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‘It’s like Taking a Sleeping Pill’: Student Experience of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) to Promote Health and Mental Wellbeing.

Woods, N. and Turner-Cobb, J. M., 2023. ‘It’s like Taking a Sleeping Pill’: Student Experience of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) to Promote Health and Mental Wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (3), 2337.

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DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032337

Abstract

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is purposely elicited by some individuals to promote health and mental wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to explore how ASMR is used and its perceived benefits in a student population. We employed semi-structured qualitative interviews, with eight female students who self-reported as ASMR-sensitive users. Inductive thematic analysis, underpinned by a phenomenological framework, was applied to the data. Two themes, each with three subthemes, were identified; these highlighted the journey from first discovering ASMR to present experience and the use of ASMR to promote health and mental wellbeing both directly and indirectly. For some, ASMR was used daily, whilst for others it was used in a relapsing-remitting fashion: usage increased when struggling with mental wellbeing and was most often used as a tool to induce sleep or distraction when feeling anxious. Participants also reported ASMR-eliciting content as intriguing, and that the phenomenon was regarded as taboo. ASMR appears to play an important role in promoting health and mental wellbeing; frequency of use, preferred triggers, and purpose of use varied, highlighting its flexible and subjective nature. It provides a potential cost-effective tool in populations such as students where mental health needs are burgeoning.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1660-4601
Uncontrolled Keywords:autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR); mindfulness; mental wellbeing; student health; phenomenological
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:38107
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:06 Feb 2023 16:59
Last Modified:06 Feb 2023 16:59

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