Hitting My Forties Changed Everything
A couple of years ago, I hit my forties. Yes, midlife. And when I did, things started changing in my body. One of those changes was waking up in the middle of the night with hot flashes brought on by a stubborn virus I fought for several months and perimenopause.
When I’d wake up, I’d have to strip down and change my clothes, which really woke me up. When I couldn’t fall back asleep, I found that the only thing that helped was ASMR.
What Is ASMR
If you aren’t familiar with autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, it’s when certain sounds or visuals trigger a physical reaction in the body. For example, I can watch someone getting a massage, and my brain reacts as if I’m the one getting the massage. In the ASMR world, they call it “tingles.”
Some people get goosebumps, others feel a wave of calm, and some just get super relaxed. It works both ways too. I can’t watch videos of people getting hurt or embarrassed because my sensory response is so strong it sends a rush of negative energy through me. Studies show that ASMR doesn’t affect everyone, but people with higher empathy often get those endorphin releases from watching or listening…