"ASMR occurs involuntarily in response to certain external (and often social) triggers, including: whispering, soft-speaking, tapping, scratching, slow and expert hand movements and close personal attention. Many people report experiencing ASMR since childhood but typically assume that ASMR is either a universal experience or one unique to them. Over the past decade, the internet and social media have allowed ASMR experiencers to label the sensation, recognize that it is neither universal nor unique, and to watch ASMR videos that simulate and accentuate common triggers. Hundreds and thousands of people are now ardent viewers of ASMR videos (creations by so-called “ASMRtists”) on websites such as YouTube. Popular videos include: simulations of medical examinations, haircuts and massages, towel folding tutorials, and customer service role plays. Anecdotally, viewers use these videos to trigger ASMR, to promote relaxation and sleep, and even as an antidote to depression and anxiety. ASMR appears to share similarities with more well-established sensory experiences including the “shivers-down-the-spine” that some (but not all) people experience during music-listening and profound aesthetic experiences (such as those associated with the emotion of awe). Research on aesthetic chills has assessed the physiological parameters that correspond with these complex emotional experiences, typically by presenting participants with chill-inducing stimuli (e.g., self-selected musical excerpts) and measuring aspects of physiology. A number of studies have consistently associated aesthetic chills with increased heart rate, a finding that may be specifically linked with the onset of piloerection associated with chills. Less consistently, aesthetic chills have been associated with increased respiration rate, respiratory depth, and increased skin conductance response. Taken together, the above evidence shows that phenomenologically complex and idiosyncratic emotional experiences can be identified by various physiological parameters, which in turn, have implications for how these emotional states might affect physiological health (see for example, the salubrious effects of music therapy)."