Response from Dr. Tobias Lohaus, research associate at the Neuropsychological Therapy Center (NTC) at Ruhr University Bochum:  Studies have already demonstrated short-term positive effects from watching ASMR videos. For example, heart rate and blood pressure decrease, and delta waves in the brain are reduced. Both of these effects are also associated with other conscious states of relaxation, such as meditation. Various studies thus show a connection between the ASMR experience and relaxation and well-being. However, so-called “responders” benefit the most: The more strongly people can experience ASMR, the more they benefit from watching the videos.

Whether ASMR has therapeutic potential cannot yet be scientifically determined. However, I believe it can help people. So far, it has not been demonstrated that ASMR videos have long-term effects on mental health. Our ASMR research team at Ruhr University Bochum is therefore currently launching a project designed to determine whether there are positive effects over an extended period. Furthermore, studies to date have focused only on healthy individuals. How ASMR affects people with health conditions has yet to be investigated.

It’s also interesting to note in this context that people who experience ASMR seem, on average, to be more emotionally unstable and sensitive to stress than others. If this leads to problems, ASMR could help these very people, for example, in coping with stress.

I myself have encountered patients in trauma therapy who reported experiencing exactly what defines ASMR as part of their therapy. I see this as an initial indication that ASMR experiences could be helpful in (online) therapy.

It’s also worth noting in this context that ASMR is an evolutionarily very ancient phenomenon. In the past, people experienced it, for example, during social interaction, or some even when listening to the sounds of nature. For instance, in her 1925 novel “Mrs. Dalloway,” Virginia Woolf clearly describes what we now call ASMR. Today’s YouTube videos simply consciously evoke this phenomenon. We can therefore assume that people have been benefiting from this pleasant tingling sensation for a long time. Whether this will also be the case in the context of therapy in the future remains to be seen.

Recorded by Natalie Steinmann.