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Sleeping With ASMR

I notice that it has been so hot that we are starting to get advice about sleeping in a heatwave and that a sleep “divorce” is being discussed as a potential solution to some sleep-related issues. One thing that seems to be coming out of recent sleep articles is that people all over the UK (and no doubt elsewhere) are struggling to get enough decent quality sleep. The very high temperatures cannot be helping.

This blog, as regular readers will recognise, is all about sleep but mainly it focuses on sound and how to use sound to distract your mind from all the stresses of the day (and anticipation of the stresses of the day yet to come).

To this end I recommend (and review) a few audio tracks in the hope that you will find them restful. I am also, very gradually, building a playlist of inadvertent ASMR on YouTube which you may find helpful in this respect.

Some time ago I promised that I would find material that was not on YouTube so that those, like me, that loath the state of advertising on YouTube, during the quieter moments of the night could find refuge with another audio facility.

This week I notice that Susan Piver (someone I have mentioned before) has now started a podcast, called “Buddhism Beyond Belief”. It seems to have started in May and is still going strong. I rather like Susan’s voice. I also found that I could click on any of the tracks and they would just play without the need for any kind of logon (unlike some of the Spotify recommendations I have made recently). There is no obvious mechanism for downloading each track so, sadly, no method for building into your own personal playlist. It may still be worthy of a review however.

The Calm track this week (which is strictly for people who already have a Calm subscription) is this one:

https://www.calm.com/app/player/rUpkBWv51r

Daily Jay

Unlikely Teachers

NARRATOR

Jay Shetty

What do unpleasant people teach us about ourselves.

I do not think that there is any free content, so on that basis (given most readers will not have a Calm subscription) I will move swiftly along.

I have, for some months now, been reviewing a professional ASMR artist. I have recently taken refuge in some rather old ASMR in that it is nostalgic for me (I used to listen to these tracks close to the time that they were first posted). This week’s one is this:

Ocean Fabric Affirmations 🕯[ASMR] Whisper

We have featured the channel WhispersRed ASMR before, but for those of you new to the blog, WhispersRed ASMR has 1.12m subscribers, nine hundred and twelve videos, twenty-nine playlists.

Of which this one is dedicated to getting sleepy:

Regular readers will have noticed that I have, yet again, strayed from the core theme of these blog articles which is medical orientated videos. I have been reviewing such videos for a long time and I assure you that I will be returning to them as well.

The notes on the channel are quite informative including the fact that WhispersRed has been posting videos for thirteen years now (wow):

“WhispersRed ASMR

Description

Welcome home 💜 Make yourself cosy, put your feet up and I’ll pop the kettle on.

ASMR Tingles ✨ Relaxation ✨ Sleep ✨ Sound Therapy ✨ Silence ✨ Peace ✨ Love ✨ Smiles

Emma WhispersRed, Emma Smith, YouTube Mum

London, England

Links

Vlog Channelyoutube.com/@Emma_WhispersRed

Children’s Channelyoutube.com/c/WhispersRedASMRForChildren

Websitewhispersredasmr.com

Dog Rescue Charitywhispaws.org

Instagraminstagram.com/whispersred_asmr

TikToktiktok.com/@whispersredasmr

Facebookfacebook.com/WhispersRedASMR

More info

http://www.youtube.com/@WhispersRedASMR

United Kingdom

Joined 12 Apr 2013

1.12m subscribers

912 videos

433,408,137 views”

As you can see the notes are pretty comprehensive (read extremely long). The majority of professional ASMR artists seem to double as part-time authors if the length of their notes is anything to go by.

The video is a little over thirty-two minutes and it also has humongous notes; associated with it. This time I think I’ll edit them down (a lot):

“663,439 views 16 Jan 2020 #whispersred #asmr

An ASMR affirmations whisper using ocean fabric hands sound, candle gazing, smudging and fluffy mics for close comforting hair sounds 💜0:01 – Introduction 6:53 – Guided relaxation 14:36 – Affirmations begin 23:39 – Repeated affirmations for sleep 29:09 – Goodnight, Sleep tight, with LOVE from me 🌟

Items in this video:

🌸US Links – Satya Incense collection including Celestial – https://amzn.to/2u4hpAt

Silver grey blanket https://amzn.to/30o6wFG

🌷UK Links – Satya Incense with Celestial https://amzn.to/2teboRK

Silver Grey Blanket https://amzn.to/2uSixaB

📚My ASMR Book – Unwind Your Mind: The Life-changing power of ASMR https://campsite.bio/whispersredasmr – Published by Ebury/PenguinRandomHouse in the UK/Europe and Harper One in the US and Canada. Available in Hardback, Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook.”

The full set of notes are interesting to true ASMR afficionados and no doubt to out-and-out WhispersRed fans.

Comments are permitted. There are a fair number and as per usual some are lauding WhispersRed as the pinnacle of ASMRishness. Some are just peculiar. This seems pretty average for any YouTube video. (Some YouTube videos also attract some rather nasty comments, but not so here, as far as I can tell).

The video starts without music and I suppose the clue was in the name of the channel in that we can hear that we are focused on the whispery; in fact, I would say it is on the whispery side of whispery.

Emma mimics ocean sounds by dragging her hands across fabric (and it is really very believable). If you find ocean sounds restful, I would say you would be hard pressed to tell the difference with your eyes closed. I am mainly here for the voice and whilst I prefer presentations that are not focused on whispery, as whispery presentations go, this is a good one.

There is the crackling of a burning candle, the sound of a cigarette lighter, the clicking of nails and that ongoing fabric sound which could easily be the waves retreating over sand, if you did not know better. I thought it quite a clever effect and I’m not certain who first worked out that you could employ fabric in this way. The blowing of a Joss Stick quite effectively mimics the wind blowing; it really is quite carefully put together. It even includes a few well-placed affirmations; I’m quite in favour of an affirmation so I would say that gives it extra kudos.

I can now remember what it is caused me to listen to it all those years ago. In fact, whether it was the heat or the restfulness of this video I did find myself nodding whilst listening to it. In terms of this blog, therefore, I would deem that a success.

Why not review it yourself and see what you think.

The inadvertent ASMR video this week is from a channel that regular readers will already know. It is from Oxford Medical Education a channel with 164k subscribers, thirty two videos, nine playlists, and I have mined this channel for material repeatedly. Some of the videos have actually been quite good.

The video is this one:

Neck Examination – ENT

It is a little less than four minutes so play close attention or you’ll miss it!

There are notes of course: “338,976 views 17 Feb 2012

This video – produced by students at Oxford University Medical School in conjunction with the ENT faculty – demonstrates how to perform an examination of the neck. It also demonstrates the lymph node regions of the neck.

All videos on this channel are linked to Oxford Medical Education (www.oxfordmedicaleducation.com)

This video was produced in collaboration with Oxford Medical Illustration – a department of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. For more information, please visit http://www.oxfordmi.nhs.uk”

How lovely and succinct they are, compared to those for the previous video.

The video starts without music but I was somewhat shocked after WhispersRed how loud the narrator initially sounded. This might be one to thumb the volume down a little. It might also be that in the context of the Procrastination Pen playlist it will fit right in. Something goes wrong with the video at about twenty seconds – it makes a very odd sound and the screen goes crazy for about three seconds. That is a great shame the video is otherwise quite calming. One of those where if I owned the video, I would cut that section out altogether. The medical professional has a great voice for our purposes, quite calm and quiet. However, sadly he does not get to talk as frequently as the narrator in this one. The “patient” doesn’t get to talk at all. The narrator has quite a good voice but not quite as great as the medical professional here. It might be that she has been instructed to be louder in order to be clear for the (no doubt students) attending to the video. It was not, after all, recorded for us ASMR fans.

The only problem from my perspective was the rather active advert that kicked in immediately afterwards.

On that basis, just one, video this time.

That’s it on this occasion, more next time.

See you again next week.

The Oxford Medical Education playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:

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

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

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

The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:

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

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

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

Until next time.

Photo by Deep.ai

Sleeping With ASMR

Recently it has been warm. Actually, warm does not even begin to describe it. It has been the kind of warm that must attend a sweating person’s undergarments. It has been hot and humid, and the kind of weather that makes you wonder why winter seems such a terrible idea.

One of the things that I find when it is like this is that lying in a pool of your own sweat is not that conducive to sleep. I also find that a couple of asthmatic tower fans do not really begin to make a dent in it. I am also hearing colleagues discussing the relative merits of this air conditioning system or that one.

England seems a quite different place to what I am used to if air conditioning starts to become as normal as formally a gas boiler would have been.

In these times as far as I can tell, all that is feasible is to rest, trust that your body is going to sleep when it has to, oh, and listen to a nice distracting playlist. It is for the latter that the Procrastination Pen has been reviewing calming material (predominantly from YouTube) for the last mumble-mumble months now. (It’s been a long while).

I am making efforts to live up to my promise of finding Internet-available material which is both free of adverts and also free of cost. (I think I was something of a lummock for promising it in the first place, but the endeavour persists).

This week I remembered that I had heard a meditation from someone called Chris Murchison called “I Am”. I found a copy of it here: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/item/happiness_break_an_affirmation_practice_for_the_new_year

There is no obvious download button, however, there was also nothing that demanded payment. It is quite brief and there is some music, which is not my preferred thing. However, I found that Chris has a relaxing voice. Why not give it a try for yourself.

Whilst I’m looking at past relaxing material, I found that I had at one time been listening to this week’s professional ASMR artist in the past. The video is not on a medical theme but it is a goody (in my opinion).

The video is this one:

🌙* Sleepy Time🌙* ASMR * Soft Sounds * Massage *

It is from a channel that I have reviewed before

Gentle Whispering ASMR which has 2.43m subscribers, 848 videos, and 14 playlists.

There is even a playlist on a medical theme:

containing thirty-eight videos no less.

Today’s video is dated 2016 which is when I would have been listening to it. The notes, as usual, for a professional ASMR artist are making a run for war and peace in terms of their length:

“1 May 2016 #Gentlewhispering #ASMR #relax

Good evening🌙 ^_^ In this video we will scratch a pillow 00:59, make sleepy sweeping sounds with it 03:15, tuck you in with a soft blanket 06:22, massage your shoulders and your neck to help you relax more while learning why it is so good for you 08:45, then we’ll rub your temples and your forehead to sooth any tension you might have 17:00, help you locate and relax your jaw muscles 21:14 and at the end we’ll use a tissue technique 23:05 to help you close your eyes and fall asleep faster 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy this simple and light video. Thank you for watching! 🌙 ♥

Disclaimer: ***- This video is created for relaxation, entertainment and ASMR/tingles/chills inducing purposes only. For more information about ASMR phenomenon please click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomo…

-This video cannot replace any medication or professional treatment. If you have sleep/anxiety/psychological troubles please consult your physician. Thank you 🙂

Email: MariaGentlewhispering@gmail.com

#ASMR #Gentlewhispering #relax”

As usual I have truncated those quite a bit. The video is a little over twenty-six and a quarter minutes. There are a shed-ton of comments. As usual there is lots of fawning commentary with the odd strange comment thrown in to remind you this is YouTube.

There is no startup music and the presentation is heavily dependent on whispery, breathy presentation. Pretty standard for a professional ASMR artist then. I do prefer them less on the whispery side personally, probably because such videos are comparatively rare. The voice is so quiet that at intervals what is being said cannot be made out (by me at any rate). However, the tone is so restful and quiet and the pace so marvellously slow. There is a persistent background hiss but it is barely noticeable. (I had turned the volume up a bit as the presentation really is that quiet).

There are non-vocal sounds of course: nails clicking on sequins, fabric-related noises, (some of those do not seem to be that restful), stroking of a cushion (which is uncannily like an ocean noise), stroking of a jumper, rustling noises, fingers tapping on material.

At intervals my mind did start to drift a bit which is perhaps not a good sign. Then again it could be a sign that if I was horizontal, I would have drifted off at that point.

I would say this one was definitely worthy of a review, why not take a look yourself.

The Calm track this week is this one:

https://www.calm.com/app/player/yS_L-ODr3t

Daily Trip

Awareness for Curious Cats

NARRATOR

Jeff Warren

AUTHOR

Jeff Warren

What is awareness? We can never fully know ourselves but we can try.

I know the chances are that relatively few of you will have a Calm subscription and I am not going to sell you one. However, if you do subscribe to Calm, why not give that a try.

For the inadvertent ASMR we are back, once again, with a channel that I have covered many times previously, that is Geeky Medics. This channel has 1.44m subscribers, three hundred and fifty four videos, twenty playlists and occasionally we do find a really rather relaxing video. With the downside that as far as I remember every single video I have reviewed from this channel has music.

Today’s video is this one:

Tinel’s & Phalen’s Test – OSCE Guide | Clip | UKMLA | CPSA | PLAB 2

In common with several recent inadvertent ASMR videos of late it is rather short at a little less than one and a half minutes. The video still has notes though: “2 Oct 2022 Neurological Examination OSCE Guides | CPSA | UKMLA | PLAB | MRCS

This video demonstrates how to screen for sensory loss in the hands in an OSCE station. Sensory assessment of the hands (radial, median, ulnar nerve) is commonly performed as part of a hand and wrist examination.

Tinel’s and Phalen’s test screen specifically for median nerve compression (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome).

You can read our step-by-step guide to hand and wrist examination here: https://geekymedics.com/hand-examinat…

Always adhere to medical school/local hospital guidelines when performing examinations or clinical procedures. DO NOT perform any examination or procedure on patients based purely on the content of these videos. Geeky Medics accepts no liability for loss of any kind incurred as a result of reliance upon the information provided in this video.

Achieve success in your medical school OSCEs, UKMLA CPSA, and PLAB 2 exams with our free clinical skills videos. Subscribe to our channel to be informed of our latest releases. 🙂

CPSA OSCE Guides https://geekymedics.com/the-clinical-…

UKMLA AKT Notes https://geekymedics.com/ukmla/

PLAB 2 OSCE Stations https://geekymedics.com/plab-2-osce-s…

Revise for the Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) with our collection of high-quality SCA cases written by GPs and Training Program Directors. Check out our SCA revision cases and prepare for the MRCGP https://geekymedics.com/sca-cases-ban…”

Again I have edited those down a tad.

Despite how short this video is there is still time, apparently, for startup music (I am not a fan). The examination is not quiet, but the tone is good and the pace is excellent. Without the music it might even have been very good indeed. There is even further music at the tail end of the same video… it’s a great shame, I need a Geeky Medics Senza Musica but no such channel exists.

Still worth a review though I feel.