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Shh! I’m Tingling Here

 Have you ever heard of “Tingleheads?” No? Frankly, neither had I. Apparently, though, there are a sizable number of them all around us—people who get a stress-relaxing tingling sensation that starts on their scalp and spreads down their back when they hear whispered voices, tapping fingernails, crinkling paper and the like. And many of the people who need to get the tingles in order to relax are turning to YouTube to find it.

The “official” name of this physical phenomenon is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). And while there’s no real medical research on it that I can find, larger and larger numbers of people have been popping up online claiming that ASMR is a very real part of their world.

The concept first seemed to come to light back in 2007. It’s been gaining steam ever since—so much so that numerous individuals started creating a bunch of YouTube videos for the ASMR faithful.

In fact when I searched for ASMR on YouTube, I got a selection of more than 3 million vids to choose from. YouTubers role-play whispering massages and low-voiced hair-cuts (in several different languages, mind you). I saw a full sci-fi space drama played out with tapping nails and sweet breathy murmurs, and even spotted a sleeveless tattooed guy who talked in “manly” hushed tones while munching walnuts and sipping a beer.

Here’s a Today show video that gives you a few quick examples.

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tI3v2Mud1E:550:0]

OK, if you’re still not getting into this, then you’re obviously not a Tinglehead. And that’s just dandy. Crinkled cellophane has never done anything for me either. But if this little blog has shown you that indeed you can find almost anything on the Internet, and your eyes have been opened to a world of tingling possibilities, well … you’re welcome.