed of the carving activity is quite extraordinary.

Ukiyoe Heroes (13) : Fox Moon – carving the colour blocks

This consists of initial impression taking. That is in which the key block is covered with black pigment and a test print taken. This is lovely to watch but for us that isn’t really the point. There is a radio or similar playing in the background at intervals.

This is quite chilled and quiet, much better with the narration – well until the hammering starts anyway.

Ukiyoe Heroes (14) : Fox Moon – proof printing

This is the more fun stage in terms of visuals in that you start to see the images building up. There is some kind of background fan type noise happening. It is again very calm and if it was on theme would probably be top of the pops. However carving wasn’t really what I was trying to achieve.

I think the way to manage this is to create a David Bull playlist and not to add these ones to the overall playlist.

The David Bull playlist is here:

The overall playlist (which this time does not include the items featured in this blog post, but does include those from previous blog posts) is here:

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Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

In a previous blog post I mentioned that Dr James Gill was sufficiently prolific in the world of medical exams that it would be inevitable we would return to his own channel at some point in this blog.

I’m not sure if it is built into the YouTube algorithm but every time I look for a medical exam video Dr James Gill will occur at least once on that list. He is obviously dedicated.

This is one I chose for today’s blog:

Respiratory Examination Master Class

But this is one of a great many

Examining the YouTube channel Dr James Gill we find approximately one hundred and sixty nine videos as at todays date. The longest blog item I ever did was twenty three and I feel that was far too long.

In time honoured tradition (for this blog anyway), I will refine this number down using one of Dr James Gill’s own playlists.

As luck would have it we have been on the subject of cranial nerve exams recently – and I find that he has a playlist for this here:

Ten videos all incorporating Dr Gills calming voice (I have the feeling he must have cultured that over a long period of training).

How to Examine Cranial Nerve I – Olfactory Nerve – Clinical Skills – Dr Gill

A funky intro tune (which I could do without) and the constant accompaniment of air conditioning as background noise. These are all things we are used to after the blog item on Warwick Medical School.

However the voice of Dr Gill makes this seem unimportant. Lovely and quiet and calm. He seems consistent in this respect, I have only occasionally found a video of his in which this is not the case. This is one in which he seems quite young. However it was posted only two years ago, which probably shows how old I am.

As one of the commentators relates – we’re not here for the education but we’re getting one anyway.

How To Perform Optic Nerve Examination – Cranial Nerve II Examination OSCE – Dr Gill

Dr Gill is if anything even quieter here. Intra-video volume is a problem. If you’re playing my playlist regularly you may notice that you have one video at optimum volume for sleep and you can’t hear the next one. Worse still the next one kicks in like Trumpet Voluntary and blasts you from a nice relaxing dose.

I may soon be weeding the existing list to reflect only the highest quality, so some high-volume ones may get archived.

The biggest issue with these videos I find is because they have breaks in the track, YouTube introduces adverts into those spaces. Sometimes these are quite jarring adverts that are not toned to the content of the video or the time of day.

How to Find Your Blind Spot – Clinical Skills – 4K

This appears to be out of order. It refers to a cranial nerve exam yet to come which is in fact the video above in this playlist.

I love the comparison of the cranial nerve with a wiring point for the eye. It’s this kind of thing which must really help students to comprehend what is going on.

I also managed to map my own blind spot which is a piece of fun (I’m unlikely to be paid for doing this).

Cranial Nerves III, IV & VI Explained – What do they do and how to examine them – Dr James Gill

Entitled “Ultimate Guide to…” and just less than six and a half minutes. Quite astounding he could cram it in so effectively. Again with the air con but I think the vocal volume is better here. In all of these videos the best ASMR is definitely during the brief exam part of the video.

Cranial Nerve V: The Trigeminal Nerve – Your Ultimate Guide To Cranial Nerve Examination – Dr Gill

Again, the exam part of the video is best in ASMR terms.

Cranial Nerve VII – The Facial Nerve – Ultimate Guide to Cranial Nerve Examination

A very odd background noise at the start like a light metallic sound, almost as if the sound was vibrating through a duct or similar. This settles down as he gets into the motor neuron part of the video.

The video actually explains some of the behaviour we have seen in other cranial nerve exam videos.

Cranial Nerve VIII – The Vestibulocochlear Nerve – Ultimate Guide to Cranial Nerve Examination

Age related hearing loss strikes home, I am certainly starting to lose mine. Which presumably, eventually, will ultimately impact on any ASMR.

Dr Gill seems to repeat himself in this video, when discussing hearing loss due to old age, that can be distracting. I’ll keep this in the playlist but it might be one that is subject to future weeding.

Glossopharyngeal & Vagus Nerve Explained – Guide to Cranial Nerves IX and X – Dr Gill

So much quieter at the start and so much easier to relax to as a result.

Cranial Nerve XI & XII – Accessory and Hypoglossal Nerve – Ultimate Guide – Dr Gill

This again at the start lacks the air conditioning noise – ah peace.

Cranial Nerve Examination Demonstration – 4K – Clinical Skills OSCE – Dr. Gill

For me, the exam is always where Dr Gill is at his best ASMR wise so this is the pinnacle of this particular set.

The Dr Gill playlist is here:

I have no doubt we will be covering more of his videos in this blog

The overall playlist of videos covered so far in this blog is here:

I hope that you find them relaxing.

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