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Lost items cost Americans $5,591: survey

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(Washington Post illustration; iStock)

The sweat used to pour at Philly Dance Fitness, where Deborah Hirsch offered a full array of classes to hip-hop, Zumba and Bollywood beats. But the coronavirus crisis has mostly cleared out her studios, forcing her to go where her clients are: home.

Now she live-streams more than 35 classes a week, a pivot that has kept her business afloat at a time of dizzying growth for all things fitness-related. Sales of fitness gear, gadgets and apparel have skyrocketed during the pandemic as homebound consumers have scrambled to build home gyms, loaded up on sneakers and downloaded fitness apps by the millions.

"As soon as the lockdowns took effect, the home-fitness business took off like wildfire," said Matt Powell, vice president and senior industry adviser for the NPD Group, a market research company.

Americans spent heavily across all price points, from $3,000 cardio machines to $20 yoga mats. They also hit the running and hiking trails in earnest - Yellowstone National Park recorded its busiest September and October on record - and embraced other outdoor activities to escape the monotony of stay-at-home life.

Health and fitness equipment revenue more than doubled, to $2.3 billion, from March to October, according to NPD retail data. Sales of treadmills soared 135 percent while those of stationary bikes nearly tripled, depleting inventories.

The trend has stretched through seasonal changes: The surge in bicycle and kayak purchases recorded in the spring and summer is now manifesting in cold-weather gear such as cross-country skis, snowshoes and outerwear.

Demand for equipment that can be used close to home or outdoors is "off the charts," said Ben Johns, general manager for action sports for REI. Fire pit sales in the fall grew sixfold year over year, he noted.

"People clearly have looked to outdoor activities as a way to escape the realities that we all have to deal with."

But 2020 also was a punishing year for gyms. Hirsch, the founder and president of Philly Dance Fitness, said business was flourishing at the beginning of the year. She was looking to expand, intent on moving from subleased locations to a spacious studio of her own. Some of her clients were running through final rehearsals of "Take It Off Broadway," a jazz and burlesque dance show inspired by musicals.

But that changed in March, when the pandemic took hold. Like other small-business owners, Hirsch said, the sudden blow of government-mandated closures slashed revenue dramatically. Since then, any move toward recovery has gotten squeezed by capacity constraints and generalized anxiety that has kept potential drop-ins away. "The reason we are still here right now is because I haven't been paying full rent," she said. "If we had to pay full rent we'd be done."

Now, amid a just-lifted citywide gym closure, Hirsch is just hoping to outlast the pandemic.

"Prior to covid, my job was to figure out what classes people like, find the best instructors and create a really awesome in-studio experience," she said. "Now my job is to make sure they are good on live streams, troubleshoot tech issues and coordinate all of it so we can market it to audiences. It's another layer of work that has been really challenging."

Just as the virus has thrashed a specific set of industries while rewarding others - owing to the unique contours of public safety measures and the dynamics of the stay-at-home economy - segments within industries have been crushed or favored in similar ways.

Perhaps no fitness company better illustrates the explosive sales growth brought on by the pandemic as much as Peloton. Demand for its Internet-connected bikes soared in the spring and summer as gyms were shuttered or restricted and households invested in basement gyms. The company reported revenue of $758 million, a 232 percent increase from the same period the previous year.

The stay-at-home economy sent Peloton stock soaring more than 400 percent in 2020 and helped catapult it into profitability. The company is focused on growth, and has announced a partnership with Beyoncé; the release of a premium bike and a more affordable treadmill; and the acquisition of fitness equipment maker Precor, for $420 million, to ramp up production capacity and expand into the commercial market.

"We certainly want the world to get back to normal, just like everyone else," said Brad Olson, chief membership officer. "We do believe that the pandemic has compelled consumers to reevaluate their fitness routines and many have discovered that the best, most connected workout can actually be experienced at home."

Other connected fitness companies have also had significant growth spurts. After Mirror, the maker of the reflective-glass fitness device, was acquired by Lululemon Athletica, it expected to have ended 2020 with $150 million in revenue, up from a previously projected $100 million, according to company forecasts. And Tonal, the wall-mounted, strength-training home gym, reported a staggering 700 percent year-over-year increase in sales in 2020.

Americans were not just buying up high-end, screen-centric devices. When public health measures first led to gym closures in the spring, retail data showed massive sales spikes for an array of recreational and fitness merchandise, from dumbbells and roller skates to surfboards and golf clubs.

Dick's Sporting Goods said same-store sales jumped by double digits during its most recent quarter, the retailer's best performance since it went public nearly two decades ago.

While the at-home workout trend has been accelerating for years - propelled further because of the coronavirus - so too has the consolidation of gyms, analysts say. Mid-tier players have been squeezed by premier clubs such as Equinox and Life Time Fitness, and more affordable gyms, like Planet Fitness.

Since the pandemic struck, membership rolls have evaporated, shoving some of the most financially vulnerable companies into insolvency. Gold's Gym, 24 Hour Fitness and Town Sports International, the owner of the New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts chains, all filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020.

Camilla Yanushevsky, an equity analyst at CFRA Research, likens the financial struggles of mid-priced gyms to beleaguered retailers that were too slow to adapt to the world of digital apps and burdened by high debt loads.

Analysts note that Equinox, on the luxury end, and Planet Fitness, on the value end, were both quick to launch workout apps in the early weeks of the outbreak, keeping their members engaged, even if they couldn't pump iron or practice yoga at their physical locations.

"Our app consumption went through the roof," said Chris Rondeau, chief executive of Planet Fitness, noting that online engagement fell once gyms began to reopen and members returned for in-person workouts.

"It's a good supplement," he said. "Everybody has a kitchen, but everyone goes out to eat because it's a little bit more enjoyable."

Boutique studios face their own obstacles. Largely locked out from high-dollar lending, and constrained by capacity restrictions or outright closures, small-business owners confront encroachment from the home-fitness companies targeting their clientele as well as the polished live streams and virtual apps that require robust investments to produce.

"When this shutdown happened we were put on the playing field with major national companies that had been live-streaming for years," said Hirsch of Philly Dance Fitness.

"These people have lots of money and equipment and they have been filming high-quality, on-demand fitness classes for a long time. And they charge way less than I can afford to charge. I don't have a marketing budget or plan that would allow me to scale the way I would like to."

The explosion of home gyms and the desire for professional, on-demand workouts has sparked a gargantuan increase in health and fitness app downloads. Americans are increasingly streaming exercise classes from their phones and smart TVs and tracking an array of personalized health metrics brought to life through ecosystems of gadgets and dashboards.

Business leaders and industry observers also underscore that the threat of the coronavirus itself, not just the major business disruptions, has raised awareness about overall health and well-being. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults of any age with certain conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the coronavirus, including afflictions that can be influenced by physical activity and nutrition, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

From January through November of 2020, approximately 2.5 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded worldwide, according to data from Sensor Tower - a 47 percent jump from the same period in 2019. A compilation of the most-downloaded fitness apps on Google Play and Apple's App Store reveals an astonishing rise in interest, coinciding with the public health crisis.

Users downloaded Home Workout - No Equipment, the top fitness app of the year, 43.5 million times, more than doubling its installs from the previous year, Sensor Tower data showed. Strava, the GPS running and cycling app, was downloaded more than 20 million times, a 120 percent spike from 2019.

While home-fitness companies can generate the bulk of their revenue through hardware sales, monthly app subscriptions and digital-only memberships can make up a significant portion of their business. Peloton, for example, recorded 382 percent growth for digital subscriptions - which do not require machines. Similar to the economics of gaming consoles, mobile devices and wearables, companies can extract consistent fees from customers by offering networks of services and software, even if people only buy the central piece of hardware once every several years.

In December, Apple released its own workout subscription service, Fitness+, built around the Apple Watch. The latest premium app from the $2 trillion tech giant highlights the company's strategy to pull users more tightly into its ecosystem of services, which includes music, TV and cloud storage. And it underscores the developing business opportunities in health and fitness that technologies can exploit during and even after the coronavirus crisis.

Other major retailers are leaning into technology to glean insights from consumer data, build customer loyalty and keep users within their universe of merchandise. Nike claims two fitness apps among the 20 most-downloaded apps in 2020. Users downloaded Nike Run Club more than 15 million times, showing a 45 percent boost from 2019, the Sensor Tower data showed; Nike Training Club registered nearly 14 million installs, up 123 percent from the previous year.

Investors have flocked to the sportswear company over the past year. Shares have more than doubled since the lows of March. And in its most recent earnings report, Nike disclosed that digital sales ramped up by 84 percent compared with a year earlier, including triple-digit growth in North America.

The year ahead will test which consumer behaviors are fleeting and which are here to stay, experts say.

"The longer this goes on, the tougher it will be to return," said Landon Luxembourg, a senior analyst at investment research firm Third Bridge Group. Luxembourg described a central tension within the fitness industry, in which customers who have invested in their own equipment and grown accustomed to working out at home might be reluctant to rejoin their gyms and restart their memberships, even after coronavirus vaccines are in wide use. But the allure of returning to old habits, of reclaiming normalcy and reconnecting with the social aspects of working out has its strong appeal too, Luxembourg said.

"There is a group of people that want get out of the house and see people," said Yanushevsky, of CFRA. "That's what's going to keep gyms around. People don't want to work from home and go to the room next door and lift some weight and be on a Peloton," she said.

As with virtual school and work, there's live-stream fatigue, too. "Humans are social animals," Hirsch said. "The ability to see people in person, we live for that - to give people motivation to work hard and to sweat."

She added: "I am not worried about group fitness dying. We will return when covid is over. It's just been a lot longer ride than people were hoping it would be."

Aside from the lucky few who have the wealth and the space to assemble a Schwarzenegger-class home gym, most people will rely on retail gyms for the heavy-duty gear and the social interaction they can't get on their own, said Joanna Zeng O'Brien, a Moody's analyst who covers the fitness industry.

"There is the convenience of working out from home, but people also want to go to physical locations. People miss that," she said. "For companies that want to stay around and not become obsolete, they have to do both."

Updated February 16, 2021

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The pandemic's home-workout revolution may be here to stay

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The sweat used to pour at Philly Dance Fitness, where Deborah Hirsch offered a full array of classes to hip-hop, Zumba and Bollywood beats. But the coronavirus crisis has mostly cleared out her studios, forcing her to go where her clients are: home.

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Academic Editor: Markus Dahlem

Abstract

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a previously unstudied sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli. This sensation is widely reported to be accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being. The current study identifies several common triggers used to achieve ASMR, including whispering, personal attention, crisp sounds and slow movements. Data obtained also illustrates temporary improvements in symptoms of depression and chronic pain in those who engage in ASMR. A high prevalence of synaesthesia (5.9%) within the sample suggests a possible link between ASMR and synaesthesia, similar to that of misophonia. Links between number of effective triggers and heightened flow state suggest that flow may be necessary to achieve sensations associated with ASMR.

Keywords: Autonomous sensory meridian response, ASMR, Synaesthesia, Synesthesia, Misophonia, Flow state, Mindfulness, Meditation, Depression, Chronic pain

Introduction

In recent years, there has been growing interest in a previously unknown sensory phenomenon, named Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) by those capable of experiencing it. Those who describe ASMR claim it to be an anomalous sensory experience which has thus far escaped the eye of scientific research. There is a suggestion that ASMR may be of use for providing temporary relief to individuals with depression, stress and chronic pain. As ASMR has received some media attention in recent months, many have taken to public forums to explain their ability to induce ASMR to ease symptoms of these conditions in cases where other routes of treatment may have been lacking or ineffective ( Taylor, 2013; TheWaterwhispers, 2013), while others use ASMR exclusively as a relaxation tool ( Marsden, 2012). To date there has been no rigorous scientific exploration of ASMR, nor of the conditions which trigger or end the ASMR state.

Media designed specifically to produce ASMR has amassed a community of thousands of members. Capable individuals utilise a variety of visual and audio stimulation-most typically through video sharing-to achieve a tingling, static-like sensation widely reported to spread across the skull and down the back of the neck ( Taylor, 2014). The advent of online video communities has facilitated a gathering of those who experience ASMR, and as a result hundreds of videos have been produced, viewed and shared with the goal of inducing this sensation, which is said to be paired with a feeling of intense relaxation. A dedicated ASMR subgroup on Reddit ( http://www.reddit.com/r/asmr/) boasts 86,000 subscribers from around the world, and some of the most popular ASMR content creators on video sharing site Youtube ( http://youtube.com/), for example GentleWhispering have upwards of 300,000 subscribers. lists a number of these popular sources on Youtube. These figures show that the culture surrounding ASMR is in no way insignificant. Several reputable international media outlets have reported on the attention this phenomenon is receiving, and the lack of scientific explanation. ( Marsden, 2012; Tomchak, 2014).

Table 1

Though stimuli used to induce ASMR are widely varied, and devotees report that individual differences play a pivotal role in the effectiveness of each video, distinct themes appear to be present in ASMR media. Exploration of the most viewed ASMR media on Youtube uncovers what may be discrete categories of common triggers. For example, many of these videos depict role play situations, in which the viewer is placed in a position of 'close proximity' to another person in order to be cared for in some manner. Often this involves grooming (e.g., MassageASMR; Fairy Char ASMR), or being given some type of medical examination (e.g., WhisperTalkStudios). The tone of these types of ASMR media is usually one of having close attention paid to you, the viewer, with videos shot in a point of view manner. Other videos include acts which require a similar amount of focus, but directed towards objects, rather than the viewer (e.g., Ephemeral Rift).

ASMR videos also typically appear to include an emphasis on the use of sound to trigger the static sensation of ASMR, which include the subjects of these videos cycling through a variety of household items which make various noises when tapped upon or used (e.g., MassageASMR). On the surface, this trigger resulting in sensation seems quite similar to the experience of synaesthesia, a phenomenon in which specific external stimuli cause an internal experience in a second, unstimulated modality ( Banissy, Jonas & Kadosh, 2014). The reported automatic, consistent response to audio-visual stimuli which is felt in tactile sensory modalities alongside a feeling of calm does appear to resemble synaesthesia in these aspects, though the tactile concurrents (secondary sensations in the unstimulated modality; Cytowic, 2002) found in ASMR appear to be more tangible than those experienced in synaesthesia (ie. tingling on the skin). Even with this being the case, the positive emotional response of calm said to be triggered by ASMR media consumption could potentially be considered a form of sound-emotion synaesthesia.

Reports of ASMR experiences also appear to share some features with the state of "flow," which is the state of intense focus and diminished awareness of the passage of time that is often associated with optimal performance in several activities, including sport ( Csikszentmihalyi & Csikzentmihaly, 1991; Swann et al., 2014). Anecdotal reports of ASMR describe states of focus, of greater "presence" and of relaxation which are consistent with the non-active aspects of flow.

The aim of the current study was to describe the sensations associated with ASMR, explore the ways in which it is typically induced in capable individuals, and to provide further thoughts on where this sensation may fit into current knowledge on atypical perceptual experiences. This research also aims to explore the extent to which engagement with ASMR may ease symptoms of depression and chronic pain. As ASMR has yet to be defined within scientific literature, this study will utilise survey data and qualitative descriptive contributions from participants to explore the characteristics of ASMR, and to provide a basis for later experimental investigation.

Materials and Methods

Participants

The sample of the present study was comprised of 245 men, 222 women and 8 individuals of non-binary gender ( N = 475). These participants presented themselves as volunteers via online advertisement on specialised ASMR interest groups on Facebook and Reddit. The age of the sample ranged from 18 to 54 years (mean = 24.6 years, st. dev. = 7 years). Volunteers were located worldwide, with particular participation from the United States of America and Western Europe. All individuals in the sample self-reported to have experienced ASMR and regularly consume ASMR media.

Method

An online questionnaire (www.qualtrics.com, Version 36,892) was conducted in order to gather information on the prevalence of particular features of ASMR, when and why individuals engage in ASMR, and the relation of ASMR to other known phenomenon. Ethical approval was granted by the Department of Psychology of Swansea University, and continuation from the initial screen of this questionnaire, which contained a brief summary of the research topic and all necessary ethical information, served as informed consent. The structure of this questionnaire is described below, and a version of the text of the questionnaire is included as Appendix S1:

Section 1-demographics

Demographic information, including whether or not individuals suffered from any chronic illness or took medications, was gathered at the beginning of the survey. In addition, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988) were included to give insight on the daily mood of participants. As several online sources indicate the existence of a subset of ASMR media users who engage in ASMR to manage symptoms of depression, stress, or pain, this data would be used to explore efficacy of ASMR in easing symptoms of these conditions. Participants were asked to verify that they identified as able to experience ASMR and the tingling sensations commonly associated with ASMR. No leading elaboration was given with regard to this sensation, as all participants had been recruited via ASMR social network groups, and would therefore be aware of how this aspect of the phenomenon is typically described. This was an attempt to limit imposing researcher assumptions about ASMR. In this section, participants were also given a definition of synaesthesia, alongside some examples of synaesthetic associations. Participants were asked to report if they suspected they may experience any type of synaesthesia. Those who responded in a positive or unsure manner were asked to specify which type of synaesthesia they thought they may have, and were followed up approximately four weeks later via e-mail to be assessed for consistency.

Section 2-viewing habits

This section included questions pertaining to how often participants engaged in ASMR media sessions, how many videos they consumed in a single session, and at what time of day they typically viewed ASMR media. Questions regarding the optimal conditions to experience ASMR were also included.

Section 3-triggers

Participants were asked to report whether or not they experienced any of the triggers in a list of 9 given stimuli: Crisp sounds, whispering, personal attention, vacuum noise, aeroplane noise, laughing, smiling, watching repetitive tasks, and slow movements. Of these suggestions, five possible triggers were inspired by the typical content of ASMR videos (e.g., Close personal attention, crisp sounds) and four were unlikely triggers (vacuum noise, aeroplane noise, laughing, smiling). These unlikely triggers are commonly present in ASMR videos, but are not commonly identified in titles or online discussions, so were considered to be unlikely to produce tingles in many participants. This section included a comment box in which participants could specify what, if anything, abolished the tingling sensations. Preference of receiving auditory triggers in one ear over another was also probed.

Section 4-location

In order to more clearly define the location and time course of the tingling sensation associated with ASMR, participants were asked to report where on their body they typically felt tingles originate, and whether or not the sensation always originated in that area. Participants were also asked whether or not the tingling evolved or spread with intensity, and if so, which other body areas the tingling sensation spread to.

Section 5-'Why do you watch ASMR videos?'

This section presented several likert style statements to be rated from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree' in terms of how well each represented individuals' experiences of ASMR and ASMR media. These included statements concerning mood and arousal control, such as 'I watch ASMR videos to relieve negative mood,' '...to deal with anxiety,' and '...to relieve stress.' Further, more generalised statements, such as 'I know what triggers my ASMR,' 'I watch ASMR videos for sexual stimulation,' and 'ASMR videos help me focus' were included to obtain a rounded view of why participants choose to engage with ASMR media.

Section 6-flow state scale

Since the reported ASMR experience shares some features with that of the 'flow' state ( Csikszentmihalyi & Csikzentmihaly, 1991), we used a reduced version of the Flow State Scale ( Jackson & Marsh , 1996) to quantify this experience. We selected only the eight questions relating to the passive experience of flow. Participants scored their agreement with statements such as "Things seem to happen automatically" on a 5-point scale. These scores were initially subjected to factor analysis to confirm that only a single factor had been captured in the reduced questionnaire. Combined scores, composed of the sum of the scores of the components, were then submitted to Pearson's Correlation to investigate links between flow state and trigger thresholds.

Section 7-Effect on mood and chronic pain

Using an interactive sliding scale ranging from 0 to 100, participants were asked to rate their experience of mood during a typical day, directly before, during, one hour after and 3 h after a successful ASMR media viewing session. These ratings were given at the same time, i.e., not during the ASMR state. 0 on this scale represented 'terrible, the worst I've ever felt,' whereas 100 represented 'euphoric, the best I've ever felt.' Participants who earlier indicated that they suffered from chronic pain were also asked to complete a version of this task with the intensity of their pain symptoms in mind.

Data analysis

Where possible, analyses were conducted on the entire sample ( N = 475). However, due to certain sections being inapplicable to some participants, some sections included data from a subset of the entire sample. In these cases, N is reported alongside the results. All analyses were carried out in SPSS and Microsoft Excel. A copy of the data from this experiment are included as Data S1.

Results

Why engage in ASMR?

Through Likert style questions, participants largely sought out ASMR as an opportunity for relaxation, with 98% of individuals agreeing, or agreeing strongly with this statement. In a similar vein, 82% agreed that they used ASMR to help them sleep, and 70% used ASMR to deal with stress. A small number of individuals (5%) reported using ASMR media for sexual stimulation, with the vast majority of participants (84%) disagreeing with this notion.

Many participants described additional details of seeking the effects of ASMR where other interventions, medical or otherwise, had been unable to assist. This is perhaps best illustrated by a correspondence from one participant whose anxiety and stress was causing significant issues in his daily functioning. After noticing during a hairdressing appointment that he felt at ease, he sought out ways to replicate this feeling daily in order to manage his symptoms, and in the process discovered ASMR media. In his own words:

" I was totally amazed, I can only describe what I started feeling as an extremely relaxed trance like state, that I didn't want to end, a little like how I have read perfect meditation should be but I never ever achieved."

Common triggers

Analysis of responses found four prominent categories of triggers, each experienced by over 50% of participants. These triggers are whispering (75%), personal attention (69%), crisp sounds (64%) and slow movements (53%). 34% of participants also reported that their ASMR was triggered by watching repetitive tasks. Triggers less commonly associated with ASMR media (smiling, vacuum cleaner noise, aeroplane noise, and laughing) were included for comparison. Each of these non-triggers were in each case reported to be effective by less than 3% of participants. These values are illustrated in . Some individuals reported only being triggered by new viewing material, in which they are unable to predict which trigger will be presented next.

Table 2

The most common time for engagement with ASMR media was reported to be before going to sleep at night, with 81% of participants reporting this as their preferred time. 4% of participants engaged in ASMR upon waking, 2% participated during the morning to midday. 30% of participants also reported viewing ASMR media in their spare time, regardless of the time of day.

When asked if participants preferred any specific environmental conditions for viewing, 52% responded 'yes.' Submitted comments suggested that of these, individuals near universally preferred quiet, relaxed conditions in order to achieve ASMR from online media. Many also specified preference for binaural headphones, so as to experience depth of sound.

Most participants reported having their first experience of ASMR at age five (65 individuals), with the vast majority (241 individuals) reporting the first experience of ASMR between five and ten years of age. There were also several instances of ASMR being first experienced further into adulthood-41 individuals reported their first ASMR experience as happening after age 18.

Experience of ASMR

Participants widely reported sensations similar to that found in general reporting of ASMR; a tingling sensation which originated typically towards the back of the scalp and progressed down the line of the spine and, in some cases, out towards the shoulders. Many participants also felt that their lower back, arms and legs experienced the sensation, though the amount of area the tingles covered seemed to be determined by the extent to which individuals had been triggered.

Sixty-three percent of participants reported the tingling sensation associated with ASMR to originate consistently in one part of their body, while 27% said this origin varied. Of those that reported a consistent origin, the static tingling sensation was reported to typically originate on the back of the head (41%) and shoulders (29%). When intense, this sensation is able to extend down the line of the spine (50%), arms (25%) and legs (21%), though this does not occur in every session, and every individual does not experience the same route. An illustration of the most common path of these sensations is provided in .

Medications which affect ASMR

Of the sample who reported taking medication, only three participants responded positively when asked if they had noted effects of any of their medications on ASMR. One participant noted that their antidepressant stifled sensations of ASMR, which later returned once they stopped taking the medication, though they did not specify which. Another noted that sleeping pills dulled their ASMR experience. A third reported that Clonazepam decreased the sensations associated with ASMR. Six participants responded that their medication had no effect on ASMR. One hundred and three other participants who use medication were unsure as to the effect of their medication on their experience of ASMR.

Effect on mood

Eighty percent of participants responded positively when asked if ASMR has an effect of their mood, while 14% were unsure and 6% felt that ASMR did not alter their mood. When submitted to a mixed ANOVA with factors for time (before, during, immediately following and 3 h after ASMR) and for depression status (high, medium or low as defined by the BDI), we found a significant main effect of time on mood [ F(3.06, 1143.0), p < 0.0005]. Pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between all timeframes ( p < 0.0005 in all cases). Participants reportedly felt best while they are engaging with ASMR media, with reports on the 0 to 100 scale of positive mood averaging at 78 for this time period. The effect on mood steadily decreased over the course of several hours. Means for all time frames are reported in . This effect is moderated by severity of depression, with people at higher risk of depression showing a more rapid decline in mood score over time [ F(10, 2360) = 20.217, p < 0.0005] however, there was also a correlation between BDI scores and the difference in mood score between baseline and immediately after an ASMR experience, suggesting that people with higher depression scores had the greatest benefit from engaging in ASMR [ r = 0.439, p < 0.0005].

Fifty percent of participants said their mood improved even in sessions when no tingling sensation was produced, while 30% said that achieving this sensation was vital to mood improvement.

Sixty-nine percent of those who scored moderate to severe on the BDI reported using ASMR to ease their symptoms of depression ( N = 70). Those scoring as depressed reported a mean improvement in mood of 38.75 (STD = 18.85), in comparison to a mean improvement of 21.33 (STD = 13.58) in non-depressed participants.

Effect on chronic pain

Thirty-eight individuals with chronic pain reported that ASMR improved their symptoms. 13 were unsure of ASMR's impact on their symptoms. Forty did not believe that ASMR had an impact on their symptoms of chronic pain. Analyses were carried out on the responses of individuals who responded positively and unsurely to this section. Six individuals who originally reported issues with chronic pain were omitted due to incomplete data. Data analysis was therefore carried out on 45 cases.

Self-report data for before, during, immediately after and 3 h after ASMR were analysed using a one way ANOVA, and were found to significantly differ [ F(3, 132) = 13.892, p < 0.0005)]. Pairwise comparisons revealed there to be a significant difference in chronic pain symptoms before and during ASMR ( p < 0.0005), a difference which was maintained three hours following ASMR ( p = 0.014). There was no significant difference between symptoms of chronic pain during and immediately after ASMR ( p = 1.00), nor was there a difference between during and 3 h after ASMR ( p = 0.21).

Flow state

Fifty cases did not have complete data for the flow state questionnaire, so were removed from analysis. We were interested in whether people who experience the flow state more readily also experience the ASMR state more readily. To examine this we took the sum of each participant's responses on the flow state questionnaire and correlated this with the total number of ASMR triggers each person reported, from the list of commonly-reported triggers (i.e., whispering, crisp sounds, personal attention, repetitive actions, slow movements, smiling, water pouring). We used a non-parametric Spearman's test, as the trigger data tended to fall into a small number of values. We found a highly significant relationship between flow experience and number of triggers, with greater flow experience being associated with a larger number of triggers [rho = 0.936, p < 0.01]. This relationship is shown in .

Familial links

When asked if they knew of any family members who experienced ASMR, 38 participants responded positively, 59 responded negatively, and the remaining 378 were unsure or had not inquired. The relations most often identified as experiencing ASMR were sisters (17 individuals), mothers (11), brothers (7) and fathers (4). There were also reports of grandparents experiencing ASMR, though as relational distance increased fewer individuals were reported to be known as able to experience ASMR. It is likely that the perceived strangeness and stigma many individuals feel surrounds ASMR, has prevented many from asking if other individuals within their family experience something similar. The reports gathered through this research, however, do appear to indicate a familial aspect to the ability to experience ASMR.

Synaesthesia

Synaesthesia appeared to be particularly prevalent within the sample. Thirty-five participants reported experiencing various subtypes synaesthesia and, after exploration of the consistency of concurrents through a follow up interview, 29 of these cases were assessed to be genuine. This places the prevalence of synaesthesia within the sample at 5.9%, compared the current estimate of prevalence in the general population of 4.4% ( Simner et al., 2006), however, our value fell slightly short of being significantly higher than the general population ( Z = 1.594, p = 0.0555). Participants reported several subtypes, including grapheme-colour, grapheme-personality, time-space and pain-gustatory synaesthesia.

Some comments submitted seem to resemble the inducer-concurrent relationship in synaesthesia. One individual described the tingling sensation as changeable depending on the gender of the voice in the ASMR video she was currently watching. She reported that a female voice would cause the tingles to extend more strongly down one leg, whereas a male voice would increase the sensation in the other leg. Several individuals responded similarly, specifying that ' different triggers hit different parts,' However, without more data it is difficult to ascertain whether similar experiences are common amongst ASMR capable individuals.

Discussion

ASMR can be defined as a combination of positive feelings, relaxation and a distinct, static-like tingling sensation on the skin. This sensation typically originates on the scalp in response to a trigger, travelling down the spine, and can spread to the back, arms and legs as intensity increases. An increase in intensity can be achieved through experiencing further triggers.

Those who are able to can engage in ASMR through specialised media at any time, given that the environment in which they attempt to do so is quiet and calm. Many report being triggered by viewing others engaged in focused, precise tasks, by having close personal attention paid to them, or by any number of audio stimuli, such as whispering, tapping or other crisp sounds. Though the effectiveness of various triggers is subject to individual differences, most who experience ASMR can be induced by the above categories of stimuli, either through watching specially designed media, or by coming across triggers in daily life. In capable individuals, ASMR is used mainly to achieve relaxation and for stress relief purposes.

Uplifting mood and pain relief

The results of this study suggest that ASMR also provides temporary relief in mood for those suffering from depression, with many individuals consciously using it for this purpose. Individuals whose scores on the BDI suggested moderate to severe depression reported a significantly more uplifting effect of engaging in ASMR than those without depression. Those suffering from symptoms of chronic pain also benefitted from ASMR, seeing a significant reduction in their discomfort for several hours following an ASMR session.

Many reported that even in the absence of tingling sensations, they felt that their mood and symptoms of pain had been improved. It is possible that devoting specific time to engaging in ASMR, watching relaxed scenes play out and sitting quietly could be considered a form of mindfulness ( Langer, 1989). Those who engage in ASMR take time to focus on positive emotions triggered by these stimuli, focusing exclusively on this the task at hand. This behaviour is very reminiscent of mindfulness practices, which have already been shown by several studies to have positive effect on both conditions ( Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth & Burney, 1985; Segal, Williams & Teasdale, 2012). This categorisation of ASMR as an exercise in mindfulness meditation perhaps best explains the improvements in mood observed in both depressed and non-depressed participants in this study.

Obtaining flow state

Individuals who scored highly on flow measures reported regularly experiencing a higher number of triggers. This suggests that those who are able to more readily experience flow state during ASMR media consumption are susceptible to more frequent ASMR experiences during their sessions.

Many ASMR videos show individuals in highly focused states (e.g., performing medical exams) or engaged in repetitive tasks (e.g., folding towels). The behaviour of performers during these types of videos often resembles that of someone in flow state-confidently and accurately executing precise tasks. It may be that ASMR is brought about by obtaining a flow-like state, which is in part facilitated by witnessing others in such a state. Similar transference of state from performers to audience have been observed in studies probing the role of mirror neurons ( Rizzolatti, Sinigaglia & Anderson, 2008). Higher levels of flow may in turn facilitate triggers to be obtained, as could be indicated by results of this study.

Links with synaesthesia

The prevalence of synaesthesia of any type within the current study's sample was 5.9%, which is high for the estimated prevalence of 4.4% in the general population ( Simner & Hubbard, 2013). Although the figure reported here did not exceed the estimated level to a statistically significant degree, we would suggest there may be a relationship between the two phenomena. In emotional subtypes of synaesthesia, individuals feel moved to various emotions by inducing stimuli which should, in theory, have no emotional effect on them (e.g., tactile-emotion synaesthesia; Ramachandran & Brang, 2008). This sounds strikingly similar to the experience of emotion in ASMR, where emotionally neutral sounds such as tapping and paper tearing, or visual stimuli such as tasks requiring close concentration, bring about a consistent relaxing, stress relieving, positive emotional response.

It is, however, also worth exploring whether or not the experience of ASMR ends with automatic positive emotional reactions to neutral audio and visual stimuli. There may also be merit in exploring automatic negative emotional reactions to external stimuli, and assessing any relation of such an experience to ASMR. Within literature surrounding synaesthesia, a related phenomenon that fits this description does exist, and is known as misophonia. Those who experience misophonia (literally 'hatred of sound') have automatic negative emotional reactions to particular sounds-the opposite of what can be observed in reactions to specific audio stimuli in ASMR. For instance, sufferers report that noises made by humans, such as 'loud breathing or nose sounds' of any volume can produce feelings of disgust, anger, or hatred in a manner which cannot be explained by previously learned associations. ( Schröder, Vulink & Denys, 2013) Though this condition has not yet been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), there has been movement for misophonia to be recognised as a psychiatric disorder in future revisions, and links between this phenomenon and other perceptual atypicalities such as synaesthesia have been found ( Edelstein, Brang & Ramachandran, 2012).

There are distinct similarities between the experience of ASMR and Misophonia. In both phenomena, triggering sounds originate from human movements and behaviours. Reactions to these stimuli automatic in both cases, unexplained by previously learned associations, and have some consistency (with the possible exception of some individuals becoming habituated to triggers from ASMR media they have previously viewed). The present study suggests that ASMR, similarly to misophonia, may have a relationship with synaesthesia. Indeed, both experiences seem to follow somewhat synaesthetic patterns; particular inducers (external stimuli, such as whispering, close attention, etc.) produce concurrents (internal perceptual/sensational experiences-in the case of ASMR, tingling and relaxation) in a somewhat predictable manner. It may be the case that ASMR and misophonia are two ends of the same spectrum of synaesthesia-like emotional responses. Whether this hypothetical spectrum, or indeed ASMR alone, can be classified as a type of sound-emotion synaesthesia is however, debateable.

The main issue with relating ASMR to synaesthesia is that, from the data collected here, there does appear to be a difference between the two in terms of tangibility of concurrents. Whereas synaesthetic concurrents are described as 'having a knowledge or sensation of a certain concurrent' ( Simner & Hubbard, 2013), the tingling sensation associated with ASMR is described in a very physical sense. If we were to consider the concurrent of ASMR as a tingling sensation, as described by participants of the current study, we could with near certainty say that ASMR is not a subtype of synaesthesia. However, this neglects the presence of positive emotions which accompany the tingling sensation. It may be that ASMR is the positive end of a spectrum of a sound/emotion synaesthesia, and that this tingling sensation is a secondary phenomenon resulting from intensely positive feelings, rather than the primary concurrent. The data collected seems to support this, as many participants reported feeling relaxation and positive emotions even in the absence of a tingling sensation.

However, there is no mention in misophonia research of any negative counterpart to the tingling sensation found in ASMR. If one were looking for a truly polar opposite sensation, it may be expected to observe numbness in the skin or an irritating sensation present. It must be considered, however, that perhaps the opposite of this tingling sensation is not irritation, but actually the general level of sensation that might be expected in typical individuals. Rather than this aspect lying on a continuum from irritation to typical sensation to pleasant tingling, it is a smaller continuum between typical sensation and pleasant tingling, with many shades of grey between the two.

Future directions for research

Though the age of the sample in the present study suggests engaging in ASMR is primarily an endeavour of young adults: this is likely to be reflective of limitations in the sampling method. Several individuals above age 40 provided input via this questionnaire, and some participants spontaneously reported being aware that one of their parents and/or their children also experienced what they believe to be the same the sensation. This would suggest that the young age of the sample is more likely a product of user demographic of Facebook and Reddit than an accurate representation of ASMR capable individuals' ages. In the current study, synaesthesia was tested for consistency via e-mail interview. As the subtypes reported by participants were so varied, some immeasurable by the standard Test of Genuineness (TOG-R; Asher et al., 2006), interview was favoured over electronic tests of consistency such as those found on synaesthete.org ( Eagleman et al., 2007). We suggest that future studies into ASMR include rigorous controls for synaesthetic experience.

While ASMR appears to be a genuine, relatively prevalent perceptual experience, the exact nature of the phenomenon is still unknown. There is the possibility that the tingles associated with ASMR result from a minor seizure, brought on by appropriate stimuli. This has been hypothesised in the past ( Novella, 2012), but as of yet remains uninvestigated. In this vein, research utilising neuroimaging methods such as fMRI may further our understanding brain regions involved in ASMR. fMRI investigations in particular, however, have potential to prove problematic, as results of the current study show that individuals overwhelmingly require specific, quiet and relaxed conditions to achieve the desired sensation. An alternative avenue of research might be the use of so-called non-invasive brain stimulation ( Davis & van Koningsbruggen, 2013) to modulate brain activity during ASMR. Techniques such as transcranial direct current or magnetic stimulation (tDCS, TMS) are known to induce multisensory experiences, often as an unintended side-effect of stimulation ( Davis et al., 2013). Given the age demographic of ASMR consumers, we note that brain stimulation techniques should be used sparingly in younger people ( Davis, 2014).

Further exploration into ASMR's relationship with Misophonia may also yield interesting results. Studies examining the co-occurrence of Misophonia and ASMR may shed more light on the possibility that these two experiences are related, or potentially opposite poles of the same spectrum. Similarly, the relationship with synaesthesia suggested by the results of this research should be taken further, using more robust consistency measures to verify that the high instance of synaesthesia in ASMR capable individuals. The suggestion that ASMR and Misophonia may be related was based primarily on similarities in reaction to auditory stimuli. Though sounds play a pivotal role in ASMR, it would also be advantageous to investigate the role of visual stimuli alone in triggering viewers, as such stimuli involving precise movements and focused tasks appear to be effective while being near silent.

Conclusions

We have provided the first investigation into the phenomenon of autonomic sensory meridian response (ASMR). ASMR can be induced, in those who are susceptible, by a fairly consistent set of triggers. Given the reported benefits of ASMR in improving mood and pain symptoms, we suggest that ASMR warrants further investigation as a potential therapeutic measure similar to that of meditation and mindfulness.

Supplemental Information

Appendix S1
Appendix: Original Questionnaire:
Data S1
Responses to original questionnaire (CSV format)
Supplemental Information 3
E-mail elaborations of synaesthetic experiences:
Funding Statement

The authors declare there was no funding for this work.

Additional Information and Declarations

Competing Interests

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Author Contributions

Emma L. Barratt conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.

Nick J. Davis analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.

Human Ethics

The following information was supplied relating to ethical approvals (i.e., approving body and any reference numbers):

Swansea University Department of Psychology Ethics Committee. Approval received via electronic statement: "Your proposed study 'An investigation into Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response as self-medication,' has been reviewed and is approved. Provided that the information obtained is kept absolutely confidential and that no personally identifiable information is entered on computer, you may proceed with your studies."

References

Edelstein, Brang & Ramachandran (2012) Edelstein M, Brang D, Ramachandran VS. "Sensory modulation in misophonia" Poster presented at Society for Neuroscience conference. New Orleans, LA, October 13-17; New Orleans. 2012. [ Google Scholar]

Jackson & Marsh (1996) Jackson SA, Marsh HW. Development and validation of a scale to measure optimal experience: The Flow State Scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 1996;18:17-35. [ Google Scholar]

Swann et al. (2014) Swann C, Crust L, Keegan R, Piggott D, Hemmings B. An inductive exploration into the flow experiences of European Tour golfers. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 2014 Epub ahead of print 4 July 2014. [ Google Scholar]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Academic Editor: Markus Dahlem Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a previously unstudied sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli.

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by Jean-Philippe Chaput, Suzy L. Wong and Isabelle Michaud

Insufficient sleep (short duration and poor quality) is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, injuries, all-cause mortality, depression, irritability, and reduced well-being. In today's 24/7 world, insufficient sleep is common. The factors that may be associated with insufficient sleep include exposure to artificial light at night, caffeine consumption, work demands, social commitments, and family dynamics (for example, working mothers and children with full agendas). Sleep often receives relatively little attention as a component of a healthy lifestyle, and health care professionals and policy-makers tend not to regard it as a public health concern.

For adults aged 18 to 64 and seniors aged 65 or older, 7 to 9 hours and 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night, respectively, are recommended. Findings from the 2005 General Social Survey (respondents aged 15 or older) showed that men slept significantly fewer hours per night than did women (8.1 versus 8.3; p < 0.05). However, women were more likely to report trouble falling asleep or staying asleep (35% versus 25%; p < 0.05). The 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being yielded similar results-35% of the population aged 15 or older had trouble going to sleep or staying asleep at least some of the time.

Sleep duration estimates for Canadian children and adolescents have recently been published, but updated figures for adults are lacking. Information about the percentage of adults who sleep less than recommended and about the prevalence of poor sleep quality is important for surveillance and to inform health care providers, health policy makers and the general public. This study provides more recent estimates of sleep duration and quality in the context of sleep duration guidelines, based on the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) from 2007 to 2013 (see ).

Percentage of 18- to 64-year-olds meeting sleep duration recommendations

During the 2007-to-2013 period, Canadians aged 18 to 64 averaged 7.12 hours of sleep per night (Table 1). About two-thirds reported the recommended 7 to 9 hours, and one-third, less than 7 hours. At these ages, sleeping more than 9 hours was rare (3.3%).

Consistent with previous Canadian findings, women's average sleep duration was significantly longer than that of men (7.24 versus 7.00 hours per night). However, 2007-to-2013 estimates were below those reported in 2005 (8.3 and 8.1 hours for women and men, respectively). Variations in methodology (diary in 2005 versus self-reports in the 2007-to-2013 period) may explain some of this difference.

People aged 18 to 64 with higher household education and income were more likely to report sleeping the recommended number of hours per night, compared with those with less education and lower incomes.

Percentage of seniors meeting sleep duration recommendations

Seniors aged 65 to 79 averaged 7.24 hours of sleep per night (Table 2). About one-third of them reported fewer than the recommended 7 hours.

Compared with 18- to 64-year-olds, a larger percentage of seniors (about 15%) slept longer than the recommended 8-hour maximum. Long sleep duration in the elderly can signal a need for medical, neurological, or psychiatric evaluation.

In contrast to 18- to 64-year-olds, no significant sleep duration differences emerged between senior men and women. However, as was the case at younger ages, seniors in higher-income households were more likely than those in lower-income households to sleep the recommended number of hours per night. The pattern was similar for education, but did not reach statistical significance.

Sleep quality

According to results of the 2007-to-2013 CHMS, 43% of men and 55% of women aged 18 to 64 reported trouble going to sleep or staying asleep "sometimes/most of the time/all of the time" (Table 3). This was comparable to 2005, when a higher percentage of women than men reported trouble falling asleep or staying asleep (35% versus 25%).6 However, differences in the methodology used to collect sleep information preclude direct comparisons between studies.

Similarly, among seniors aged 65 to 79, women were more likely than men to report trouble going to sleep or staying asleep "sometimes/most of the time/all of the time" (59% versus 40%). Percentages for this sleep quality indicator did not differ statistically between 18- to 64-year-olds and 65- to 79-year-olds.

Three-quarters of seniors (75%) and about half (55%) of people aged 18 to 64 reported that sleep was refreshing "most of the time/all of the time." Around a third (33% of 18- to 64-year-olds and 30% of seniors) reported difficulty staying awake during normal waking hours "sometimes/most of the time/all of the time."

Sleep quality by sleep duration recommendation category

Men and women aged 18 to 64 who slept the recommended number of hours reported better sleep quality than did those who slept less or more than recommended (Table 4). They were more likely to report that sleep was usually refreshing, and less likely to report difficulty going to sleep, staying asleep, and staying awake during normal waking hours.

At ages 65 to 79, men and women who slept the recommended amount reported more refreshing sleep and less difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep, compared with those who slept fewer hours than recommended. As well, senior men and women who slept more hours than recommended reported less trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, staying awake and more refreshing sleep, compared with seniors who slept less than recommended.

Conclusion

Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality are prevalent among Canadian adults. About one-third sleep fewer hours per night than recommended for optimal physical and mental health. This group also experiences poor sleep quality more frequently than do those who sleep the recommended number of hours. Additional research is needed to determine the prevalence of adverse health outcomes among short and poor sleepers.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants in the Canadian Health Measures Survey and all Statistics Canada staff involved in the operations of the survey.

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References

Footnote 1.

Footnote 2.

Hillman DR, Lack LC. Public health implications of sleep loss: the community burden. Medical Journal of Australia 2013; 199(8): S7-10.

Footnote 3.

Footnote 4.

Footnote 5.

Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. National Sleep Foundation's updated sleep duration recommendations: Final report. Sleep Health 2015; 1: 233-43.

Footnote 6.

Footnote 7.

Footnote 8.

Footnote 9.

Footnote 10.

Footnote 11.

Footnote 12.

Statistics Canada. Instructions for Combining Multiple Cycles of Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) Data. November 2014. Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/5071_D6_T9_V1-eng.htm

Footnote 13.

Statistics Canada. Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) Data User Guide: Cycle 1. April 2011. Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/5071_D2_T1_V1-eng.pdf

Footnote 14.

Statistics Canada. Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) Data User Guide: Cycle 2. November 2012. Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/5071_D4_T9_V1-eng.htm

Footnote 15.

Statistics Canada. Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) Data User Guide: Cycle 3. November 2014. Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/5071_D6_T9_V1-eng.htm

Footnote 16.

Footnote 17.

Footnote 18.

Arora T, Broglia E, Pushpakumar D, et al. An investigation into the strength of the association and agreement levels between subjective and objective sleep duration in adolescents. PLoS One 2013; 8: e72406.

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Duration and quality of sleep among Canadians aged 18 to 79

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This article provides recent estimates of the duration and quality of sleep of Canadian adults and of the percentage who adhere to sleep duration guidelines (7 to 9 hours per night at ages 18 to 64, and 7 to 8 hours per night at age 65 or older).

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1. Bracelet that pairs with a keychain that vibrates when your keys are outside a 5m range.

2. Free-standing foldable/portable pull-up bar

3. ASMR focused Smart-Speaker for sleep; ML Driven sound creation.

# data[].attributes.body
99$ to 199$ CAD (market sweet spot)

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Physical - speaker, buildings for production
intellectual - patents and copyrights for product
humans - employee
teach/ maintenance - for speakers

# data[].attributes.body
-will be a physical product
-incorporate a subscription model

# data[].attributes.body
Word of mouth, social media, influencers

# data[].attributes.body
Ages 18 to 70
Niche/Specialized

# data[].attributes.body
1. People that have trouble sleeping
2. People with anxiety

- Customized sounds for individuals

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1. Adding Biunarnal Beats to ASMR triggers proves to be successful in improving sleep quality.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31849629/

2. Smart Speaker market category is massive.
https://www.counterpointresearch.com/smart-speaker-drivers/

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Abstract

Sleep is important to maintain physical and cognitive functions in everyday life. However, the prevalence of sleep disorders is on the rise. One existing solution to this problem is to induce sleep using an auditory stimulus. When we listen to acoustic beats of two tones in each ear simultaneously, a binaural beat is generated which induces brain signals at a specific desired frequency. However, this auditory stimulus is uncomfortable for users to listen to induce sleep. To overcome this difficulty, we can exploit the feelings of calmness and relaxation that are induced by the perceptual phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). In this study, we proposed a novel auditory stimulus for inducing sleep. Specifically, we used a 6 Hz binaural beat corresponding to the center of the theta band (4-8 Hz), which is the frequency at which brain activity is entrained during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) in sleep stage 1. In addition, the "ASMR triggers" that cause ASMR were presented from natural sound as the sensory stimuli. In session 1, we combined two auditory stimuli (the 6 Hz binaural beat and ASMR triggers) at three-decibel ratios to find the optimal combination ratio. As a result, we determined that the combination of a 30:60 dB ratio of binaural beat to ASMR trigger is most effective for inducing theta power and psychological stability. In session 2, the effects of these combined stimuli (CS) were compared with an only binaural beat, only the ASMR trigger, or a sham condition. The combination stimulus retained the advantages of the binaural beat and resolved its shortcomings with the ASMR triggers, including psychological self-reports. Our findings indicate that the proposed auditory stimulus could induce the brain signals required for sleep, while simultaneously keeping the user in a psychologically comfortable state. This technology provides an important opportunity to develop a novel method for increasing the quality of sleep.

Keywords: autonomous sensory meridian response; binaural beat; electroencephalography; sleep; theta wave.

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References

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Barratt E. L., Davis N. J. (2015). Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state. PeerJ 3:e851 10.7717/peerj.851 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Barratt E. L., Spence C., Davis N. J. (2017). Sensory determinants of the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): understanding the triggers. PeerJ 5:e3846 10.7717/peerj.3846 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Beauchene C., Abaid N., Moran R., Diana R. A., Leonessa A. (2017). The effect of binaural beats on verbal working memory and cortical connectivity. J. Neural Eng. 14:026014 10.1088/1741-2552/aa5d67 - DOI - PubMed

Bellesi M., Riedner B. A., Garcia-Molina G. N., Cirelli C., Tononi G. (2014). Enhancement of sleep slow waves: underlying mechanisms and practical consequences. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 8:208 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00208 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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national center for biotechnology information

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Possible Effect of Binaural Beat Combined With Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response for Inducing Sleep - PubMed

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Sleep is important to maintain physical and cognitive functions in everyday life. However, the prevalence of sleep disorders is on the rise. One existing solution to this problem is to induce sleep using an auditory stimulus. When we listen to acoustic beats of two tones in each ear simultaneously, ...

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Sales and demand for exercise equipment have increased significant in the past couple of years in Canada

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This statistic shows the quarterly retail sales of exercise equipment in Canada from 2014 to 2021. Sales of exercise equipment amounted to an estimated 200 million Canadian dollars in the first quarter of 2021. Over the past seven years, the highest recorded quarterly sales for such items occurred in the last quarter of 2020.

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Exercise equipment: quarterly sales Canada 2021 | Statista

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This statistic shows the quarterly retail sales of exercise equipment in Canada from 2014 to 2021. Sales of exercise equipment amounted to an estimated 200 million Canadian dollars in the first quarter of 2021. Over the past seven years, the highest recorded quarterly sales for such items occurred in the last quarter of 2020.

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Since ASMR causes feelings of calmness and sleepiness, it has actually been known to help people sleep
https://www.sleepassociation.org/sleep-products/asmr/#:~:text=ASMR%20and%20sleep,ASMR%20to%20help%20them%20relax.

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ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is described by many who experience this as a tingling sensation that starts in the head or neck and travels down the spine. It can make you feel relaxed, calm or even make you feel like you could fall asleep. The internet, including YouTube, is flooding right now with information on "ASMR."

If you've ever had this feeling, it may have been during a massage, while someone brushes your hair, whispers in your ear, or you hear certain (usually dull, monotonous) sounds.

ASMR is fairly common, but if you haven't experienced this almost euphoric feeling, you're not alone. It doesn't happen to everyone.

One study(1) showed that out of 1,002 participants, 813 people (81percent) experience ASMR.

How does ASMR feel?

The feeling of ASMR isn't exactly easy to describe to someone who's never experienced it. The most common description is a tingling sensation that starts in your head, travels down your spine, and sometimes travels to other areas of the body, such as the limbs.

For some people, it calms worry or anxiety. For some, it makes them sleepy. It has even been known to temporarily relieve pain for some people.

Some describe it as "almost a euphoric feeling."

What triggers ASMR?

ASMR is typically triggered by certain sounds or personal attention, and also sometimes visual.

The sounds that trigger ASMR can really be anything, depending on the person. Usually, they are dull, boring, ongoing sounds. It could be whispering, a computer typing, someone using a blow drier, tapping, buzzing, or the sound of rain.

Personal attention seems to be a common trigger as well. If you've ever felt a slight tingle, as well as extremely relaxed while someone was brushing your hair, you have probably had this experience.

Other forms of attention that may cause this sensation are getting your nails done, getting a haircut, massage, or having someone rub your arm. These are just examples, but really anything could trigger this feeling in someone.

How does ASMR work?

Although ASMR has been around since probably the beginning of time, it has only recently been given the name and is newly studied. Most of the information that is known about it is coming from the people that actually experience this sensation.

There are, however, a few hypotheses on the physiological changes happening during ASMR.

Feelings of relaxation, comfort, and feeling like you want to sleep may be due to certain chemicals being released in your brain when you sense your "trigger."(3)

Endorphins

Endorphins are chemicals secreted in the brain and nervous system. These chemicals help to reduce pain and stress. They may be the cause of the "euphoric" feeling that some people experience with ASMR.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is sometimes known as the "love hormone" and is secreted when people bond, like when giving someone a hug. When it's secreted, it's responsible for promoting feelings of love, bonding, and wellbeing. This may contribute to the "tingly" feeling described with ASMR.

Serotonin

When serotonin is released, it is known to lower stress, aid in relaxation, and also induce sleep.

Dopamine

Dopamine is a chemical that's important for motivation, reward, memory, and attention. It also has been known to sometimes encourage addiction. This may also be true in ASMR as well, since it may keep you wanting to experience this sensation repeatedly.

As mentioned, these are just hypotheses on how ASMR effects the brain physiologically.

Since knowledge of ASMR is fairly new, it is only beginning to be studied.

One study ( 1) was done to determine if ASMR showed differences in physiology after watching ASMR videos. The study was done using two groups, one group of people that experience ASMR, and a non-ASMAR group.

The study found that during the ASMR videos, the ASMR group showed significant changes in the reduction of heart rate and increases in the electrical conductance of the skin.

ASMR subjects also reported an increase in calmness after watching the videos, but no changes in excitement, stress, or sexual arousal.

ASMR and sleep

Since ASMR causes feelings of calmness and sleepiness, it has actually been known to help people sleep, even in people with occasional insomnia.

One study ( 2) done in 2015 with a total of 475 participants showed that 98 percent of this group sought out ASMR to help them relax. Also, 82 percent use it to help them sleep, and 70 percent use it to deal with stress.

Many of the participants in this study added additional comments stating they use ASMR for issues that other interventions, including medical interventions, failed to help with.

ASMR Videos, Sounds and Triggers

For the people that experience ASMR and want to use it to cope with anxiety or help them sleep, ASMR videos and sounds are available all over the internet.

These ASMR videos and sounds are everywhere and YouTube has thousands of them, so you can most likely find one that triggers this feeling. These are commonly used, some of them having several millions of views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBVCqFeZbjk

ASMR Slime Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBQCf8ISy6o

ASMR Sleep Video Compilation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmH3dBVvPh4

ASMR Whisper Video

Typing in "ASMR" will bring up videos of someone whispering, a shower running, fan blowing, hair driers, eating sounds, and even a mom removing lice. Most of these videos are several hours long so you can use them to get sleepy, to drift into sleep, and stay asleep.

You can even search for specific sounds you want to hear. Typing "ASMR fan" in the YouTube search bar brings up what seems like thousands of long, dull, but popular videos of a fan running, many with millions of views.

Whatever it is that will trigger you, you can probably find it out there.

Although studies are still being done on ASMR, one thing we do know is that there are benefits from it, emotionally and physiologically. This may be something to try to help you feel calm, relax, and get some sleep.

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ASMR Defined: Sounds, Whispers, Triggers for Sleep | American Sleep Association

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ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is described by many who experience this as a tingling sensation that starts in the head or neck and travels down the spine. It can make you feel relaxed, calm or even make you feel like you could fall asleep.

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The pandemic’s home-workout revolution may be here to stay

washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/2021/01/07/home-fitness-boom/

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(Washington Post illustration; iStock)

The sweat used to pour at Philly Dance Fitness, where Deborah Hirsch offered a full array of classes to hip-hop, Zumba and Bollywood beats. But the coronavirus crisis has mostly cleared out her studios, forcing her to go where her clients are: home.

Now she live-streams more than 35 classes a week, a pivot that has kept her business afloat at a time of dizzying growth for all things fitness-related. Sales of fitness gear, gadgets and apparel have skyrocketed during the pandemic as homebound consumers have scrambled to build home gyms, loaded up on sneakers and downloaded fitness apps by the millions.

"As soon as the lockdowns took effect, the home-fitness business took off like wildfire," said Matt Powell, vice president and senior industry adviser for the NPD Group, a market research company.

Americans spent heavily across all price points, from $3,000 cardio machines to $20 yoga mats. They also hit the running and hiking trails in earnest - Yellowstone National Park recorded its busiest September and October on record - and embraced other outdoor activities to escape the monotony of stay-at-home life.

Health and fitness equipment revenue more than doubled, to $2.3 billion, from March to October, according to NPD retail data. Sales of treadmills soared 135 percent while those of stationary bikes nearly tripled, depleting inventories.

The trend has stretched through seasonal changes: The surge in bicycle and kayak purchases recorded in the spring and summer is now manifesting in cold-weather gear such as cross-country skis, snowshoes and outerwear.

Demand for equipment that can be used close to home or outdoors is "off the charts," said Ben Johns, general manager for action sports for REI. Fire pit sales in the fall grew sixfold year over year, he noted.

"People clearly have looked to outdoor activities as a way to escape the realities that we all have to deal with."

But 2020 also was a punishing year for gyms. Hirsch, the founder and president of Philly Dance Fitness, said business was flourishing at the beginning of the year. She was looking to expand, intent on moving from subleased locations to a spacious studio of her own. Some of her clients were running through final rehearsals of "Take It Off Broadway," a jazz and burlesque dance show inspired by musicals.

But that changed in March, when the pandemic took hold. Like other small-business owners, Hirsch said, the sudden blow of government-mandated closures slashed revenue dramatically. Since then, any move toward recovery has gotten squeezed by capacity constraints and generalized anxiety that has kept potential drop-ins away. "The reason we are still here right now is because I haven't been paying full rent," she said. "If we had to pay full rent we'd be done."

Now, amid a just-lifted citywide gym closure, Hirsch is just hoping to outlast the pandemic.

"Prior to covid, my job was to figure out what classes people like, find the best instructors and create a really awesome in-studio experience," she said. "Now my job is to make sure they are good on live streams, troubleshoot tech issues and coordinate all of it so we can market it to audiences. It's another layer of work that has been really challenging."

Just as the virus has thrashed a specific set of industries while rewarding others - owing to the unique contours of public safety measures and the dynamics of the stay-at-home economy - segments within industries have been crushed or favored in similar ways.

Perhaps no fitness company better illustrates the explosive sales growth brought on by the pandemic as much as Peloton. Demand for its Internet-connected bikes soared in the spring and summer as gyms were shuttered or restricted and households invested in basement gyms. The company reported revenue of $758 million, a 232 percent increase from the same period the previous year.

The stay-at-home economy sent Peloton stock soaring more than 400 percent in 2020 and helped catapult it into profitability. The company is focused on growth, and has announced a partnership with Beyoncé; the release of a premium bike and a more affordable treadmill; and the acquisition of fitness equipment maker Precor, for $420 million, to ramp up production capacity and expand into the commercial market.

"We certainly want the world to get back to normal, just like everyone else," said Brad Olson, chief membership officer. "We do believe that the pandemic has compelled consumers to reevaluate their fitness routines and many have discovered that the best, most connected workout can actually be experienced at home."

Other connected fitness companies have also had significant growth spurts. After Mirror, the maker of the reflective-glass fitness device, was acquired by Lululemon Athletica, it expected to have ended 2020 with $150 million in revenue, up from a previously projected $100 million, according to company forecasts. And Tonal, the wall-mounted, strength-training home gym, reported a staggering 700 percent year-over-year increase in sales in 2020.

Americans were not just buying up high-end, screen-centric devices. When public health measures first led to gym closures in the spring, retail data showed massive sales spikes for an array of recreational and fitness merchandise, from dumbbells and roller skates to surfboards and golf clubs.

Dick's Sporting Goods said same-store sales jumped by double digits during its most recent quarter, the retailer's best performance since it went public nearly two decades ago.

While the at-home workout trend has been accelerating for years - propelled further because of the coronavirus - so too has the consolidation of gyms, analysts say. Mid-tier players have been squeezed by premier clubs such as Equinox and Life Time Fitness, and more affordable gyms, like Planet Fitness.

Since the pandemic struck, membership rolls have evaporated, shoving some of the most financially vulnerable companies into insolvency. Gold's Gym, 24 Hour Fitness and Town Sports International, the owner of the New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts chains, all filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020.

Camilla Yanushevsky, an equity analyst at CFRA Research, likens the financial struggles of mid-priced gyms to beleaguered retailers that were too slow to adapt to the world of digital apps and burdened by high debt loads.

Analysts note that Equinox, on the luxury end, and Planet Fitness, on the value end, were both quick to launch workout apps in the early weeks of the outbreak, keeping their members engaged, even if they couldn't pump iron or practice yoga at their physical locations.

"Our app consumption went through the roof," said Chris Rondeau, chief executive of Planet Fitness, noting that online engagement fell once gyms began to reopen and members returned for in-person workouts.

"It's a good supplement," he said. "Everybody has a kitchen, but everyone goes out to eat because it's a little bit more enjoyable."

Boutique studios face their own obstacles. Largely locked out from high-dollar lending, and constrained by capacity restrictions or outright closures, small-business owners confront encroachment from the home-fitness companies targeting their clientele as well as the polished live streams and virtual apps that require robust investments to produce.

"When this shutdown happened we were put on the playing field with major national companies that had been live-streaming for years," said Hirsch of Philly Dance Fitness.

"These people have lots of money and equipment and they have been filming high-quality, on-demand fitness classes for a long time. And they charge way less than I can afford to charge. I don't have a marketing budget or plan that would allow me to scale the way I would like to."

The explosion of home gyms and the desire for professional, on-demand workouts has sparked a gargantuan increase in health and fitness app downloads. Americans are increasingly streaming exercise classes from their phones and smart TVs and tracking an array of personalized health metrics brought to life through ecosystems of gadgets and dashboards.

Business leaders and industry observers also underscore that the threat of the coronavirus itself, not just the major business disruptions, has raised awareness about overall health and well-being. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults of any age with certain conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the coronavirus, including afflictions that can be influenced by physical activity and nutrition, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

From January through November of 2020, approximately 2.5 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded worldwide, according to data from Sensor Tower - a 47 percent jump from the same period in 2019. A compilation of the most-downloaded fitness apps on Google Play and Apple's App Store reveals an astonishing rise in interest, coinciding with the public health crisis.

Users downloaded Home Workout - No Equipment, the top fitness app of the year, 43.5 million times, more than doubling its installs from the previous year, Sensor Tower data showed. Strava, the GPS running and cycling app, was downloaded more than 20 million times, a 120 percent spike from 2019.

While home-fitness companies can generate the bulk of their revenue through hardware sales, monthly app subscriptions and digital-only memberships can make up a significant portion of their business. Peloton, for example, recorded 382 percent growth for digital subscriptions - which do not require machines. Similar to the economics of gaming consoles, mobile devices and wearables, companies can extract consistent fees from customers by offering networks of services and software, even if people only buy the central piece of hardware once every several years.

In December, Apple released its own workout subscription service, Fitness+, built around the Apple Watch. The latest premium app from the $2 trillion tech giant highlights the company's strategy to pull users more tightly into its ecosystem of services, which includes music, TV and cloud storage. And it underscores the developing business opportunities in health and fitness that technologies can exploit during and even after the coronavirus crisis.

Other major retailers are leaning into technology to glean insights from consumer data, build customer loyalty and keep users within their universe of merchandise. Nike claims two fitness apps among the 20 most-downloaded apps in 2020. Users downloaded Nike Run Club more than 15 million times, showing a 45 percent boost from 2019, the Sensor Tower data showed; Nike Training Club registered nearly 14 million installs, up 123 percent from the previous year.

Investors have flocked to the sportswear company over the past year. Shares have more than doubled since the lows of March. And in its most recent earnings report, Nike disclosed that digital sales ramped up by 84 percent compared with a year earlier, including triple-digit growth in North America.

The year ahead will test which consumer behaviors are fleeting and which are here to stay, experts say.

"The longer this goes on, the tougher it will be to return," said Landon Luxembourg, a senior analyst at investment research firm Third Bridge Group. Luxembourg described a central tension within the fitness industry, in which customers who have invested in their own equipment and grown accustomed to working out at home might be reluctant to rejoin their gyms and restart their memberships, even after coronavirus vaccines are in wide use. But the allure of returning to old habits, of reclaiming normalcy and reconnecting with the social aspects of working out has its strong appeal too, Luxembourg said.

"There is a group of people that want get out of the house and see people," said Yanushevsky, of CFRA. "That's what's going to keep gyms around. People don't want to work from home and go to the room next door and lift some weight and be on a Peloton," she said.

As with virtual school and work, there's live-stream fatigue, too. "Humans are social animals," Hirsch said. "The ability to see people in person, we live for that - to give people motivation to work hard and to sweat."

She added: "I am not worried about group fitness dying. We will return when covid is over. It's just been a lot longer ride than people were hoping it would be."

Aside from the lucky few who have the wealth and the space to assemble a Schwarzenegger-class home gym, most people will rely on retail gyms for the heavy-duty gear and the social interaction they can't get on their own, said Joanna Zeng O'Brien, a Moody's analyst who covers the fitness industry.

"There is the convenience of working out from home, but people also want to go to physical locations. People miss that," she said. "For companies that want to stay around and not become obsolete, they have to do both."

Updated February 16, 2021

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The pandemic's home-workout revolution may be here to stay

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The sweat used to pour at Philly Dance Fitness, where Deborah Hirsch offered a full array of classes to hip-hop, Zumba and Bollywood beats. But the coronavirus crisis has mostly cleared out her studios, forcing her to go where her clients are: home.

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1. https://www.mtlexpresslocksmith.com/the-science-losing-keys/ - This idea provides a stress free way of remembering to take your keys with you. With a simple app on a smartwatch it will notify the user of keys outside a specified range.

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1. an average person loses up to nine items a day. Guess what item is among the top of these items? The keys, of course!
https://www.mtlexpresslocksmith.com/the-science-losing-keys/

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People always lose their keys. You yourself might have had lost your keys and left it somewhere recently. Losing the keys is just something that a lot of people can relate to. But do you know the science behind it? Some experts have taken time to study this recurring phenomenon that a lot of people experience. Read on and find out some facts about it:

How often do people lose their keys?

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When are most people forgetful with their keys?

The time of day can also have an effect on the possibility of someone losing his keys. Early in the morning the brain is not at its best condition yet; it is still transitioning from its sleepy state to an active state. It is for this reason that so many people leave their keys at home before going to work. There are also those whose brains are not functioning well yet that these have a hard time recalling where the keys are put.

How to remember where you put your keys?

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Think before you lock

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Deciding on a price

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Conclusion

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The Science Behind Losing Your Keys - Serrurier Express

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People always lose their keys. You yourself might have had lost your keys and left it somewhere recently. Losing the keys is just something that a lot of people can relate to. But do you know the science behind it? Some experts have taken time to study this recurring phenomenon that a lot of people [...]

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1.     Bracelet that pairs with a keychain that vibrates when your keys are outside a 5m range.

2.    Free-standing foldable/portable pull-up bar

3. ASMR focused Smart-Speaker for sleep; ML Driven sound creation.

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4.    Application that auto enters a person with their preferred username into a chat room depending on the area they’re in. Collective chat room designated to a location. You go out of the radius you get kicked out of the chat room. Advert revenue of the establishment the chat room is located in.

5.   ASMR focused Smart-Speaker for sleep; ML Driven sound creation.

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1. Bracelet that pairs with a keychain that vibrates when your keys are outside a 5m range.

2. Car sound suppression system to block out constant road noise and protect ears

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1. Car sound suppression system to block out constant road noise and protect ears

2. Timed shower head

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1. Gourmet Mac & Cheese Delivery in business park; dozens of types of flavours.

2. ASMR focused Smart-Speaker for sleep; ML Driven sound creation.

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1. Indoor slippers with duster pads as soles
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3. Personal IT support team members

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1.     Disposable Sneeze Protectors for the inside of your cloth masks.

2.     Bracelet that pairs with a keychain that vibrates when your keys are outside a 5m range.

3.     Application that auto enters a person with their preferred username into a chat room depending on the area they’re in. Collective chat room designated to a location. You go out of the radius you get kicked out of the chat room. Advert revenue of the establishment the chat room is located in.

4.      Application that scans specific gym equipment and provides different exercises with said equipment.

5.     Brewery/fish and chips place, that allows customers to choose their favorite beer to batter their fish.

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1.     Game console rental service

2.    Free-standing foldable/portable pull-up bar

3.    Uber style mobile app service based on connecting tow trucks to customers