Lumbar Vertebrae – The Procrastination Pen

Sleeping With ASMR

The year warms, and it is this time that the recommendations that the bedroom be kept cool appears to be more difficult to achieve. Unless you are fortunate, swinging the windows open is only likely to keep you awake due to the noises of traffic, passing individuals, even other people’s televisions or music playing apparatus. At this time I wish you as much sleep as it is feasible to get, and I hope that the Procrastination Pen can provide some small support towards that.

I have got into the habit of identifying a track from Calm that has been helpful to me this week. As usual, I have found one of the Calm dailies to be infinitely more listenable than the tracks dedicated to sleep. I have been listening to Jeff Warren, but this week I have switched allegiance to Tamara Levitt. It is quite restful, and if you do not take to it there is the advantage that it is quite brief.

Tamara Levitt, Daily Calm, Non-Attachment

https://www.calm.com/app/player/9knrT0BrjK

I have been spending a brief period in each blog post reviewing a professional ASMR artist. So far, it has been remarkable how many of the “failings” of inadvertent ASMR videos are often shared by professional ASMR videos.

Today’s video is this one:

ASMR Naturopathy consultation (Unintentional, real person ASMR)

Which is a whopping one and a quarter hours in length. Comments are permitted and what a mixed bag they truly are. I have often commented that I think allowing comments is a fundamentally brave decision. But at least if there are three hundred and ninety-four of them a lot of people are fascinated by your video.

The channel is ASMR Beauty it has 131K subscribers and three hundred and eighty five videos and of course ASMR Beauty appears on the ASMR index.

There are notes, and it is refreshing to find a video not touting some sponsor or other.

“758,329 views 9 Oct 2022 #asmrmedicalexam #asmrmedical #asmr

This week’s ASMR video is a naturopathy consultation 🥰 Yvonne was so helpful and really shone a light on just how unbalanced my diet has been lately… this session has really inspired me to take better care of myself and check what I am eating, and I am so grateful that I was able to film it for you all for both educational and relaxation purposes! ✨

💕Treatment Details are as follows: 💕

Website: https://www.yjdnaturaltherapies.com/i…

As always, this video is not sponsored. I am uploading it with the hope that it helps people relax after a hard day’s work or school. ✨

If you’d like to support my work, please consider donating to my Ko-fi! (https://ko-fi.com/asmrbeauty) Any amount is much appreciated! ❤️

‼️All of my content is footage of real sessions and experiences I have had in London or in other parts of the UK. I upload these sessions with the intention to help people destress, relax and learn‼️”

The video starts loud. In fact, it sounds convincingly like a real medical examination video, complete with excessively intrusive air conditioning. The pace is lovingly slow but the voice, at least to start with, is not your classically amazing ASMR voice. Refreshing is the complete absence of whispering, which makes it more believable, if anything. That said, I have found inadvertent ASMR videos which are more restful from my perspective, than this one.

The question-and-answer session is not something that I commonly cover. I may look-into that in future for my inadvertent ASMR videos, although I doubt counselling sessions, for example, are available on YouTube (I’ll verify that in my video related research, just in case).

What strikes me is how well-spoken the participants are in this video and not something I always encounter. At intervals I did find that it seemed to be going on for a while which wasn’t a great sign. However, if you’re tired and need to sleep perhaps it is just what you need. To be honest, for me, it could have been half the length.

Moving on to the inadvertent ASMR, which is the whole point of this blog (or it has been to date).

Today’s video is this one:

L spine overview.wmv

This features Mr Mushtaque A Ishaque and straight away we realise that the video is not commencing with music – heaven be praised. Mr Ishaque has a great voice. Although the video is filmed in a presentation style his voice is not excessively loud. This is a talent which a number of other people could profit from. He has a measured approach and is a joy to listen to. The video is a little over fifteen and a quarter minutes and surprisingly for a professional video has no notes. Comments are permitted and even more surprisingly these are both positive and lack any off-the-wall comments.

The channel is EdwardTDavis and the whole channel has only fifteen videos. This is still too many for one blog post

Regular readers will be familiar with the channel because it has been covered before.

I think that this time we will filter by including only those videos that are dedicated to examination of the spine. There are four of these and that seems a suitable number to cover in one post. Of course, the above has been reviewed, so we have only three remaining:

The next one therefore is this one:

L spine run through.wmv

This is slightly less than four minutes in length, so it is unlikely to be around long enough to be boring. There are no notes. There is one single abusive comment (I always say that permitting comments on a YouTube video is akin to an invitation to duck).

The video is of the same standard as the previous one and the voice is equally as good. It is nicely paced and never excessively loud. It is not peppered with annoying music or excessive background noise. If it had been quite a bit longer, it would be just the kind of video that I look for in terms of ASMR videos.

The next one in the spine series on this channel is this one:

C spine run through.wmv

This one is a little less than three and a quarter minutes, like the last one it’s somewhat on the short side. There are no notes, the comments at least seem relevant, if not helpful, to an ASMR-orientated audience.

Again, there is no music. The voice continues to be excellent. Air conditioning noises are so muted as to be easy to disregard. Shame this wasn’t forty one minutes in length, it would be a great one to drift off to. As it is, I think all the videos this week are going into The Procrastination Pen playlist.

Sadly, a playlist of short-length videos, as seasoned readers will be aware by now, is simply an invitation for YouTube to slot in unsuitable adverts in between. For which I apologise. Those so disposed can now subscribe to YouTube and pay for an Ad-Free experience. I have not tried this myself and so I cannot comment if it ultimately works out as a good deal.

The next (and last) video on the subject of the spine, on this channel, is this one:

C spine overview.wmv

This is a little more substantive at thirteen minutes in length. Again, it has no notes. Comments are permitted; there is one bland comment which just possibly could have been left by an ASMR fan.

The participants have been the same throughout and the quality of each of them has been good. I am trialling all of them in the Procrastination Pen playlist and I hope that you agree they are all worthy of that (feedback is always welcome).

The Edward Davis 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 am noticing on YouTube, a number of channels dedicated to the collecting of inadvertent ASMR videos and, sometimes the creation of playlists of such videos, which in many ways replicates the work that I am doing.

There are also blogs out there producing some quality work in this area, so it is feasible that any ASMR-related output has been accomplished even more professionally elsewhere. If you do have a favourite outlet for ASMR material pass it along and I will feature it. I may even listen to it personally.

For the moment I am carrying on doing what I have done for over a year now, reviewing videos, generating playlists, occasionally editing the playlists when I don’t feel that they are fit for purpose. If you happen across this blog in your search for better ASMR material, by all means, give me some feedback and I’ll try to incorporate any relevant suggestions.

Of late, I have been listening to Calm because I have a subscription and, for me, that subscription gives some value, in that without it, I doubt I would be maintaining any kind of meditation discipline. Its value as a sleep aid I have found a bit variable. Indeed, I have found that the Calm daily meditations are more restful in many cases than the items dedicated to sleep. Not least that a number of the items dedicated to sleep incorporate music, which, personally, I do not find helpful in assisting me to get off to sleep. Your mileage may vary.

Today’s Calm item is just the same and, again, it is one of my favourite voices on there, Jeff Warren. Who, coincidentally, once in a while has something useful to say as well. Don’t take this as a recommendation to start splashing your cash. Heaven forfend. I am certain that with a bit of discipline there are other, free, options available.

https://www.calm.com/app/player/Yj26VDZzW_ Jeff Warren, Daily Trip, Sometimes It’s Hard.

However, if, for example, you already have a Calm subscription you may want to give the above a whirl.

For a few weeks now I have been giving a professional ASMR video a review. Today’s comes via a slightly esoteric route, in that I have been trying to learn Italian via Duolingo, without success, for way – way too long. It was for this reason that a video in Italian, by a non-Italian ASMR artist rather appealed.

The video is this one:

ITALY’S Old School Eye Exam is SO Relaxing | Real ASMR sounds

It is from LaLek ASMR a channel with three hundred and ten videos, 242K subscribers and whose output seems to incorporate an impressive number of massage videos. As expected, the channel also appears on the ASMR Index.

The video has notes, some of which are dedicated to self-promotion, so a precis of which are as follows:

“2,152,940 views 14 Feb 2025 #EyeExam #MedicalASMR #ASMR

Ciao a tutti! 🌿✨ Today, I’m taking you inside an old-school eye clinic in Italy for a real eye exam with a gentle, professional old-school eye doctor and vintage optometry tools. This classic vision test includes trial frames, Snellen Eye Test Chart, near and far vision testing, and vintage optometry equipments—all creating unintentional ASMR with soft-spoken moments, gentle tapping, and soothing sounds. 💆‍♂️👓

If you love medical ASMR, real eye exams, and the nostalgic charm of old-fashioned clinics, this video is for you!”

Comments are permitted and surprisingly, are positive and seem to lack the off-the-wall and damning. Perhaps such commentators take a little while to catch up.

The video is a little less than thirty minutes and it is surprising how effective hearing an ASMR video in another language actually is. However, there are quite loud equipment noises. It is also punctuated by ads sadly. There are various electric motor noises, beeps and clicks. None of these seem excessively loud. The summation by the eye specialist is a little louder and somewhat faster than the rest. It isn’t terrible but does not stand up well in comparison with the nicely quiet presentation that has gone just before.

Today we return to a channel that I did promise I would revisit after a moderately successful first review of it.

The channel is Farsight Channel and will be familiar to regular readers.

The video is this one:

Macleod’s examination of the sensory system of the upper limbs

A little less than five- and three-quarter minutes long. Omar and Amy as in the previous article, and by this time I am getting used to that artificial voice (maybe that is just me). A video of that voice would not be unpleasant for us I feel, even though there seems a slight discontinuity between the sound and the video.

Macleod’s examination of the cervical spine

Ben and Omar again. Omar’s responses are so abrupt and flat that it is laughable, definitely not Omar’s genuine voice (in fact, I doubt that Omar is even the “patient’s” name).

It is just over two minutes long and, in every respect, follows the findings indicated for the previous videos in this post.

Macleod’s examination of the ear

Omar with Amy, and I have decided that I like the artificial voice of Amy a lot more than the artificial voice of Ben. Shucks, am I admitting to liking a synthesized voice? Well not really, just that I think it is better than another computer-generated voice.

This one is less than one minute so there is barely time to take in what the participants are saying before it is all over. Again, the narrator is not as quiet as the participants.

Macleod’s examination of the upper limbs motor function

Ben and Omar, but this time a narrator who is different to the one we have had previously, not only that, but he has a markedly superior voice. Much preferred intonation and volume for our purposes.

Omar responds “no” in a completely flat tone which, if you have listened to the ones that went before in this post, you will be completely familiar with.

This is just less than six minutes, so a positive marathon in terms of some in this post but miniscule compared to some we have seen.

Macleod’s examination of lower limb motor function

This is just over five minutes long. Ben and Omar, same narrator as above and this narrator would have been great for all of the videos. Perhaps I will be entering into some judicious weeding of videos from the main Procrastination playlist into the archive list and including only those with this narrator. I’ll let them bed in and see if they are all deserving of long-term membership.

Macleod’s examination of the Hip joint

Just over six and a half minutes, Ben and Omar the participants again. These have all been very similar, which is remarkable in that there has been little to dislike about any of them. I sometimes resort to pointing out minor niggles to distinguish between them (like the narrator’s voice for example). Here we have the preferred narrator of the two featured in this blog post. Already then, we are on a good footing (given the narrator is talking for much of the video).

Definition, just because I thought a picture would be useful – lumbar spine

Macleod’s examination of the respiratory system

Amy with Omar and this time with my preferred narrator. So preferred participants (for this set anyway) and preferred narrator, so something of a jackpot. It is nearly thirteen minutes and so reasonably long for the posts we have been covering this time.

Definition Cricosternal distance distance between the cricoid cartilage and the suprasternal notch (labelled as Jugular notch below)

Macleod’s Examination of the cardiovascular system

Just over twelve- and three-quarter minutes, Amy with Omar, and the last of the videos in this particular post. The preferred narrator in fact a good video to go out on.

Definition Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease, a disease present at birth leading to low levels of oxygen in the blood.

The Farsight Playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here: