Top 10 stuff I listen to in bed. That’s right. Of all the things I listen to in bed that either relax me or help me go to sleep… here are the top 10. Now. Some of these are specific videos, and of those videos, pretty much all of them are ASMR vids, some on the other hand are generalised things, such as a podcast, without mentioning specific episodes. The reason for this is whilst I like ASMR videos, not all of them work, whereas podcasts etc are largely the same each week in terms of noise. Does that make sense? Also, I’m not doing this in order, as I don’t even know how I would even start to rate these, given that some are so different to others. So, whilst it’s a top 10, they’re not in order. Got it? Good!
1. Cosmic Tingles ASMR – DR Roleplay.
Now, I’ll explain the idea of ASMR this time, so the rest of the ASMR videos will just be links to the vids as there is no point me explaining it on each one. ASMR stands for Autonomous sensory meridian response and is a euphoric experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine, precipitating relaxation. Thanks, Wikipedia. That’s way shorter than how I would have described it. Typically, ASMR videos are whispered or softly spoken and usually surround some form of role play. Cranial nerve examinations and ear cleaning are two of the most common and most popular. Often people miss-categorise ASMR as being something sexual, which it isn’t. It’s used for relaxation as well as producing a pleasant feeling across the top of your head and down your spine, which is what triggers the relaxation. Videos are made using role plays as they are a good way to introduce an otherwise fairly random series of sounds that are used as ‘triggers’ in order to produce the feeling. So, some triggers include tapping, usually fingernails against something, as well as the whispering itself, often done from ear to ear, and items such as tuning forks or something as simple as a make up brush gently brushed over the microphone. It’s difficult to explain but it’s easy to understand when you listen to / watch one of the videos!
In the video below, Kayla, is taking on the role of a Doctor providing a basic physical. Sounds weird, and it largely is, but it’s very relaxing to listen to. As with all ASMR videos, you should use headphones!
2. The Ricky Gervais Show Podcast.
The Ricky Gervais Show, the podcast, not the HBO animated series, is one of the best things ever. The animated series is equally as good, but they’re heavily edited from their original recordings. I’ve listened to these at night for a few years now. Also, as well as the podcast, there are the XFM shows and the special episodes they did that were guides to various subjects. The vast majority of the humour here is derived from Steven Merchant and Ricky essentially questioning Karl about why he is the way he is. Exceptional stuff. Below is the Guide To Philosophy!
3. Laura Lemurex ASMR – Video Game Shop Role Play.
Laura has 2 videos that revolve around being role plays set in a video game store. They’re both very good and help me sleep, however I do take issue with one of them for one certain part. Both videos essentially see her talking about games to the customer (you) in an effort to sell them to you. She does a great job of this as they’re clearly games she’s played. You can tell she rehearsed some parts and some parts were off the cuff, and her nervousness helps with her voice being soft and aiding sleep.
The bit I take issue with is the bit about Resident Evil 5, and I’m taking issue for comical effect here as I think Laura is ace.
“So, you go around the game and you have to defeat the boss…. who is Wesker“
Now then, that’s the thing she says about Resi 5. My issues are two fold. 1) That’s possibly the worst description of any game ever. “You go around the game and you have to defeat the boss” could be used for about 80% of video games. 2) Spoilers much! You don’t know at the beginning of the game that Wesker is even in it!!!!!!!!!111111oneoneone.
I’ve put both videos below as I watch them both as much as each other. The other video is about the customer showing up to pick up 5 games he reserved. There’s a brilliant comment half way down on YouTube for that video, as she talks for about 20 minutes. “Why were you so long?” – “She just kept showing me my games!”. What’s also nice about these vids is that they’re outside of the normal medical based ASMR you get loads of. Enjoy.
4. The West Wing Weekly.
It’s no secret that I love The West Wing. Having watched the entire series through about 19 or so times, I’d consider myself a fan! The West Wing Weekly is an episode-by-episode discussion co-hosted by one of its stars, Joshua Malina, along with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.
What’s been amazing about the show so far is that currently, we are in season 1, which means Josh Malina wasn’t even in the show at this point, so he’s commenting purely as a fan, although he frequently uses his insight of knowing the cast and Aaron Sorkin. This isn’t in the list as something that gets me to sleep, really, I just tend to listen to it mostly in bed. It’s a brilliant podcast for many reasons. I think my fave aspect is listening to Josh say he didn’t like something or had a certain take on a scene and then listening to Hrishi trying to win him round by explaining his take on it. It’s fantastic!
5. Deluca ASMR – Ear Exam.
Deluca has a near perfect voice for ASMR. He’s from Argentina yet records his videos primarily in English which is impressive work. Like I said earlier, ear cleaning is a popular video topic and this is probably one of the best. What works for one person, though, doesn’t always work for someone else!
He REALLY doesn’t want to give you those antibiotics though! There’s a fairly decent message he’s sneaked into this about people’s unnecessary use of antibiotics for things that just get better by themselves! Great video. Remember, headphones!
The other thing that’s worth noting about Deluca, is that based on the comments underneath his videos, he seems to attract a torrent of horny women that won’t shut up about how handsome he is. Always an amusing read!
Parts 6 – 10 will be posted tomorrow! Just so this post doesn’t get to long and take ages to load because of all the videos! See you then!