Tag: Unintentional ASMR

Sleeping With ASMR

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.

Ashley Carmichael is the channel.

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.

Until next time.

Photo by François Bonnet on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

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.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

If you have got to that time of life where you cannot remember the last time you had a decent night’s sleep and your daily consciousness is about walking around in a fog, you are in the right place.

For some little while now, the Procrastination Pen has been compiling a playlist of videos designed to be relaxing and to lull you off to sleep. If the bedroom has become a warzone with wakefulness, at the very least, you can lie there and listen to the videos rather than worrying about the sleep you’re not getting.

Today’s video comes from a source that we have seen before. It is from an institution that most people must be aware of.

It is this:

Demonstration of Teaching the Reflex Exam by Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

and like most professional videos we have covered, it comes with notes:

“27 Apr 2016  Skills Symposium – 2015

Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese demonstrates how he teaches the reflex exam on a real patient in front of an audience of clinical educators.

On September 28th & 29th, 2015, the Stanford Medicine 25 team hosted the first annual bedside exam symposium for clinicians and educators. The purpose was to share how we do bedside teaching and allow them to improve upon their bedside exam skills.

Learn more about past and upcoming symposiums on the bedside exam:

http://stanfordmedicine25.stanford.ed…

Visit the Stanford Medicine 25:

Website: http://stanfordmedicine25.stanford.edu/

Blog: http://stanford25blog.stanford.edu/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StanfordMedic…

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StanfordMed25

Google+: http://goo.gl/UBM7SP”

Dr Verghese it appears is some kind of powerhouse of the medical profession.

However, we are more concerned with whether he produces a great relaxing video.

It starts with the inevitable music, but fortunately, this is short and not excessively loud. Dr Verghese has a calm sounding voice but the video is a presentation so he isn’t completely quiet here.

The video has the benefit of being an interesting one as well, perhaps it will prove to be a distraction from your concerns about insomnia.

This is a definite candidate for the Procrastination Pen playlist I think.

It is from the channel Stanford Medicine 25, this channel has eighty-five videos and so a few if we were looking to review them all (perhaps that will happen with time but not all in this one post).

Our video is found in the playlist Skills Symposium – 2015

Normally this would therefore be the subject of our blog post. However there are seventeen videos in this playlist and given it is a symposium, some of those videos are rather long.

I think therefore we will focus on presentations from this symposium that feature Dr Verghese. This is a subset of the videos in this playlist. However, I suspect we will return to the others in the future.

Purpose and History of the Stanford 25 by Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

The same music, a similar start up format. So far, so expected for a professional video.

Dr Verghese remains excellent in this. Sadly, for us it is a bit more interactive with laughter at intervals, for example. I’ll include it in the Procrastination Pen playlist for now (as you know this list gets reviewed constantly, and those videos which turn out not to be relaxing enough after extensive exposure get archived from this list).

An extract from the notes is as follows: “27 Apr 2016  Skills Symposium – 2015

Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks at the opening of the Skills Symposium about the purpose and history of the Stanford Medicine 25.”

Why are We Doing this Teaching? – Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford 25 Skills Symposium)

“Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks why we’re doing this bedside exam teaching.”

A different but equally unwelcome start up jingle. However, Dr Verghese remains consistent in having a great voice. Although at just over one minute you are not getting a lot of it.

The 5-Minute Bedside Moment – Dr. Abraham Verghese (Stanford Skills Symposium)

“Founder and leader of the Stanford Medicine 25, and best-selling author, Dr. Abraham Verghese talks about the 5-Minute Bedside Moment: our tool for teaching the physical exam at the bedside.”

He might be talking about the five minute bedside moment but he is taking two and three quarter minutes to do so.

Start-up music tick, notes, tick, same presentation tick. This consistency is such an asset when one video of a series is a good one (less good if it is a bad one). In this case these have all been good videos in terms of delivery and I shall be looking out for Dr Verghese videos in the future.

That is it for this time, thank-you for reading and I hope you get a restful night’s sleep.

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 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 Jonathan Fink on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

For the keen Procrastination Pen enthusiast, the Moran CORE channel will not be a mystery because we have been here before.

At that time, we encountered a “patient” Megan who had a good voice for us, but sadly didn’t get much air time. There is not a chance we will find any other Megan material unless someone reading this happens to know that she has a channel and passes that info along. (A search on “Megan” brings up all kinds of unrelated material as you would imagine.)

On the basis that we are unlikely to see that happen, I return to Moran CORE because one of the professionals on this site also has a good voice. This is David Meyer.

The video I start with is this one:

Using Subjective Refraction to Calculate Glasses Prescription and Fit a Contact Lens

Straight away the advantages of a professional video are heard, no background noise. In this case, no funky start up music (heaven be praised). David has a nice quiet and methodical approach – it’s all going swimmingly. The video informs us that David is the Director of Contact Lens Services at the Moran Eye Center Utah.

In addition, the video has notes: “8 Feb 2018

Title:  Using Subjective Refraction to Calculate Glasses Prescription and Fit a Contact Lens

Author: David Meyer, MD

Date: 3/08/2017

From Moran CORE Collection: http://morancore.utah.edu”

David tells us that Moran is located in Salt Lake City.

The technical content is quite a bit beyond me I have to say so in this case I found it best to allow it to wash over me.

Definitions:

Phoropter: an instrument for evaluating vision

Axis: position of astigmatism in the eyes

Cylinder: lens power needed to correct astigmatism

Vertex: the distance between the cornea to the back of a lens

Slit lamp: a lamp the ophthalmologist uses to view the retina

Although, occasionally, he does get a little more energetic in his presentation, he does not stray here into loud. All-in-all I think a good one for the Procrastination Pen Playlist.

Moran of course has approximately one thousand videos available and thinning down those to review for this blog is one of those interesting tasks we have seen before.

In this case I think the only approach is to search YouTube for videos in which David appears (on the understanding that I will probably miss one or two videos featuring David which the search does not capture.)

Meet David Meyer, OD, FAAO

Notice that now we are on a new channel

John A. Moran Eye Center

I have no idea why there are two channels for one centre but I notice this latter channel has a lot less subscribers and a much more manageable one hundred videos. I suspect if it is anything like the University Channels we have explored before, this will be a marketing channel and of limited interest to us

This one, sadly includes ongoing funky music. I think it is safe to say this is a promo video and as a consequence David is much more energised here. Great for David less good for relaxing-sleep-time videos. This is not one for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

The notes back this up, definitely more of a sale-sy pitch to it “25 Jan 2023

David Meyer, OD, FAAO, specializes in the fitting of contact lenses at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He also practices at Moran’s Midvalley Health Center. He primarily focuses on keratoconus, post-surgical corneas, pediatrics, irregular or high astigmatism, and fitting traumatized eyes. Dr. Meyer also provides primary eye care for those who do not wear contact lenses.

Call 801-581-2352 to schedule an appointment at our University and Midvalley location.”

Proper Fit and Evaluation of Gas Permeable Contact Lens

Back on the original Moran Core channel and at just over ten minutes a more substantive video, such that it feels like we are on home ground again.

Yet again no funky intro music, a quiet David voice which we are used to from the first video. The “patient” is the same, the approach is equally measured, however the technical terminology just keeps on coming.

The notes are somewhat brief this time “8 Feb 2018

Title:  Proper Fit and Evaluation of Gas Permeable Contact Lens

Author: David Meyer, MD

Date: 03/08/2017

From Moran CORE Collection: http://morancore.utah.edu”

Definitions:

K reading: measurement of corneal curvature.

Diopter: focusing strength of a lens.

Over refraction: even when wearing the lens, the patient will still have some focusing issues left – this is a measure of those remaining issues.

Fluorescein: stain used to diagnose eye conditions.

Another good one for the Procrastination Pen playlist, I think.

Corneal Topography in Keratoconus and Contact Lens

Back on form, David is certainly turning out to be reasonably consistent for our purposes.

The notes are: “8 Feb 2018

Title:  Corneal Topography in Keratoconus and Contact Lens

Author: David Meyer, MD

Date: 3/08/2017

From Moran CORE Collection: http://morancore.utah.edu”

Definition:

Keratoconus: a bulge in the cornea which affects vision.

This is substantially shorter in that it is just over three and a half minutes. The condition sounds alarming but fortunately there are none of the, sometimes-shocking, images that can haunt the dark alleyways of YouTube. So nothing (I hope) to aid in your sleeplessness. As a result I am going to include it in The Procrastination Pen playlist. It might be weeded in the future.

The playlist is subject to continuous review (by me) so if it turns out that something is just not a good fit I’ll plop it into the archive list (just in case it turns out to be one of your favourites, in which case it would b rude to ban it completely).

I hope that you find the playlist restful. My advice is always to pick up the playlist on YouTube itself. That way you can make use of the shuffle function and play it in random order. Otherwise, you may get a lot of similar videos playing one after another.

The Moran Core 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 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 lingda kong on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

Welcome back, another day at the Procrastination Pen and another review of a potential ASMR video. Those of you who have been reading this for a while now will understand the drill. If you’re a newbie, hello and welcome. Each blog item I take another video which was not designed for ASMR and review it, in case it has ASMR effects or at the very least could be thought relaxing enough to help you sleep.

At the end of the exercise any worthwhile videos are added to the Procrastination Pen playlist. I always put a reference to the playlist at the end of each article so if you are short of time skip to the end, pick up the url, hop over to YouTube and listen away. I hope you enjoy it.

Still here? Marvellous, well onto today’s video then which is this one:

Muscle Palpation – Upper Extremity (Shoulder, Arm, Forearm, Wrist, Hand) ASMR

This has a set of notes associated with it and boy are they long (I’ll skip the parts dedicated to asking for subscriptions) “27 Feb 2021 Upper Extremity Muscle Palpations

Muscle Palpation – Upper Extremity (Shoulder, Arm, Forearm, Wrist, Hand)

Deltoid

Supraspinatus

Infraspinatus

Subscapularis

Teres Minor

Teres Major

Biceps Brachii

Coracobrachialis

Brachialis

Brachioradialis

Triceps Brachii

Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus & Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis

Extensor Digitorum

Extensor Digiti Minimi

Extensor Carpi Ulnaris

Abductor Pollicis Longus

Anconeus

Extensor Indicis

Extensor Pollicis Longus & Extensor Pollicis Brevis

Pronator Teres

Supinator

Flexor Carpi Radialis

Flexor Carpi Ulnaris

Flexor Digitorum Profundus

Flexor Digitorum Superficialis

Flexor Pollicis Longus

Palmaris Longus

Pronator Quadratus

Abductor Digiti Minimi

Abductor Pollicis Brevis

Adductor Pollicis

Flexor Digiti Minimi (Manus)

Flexor Pollicis Brevis

Lumbricals (Manus)

Opponens Digiti Minimi

Opponens Pollicis

Palmar Interossei & Dorsal Interossei”

Phew. And as for the notes so for the video which is in excess of 2 hours in length!

Comments are permitted which as I have pointed out before is somewhat brave. However some ASMR fans have found this one much before me. I have mentioned before that ASMR fans are equalled only by Jonathan Creek in terms of ferreting out ASMR content (it is with great joy that I occasionally find one which does not seem to have been tracked down before)

One of the commentators states that the timings are as follows:

“Deltoid 0:01

Supraspinatus 4:02

Infraspinatus 6:51

Subscapularis 9:34

Teres Minor 14:14

Teres Major 17:32

Biceps Brachii 22:38

Coracobrachialis 28:17

Brachialis 32:10

Brachioradialus 35:54

Triceps Brachii 38:58

Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus and Brevis 44:10

Extensor Digitorum 49:15

Extensor Carpi Ulnaris 53:10

Abductor Pollicis Longus 55:24

Anconeus 58:30

Extensor Indicis 1:00:23

Extensor Pollicis Longus and Brevis 1:03:06

Pronator Teres 1:07:32

Supinator 1:10:39

Flexor Carpi Radialus 1:14:04

Flexor Carpi Ulnaris 1:16:40

Flexor Digitorum Profundus 1:20:07

Flexor Digitorum Superficialis 1:25:08

Flexor Pollicics Longus 1:30:38

Palmaris Longus 1:34:13

Pronator Quadratus 1:37:48

Abductor Digiti Minimi 1:40:34

Abductor Pollicis Brevis 1:43:00

Adductor Pollicus 1:45:00

Flexor Digiti Minimi (Manus) 1:48:18

Flexor Pollicis Brevis 1:50:10

Lumbricals (Manus) 1:52:16

Opponens Digiti Minimi 1:57:06

Opponens Pollicis 1:59:16

Palmar Interossei & Dorsal Interossei 2:01:41”

I have not reviewed the timings myself, but I can’t imagine you’re going to need them if you’re using the video to drop off to.

The downside of a video with all these sections is that YouTube seems to take the opportunity at every division to throw in another loud and therefore sleep-disturbing advert. If there is a mystery setting that can put off such adverts till the end of play I’d dearly love to know what it is.

The medical professional has a good voice but sadly is not identified. The recording method leaves a lot to be desired, this video is not so much quiet as near silent. It is unusual that I have to turn the volume up in order to review a video.

However, the presentation is calm and methodical and let’s face it with a video of this length you’re probably only going to need this one video to fall asleep to.

It is probably a worthy addition to the playlist but all videos are continually reviewed and occasionally jettisoned into the archive list (the archive only exists in case I bin one of your favourites).

Given the length I think this time I will limit myself to one video however the channel is Blackriver & Bootsma Education.

At the time of review there are two hundred and ninety videos on this channel and most of them are substantially shorter than today’s video. For this reason, this is a channel worth noting and returning to. With any luck they solved their microphone volume issues on some of the subsequent videos.

Unusually (given there is only one video here) I have created a B&B Education playlist on the Procrastination Pen channel here:

This is only because I have high confidence other videos will be reviewed on this channel and added to the overall playlist in the future.

The overall playlist which seasoned blog readers will know well is here:

The archive list of those which fell from grace is here:

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 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 Kelvin Han on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

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:

Rachel Bridges

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.

Until next time.

Photo by Anas Belmadani on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

I seem to have meandered into the world of ASMR YouTube channels more recently. It will not be a permanent move. My intention is to get right back to genuine medical videos.

Today’s channel is ASMR Sandwich Breath, as mentioned before sandwich breath is a bit of an insider ASMR joke. People either know of the sandwich breath video or they do not. Afficionados of ASMR videos are expected to understand the inside jokes (I only get a few of them as there are a great many such videos).

Today’s video is this one:

Physical Medical Exam Unintentional ASMR

The video starts with the title PE for TOPE Student Demonstration

Ross here the “patient” and Jessica the medical professional. Jessica states this is the University of Washington and that she is a registered nurse. The comments state that the original of this video has now been deleted. Assuming that we can trust that, this is possibly the only place we will encounter this video.

The University of Washington has its own channel of course, 757 videos on that channel and 12 playlists. The upshot of which is that some playlists are composed of over 100 videos.

Jessica’s video does not seem to be in there.

UDUB is apparently a shortening for the University of Washington to those in the know.

Ross does not seem the happiest patient, or taking a more positive view he could be half asleep.

Jessica enunciates the medical terms here in such a clear way, possibly the best I have heard so far.

I also notice a great deal of time taken to explain what is coming next. Perhaps this thoroughness explains why the video is in excess of thirty-four minutes.

This is very quiet. Jessica at intervals is on a par with Vicki Scott which is quite a statement, the result is a video which is a good playlist candidate.

The video concludes with a healthy amount of information Jessica Burke-Lazarus BSN, RN Midwifery-DNP student was the medical professional. Jessica, it turns out, graduated in 2013 and now works in Seattle.

The “patient” was Rosson Wiebe PMHNP-DNP Student Ross also graduated in 2013 and went on to work in Florida.

It also tells us that it was filmed December 9 2011 in the Center for Excellence in Nursing Education at the University of Washington.

ASMR Sandwich breath has forty-eight videos as at today’s date, that is a fair few videos to attempt to motor through. A quick scan of them reveals some old favourites which we have covered before.

The usual approach is to reduce the number to be covered by selecting a suitable playlist from the channel.

There are five playlists on here but some of them are a little on the long side.

A nice short playlist is this one:

which is titled

Medical ASMR – Male Nurse/Doctor with Male Patient

Ostensibly consisting of four videos but two of these are listed as hidden. We have seen this before but I am no closer to explaining it.

So that leaves us with two videos to look at (the first video with Jessica in it is not part of this playlist).

Fit and Evaluation of GP Contact Lens Unintentional ASMR

Dr David Meyer and we are back at the Moran Eye Centre. We covered a subset of the Moran Eye Centre videos previously.

However not this one or the one after this. However, I think a return to Moran is indicated when we can cover these videos in their natural home

Which for this one is here:

Prescription & Fit a Contact Lens Unintentional ASMR

This is also on Moran CORE it is here:

with the above video I will cover this one in a future review of the video in its proper home.

The ASMR Sandwich breath 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 process. 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 Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

Recently, as happens in everyone’s life, things have been stressful. Habitually in the past, this would mean that I would achieve substantially less sleep. However, the addition of some Bose QuietComfort headphones (a company with which I am affiliated in no sense) and the Procrastination Pen playlist has really helped in this respect. The sleep isn’t super refreshing, don’t get me wrong, but there is at least more of it than I might have expected in similar circumstances in the past.

I hope that you find the playlist is helpful in your pursuit of sleep, no matter the headphones that you choose to employ to listen to it.

Today is another one from an old favourite channel which regular readers will instantly recognise. I also think, if anything, this video is superior in terms of restfulness than the last video I featured for this particular channel.

The video is this one:

Examination of the Cranial Nerves – Demonstration

At just over seven minutes it’s not huge in length and the comments lead me to suspect that the ASMR community has thoroughly taken to this one, adopted it and gone out for walks with it in the park on Sundays.

As a professionally produced video it, of course, has notes and the notes in this case are very helpful:

“13 Dec 2011 Clinical Examinations

A second more detailed video can be found at; http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/msce…

This is a real-time demonstration illustrating technique and patient interaction involved in the Examination of the Cranial Nerves.

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 Richard Abbott MD FRCP Consultant Neurologist. 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 starts without introductory music – wow!

It begins quietly, it continues perfectly. The medical professional and the “patient” both have excellent voices. All-in-all a video one could wish would go on for better than forty five minutes.

But it is a brief one, so we must console ourselves (like the Hollie Berry material) that at least it exists and is on a University channel (and so may exist for a while yet).

The channel is: University of Leicester and at this rate it is likely to become a thoroughgoing favourite on this blog (along with the University of Warwick).

Sadly, it has in excess of 1300 videos. Trawling that lot for the odd additional one is likely to take longer than is sensibly available.

I think falling back on the searching of YouTube for more videos featuring Dr Richard Abbott is a valid approach in this case.

It turns out that this search reveals some ASMR channels have now adopted this video as their very own for example here:

Unintentional ASMR – University of Leicester Exams (without Walkthroughs)

which is on a channel:

Princess Eev [ASMR]

Hopefully it (the channel) sticks around. Some of the pure ASMR channels have disappeared of late and I do wonder if some channel owners fall foul of copyright action (although I have no evidence for this of course).

However, there is another in the same series (sadly only the one more) and as I prefer to get the videos from original sources, if I can, I’ll go with that video.

(I have used pure ASMR channels before this, but I do try to implement the more po-faced approach of locating unintentional ASMR videos the old-fashioned way i.e. by watching a lot of normal videos and trying to locate any restful ones).

Examination of the Cranial Nerves – Explanation

This is just less than sixteen and a quarter minutes long. There is again no startup music, thankyou video recording persons for this (and other such persons take note).

It starts again quietly, it continues quietly, in my view it is every bit as good as the previous one.

The comments indicate the ASMR community love this, with many cross references to other ASMR videos known to those “in the know”. By this stage I imagine that you are all familiar with them as well. There being no mystery to them, other than the need to watch far too much potential ASMR material.

There are notes again: “30 Apr 2012 Clinical Examinations

This is a detailed explanation of the examination of the Cranial Nerves 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 Dr Richard Abbott MD FRCP Consultant Neurologist. 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…”

I’m afraid the urls no longer lead to additional material which, given the video was posted in excess of eleven years ago, is probably no surprise.

In addition, the Internet Archive has no record of it (as at today’s date in any case).

Very regrettably that appears to be all Dr Abbott and “Paul” left for us. They enriched the ASMR community with their (sadly brief) presence and we could have but hoped for more.

So back to what you were doing then, but remember to come back in a week’s time.

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 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 Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

According to a guide I was reading recently, in order to be successful in the cut and thrust world of blog posts this really should be entitled “Ten ways to the sleep you’re hoping for” or similar. Apparently, I should have researched my audience so that I know I’m targeting a fifty-year-old non-smoker living in West Wales with her five cats and a small moped called Nigel.

As you can tell, I have not done that.

So if by some miraculous twist of fate you have happened across this blog post, welcome. I hope that you enjoy and if you feel so disposed tell all of your ASMR-loving friends. If you are living with multiple cats and a moped, or if you are not.

Today we are looking at a video from an establishment that even I have heard of. I am hopeful that it’s expertise also churns out medical professionals with a gentle deliberate manner and calm attentive voices.

Percussion of the Chest (Stanford Medicine 25)

It begins with a funky tune which, sadly has become the norm for such videos. However, the medical professional’s voice is actually quite good. This is quite obviously an instruction video but lacks the elevated volume and strident delivery of many such videos.

The “patient” is Geoff (or possibly Jeff). As usual for such videos some of the comments are not particularly relevant or even complimentary. I am beginning to prefer the videos where commentary is denied altogether.

A search around the Internet reveals that this is Dr. Abraham Verghese who even has his own Wikipedia entry and website.

(I wonder if it is feasible to create a Wikipedia entry for yourself, that could be quite fun).

This is not as great as Dr James Gill but is a worthy addition to the playlist, I think. The video is part of a playlist

In which there are only two videos. The second of which is

Stigmata of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Stanford Medicine 25)

(The same patient, the same medical professional, the same institution).

Again, with the funky music, which, thankfully is soon over. This is equally as good as the last one.

Sadly, it is also quite brief.

So, a brief playlist today but it would seem that we need to follow up with Dr Verghese in the future as he may be a great source of future ASMR videos. Look out for future posts of this type. The Stanford Medicine playlist is here:

The Procrastination Pen overall playlist is here:

I continue to harry this list with demands for ASMR perfection and so at intervals one or more videos drop from this list to the “playlist of Hades” (I mean the Procrastination Pen Archive list):

I keep them here in case I have demoted one of your favourites and you make a reasoned argument why I should restore it to Heaven’s glory (I mean the overall playlist.)

The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:

I hope that you have a restful sleep listening to the playlist. If you do why not subscribe to the blog (even I don’t know what is coming up next and it would be a shame to miss it wouldn’t it).

I Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae

Sleeping With ASMR

Having a bad day at work? Just want it to be over? Despair that you’ll ever chill enough to actually get any real sleep tonight? Welcome to The Procrastination Pen. Here the finest in inadvertent ASMR material is reviewed at intervals. Even better there is an ever-growing playlist of curated items for your delectation. And if after all that you’re still plotting ways to murder the boss in an undetectable fashion, at least you’ll get to listen to a relaxing video whilst you are doing it.

Today we have a video from a channel dedicated to health. Nothing could be more medical than that I am thinking and therefore any ASMR effects must be purely down to chance. So far so much the aim of this sequence of blog posts.

The Lung and Thorax Exam

The notes are helpful, which we often do not find: “Jessica Nishikawa demonstrates some of the techniques of the Lung and Thorax assessment.”.

We know who the professional is before we start. Comments are turned off which is a breath of fresh air after some of the nasty stuff that you sometimes see.

We start with Jessica Nishikawa DNP, FNP-BC. DNP appears to be Doctor of Nursing Practice. FNP-BC is Family Nurse Practitioner – Board Certification

Unless you follow nursing, you, like I, may not have been aware these qualifications existed.

Suffice to say a highly qualified person then, but this is not why we are here.

The background hiss which we have heard often before is present here as well. Initially I thought I was going to exclude this video from the Procrastination Pen playlist, but it soon settles down to be less obtrusive than in some of the videos I have reviewed of late.

The “patient” is McConnaugh (probably nothing like the spelling). A quick search of YouTube determines that McConnaugh appears elsewhere such that he might crop up in a future blog post.

At intervals Jessica looks off video to her right. I’m not sure if there is a person there or if she has notes about what she wishes to cover. However, you’re likely to be listening rather than watching, so it is unlikely to affect you.

This is moderately good – no Hollie Berry but still worthy of a place in the playlist I think.

The channel BilderbackHealth surprisingly has only eight videos (including the above one), so we can comfortably cover this off in one blog post.

The majority of the videos feature Jessica – there’s a couple that look like they are not going to be on theme including one on Log Cabins so it might be that six is the total we’re going to be looking at today.

The HEENT Exam Video.mov

The “patient” is Miley (the spelling may well be incorrect).

HEENT head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat.

Sclera the white of the eye.

It is great to have a medical video from a medical facility (not someone’s front room) and for the noise of air conditioning to be absent. Having got used to background noises of late, it is fantastic what a difference silence makes. I may be weeding some of the more air condition-y (new technical term) videos from the playlist going forwards.

The presentation is lovely and quiet. Positively gentle at intervals.

Definitely a Procrastination Pen playlist member I think

The Cardio Vascular / Peripheral Vascular Exam Video.mov

McConnaugh is the “patient” again

JVP – Jugular venous pressure – used to diagnose types of heart and lung disease.

Thrill – a vibration felt whilst palpating a blood vessel.

This remains consistent with the first video we looked at.

The Abdominal Exam Video.mov

Miley returns as the “patient”.

I’m not sure if this is bias but the videos featuring Miley sound to me moderately more-gentle than those featuring McConnaugh. In any case this one is consistent with the HEENT video featured previously.

The Neurological Exam

Connie is the “patient” here – somebody new. Interesting that cranial nerve one is generally not tested and yet how many of these videos have we seen in which people test coffee or even alcohol to verify that this nerve is functional (its function is for smell perception).

This is a bit more of an instructive tone than the ones that have gone before. However, it is probably indicative of the consistency of this set of videos that I even bring this up. Usually in a group of videos that I review we are lucky to have one or possibly two videos included in the playlist. In this case we very likely will include the majority of them. We have not seen that since Dr James Gill.

The Musculo Skeletal Exam

Chris is the patient this time (I’m a bit more comfortable with that spelling)

The best demonstration of abduction and adduction I’ve seen so far.

I’ve watched a number of these and have just realised that Jessica does her nursing in a set of high-heeled shoes, I have pity for her poor feet and respect for her endurance standing on her feet all day in those shoes.

Anyway, this will probably be the last time I actually watch the video (listening being the more usual approach) so this will be of no concern to me (and likely to you either).

I love the pronunciation of buttocks probably the first time I have heard it pronounced that way.

Another video the equal of the ones we have seen in this post previously.

It’s worth noting that Jessica has her own channel, which given the nature of these videos is very likely going to be the subject of an upcoming blog post.

Hand Hygiene

The guitar music is good, but in other respects this is just not the quality of those that have gone before. This is not going to be in the Procrastination Pen playlist.

It also goes all funky subsequently which is just not conducive to great relaxation. (Entertaining though I’m sure it is).

Outside Log Cabins 1.16.21 with Jamie O’Brien and friends

Funky music from the outset, charming images but that isn’t why we are here. This is a poor fit for the Procrastination Pen playlist.

In general, an excellent set of videos and the largest consistent set of videos for the Procrastination Pen playlist we have seen in a while. This gives me more ammunition for ongoing weeding activity to perfect that playlist.

The Bilderback Health playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:

The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:

I have been working through that playlist repeatedly and some of the videos that were members have now fallen from favour. If any of your favourites are in there you can find them here in the archive list:

Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than excessive background noise.

The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:

I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.

Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.

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

Until next time.

Photo by Shona Macrae