Abstract Introduction Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is reported as a pleasurable tingling sensation triggered by specific visual and auditory stimuli. Although not supported by proper evidence, ASMR for sleep induction became popular as YouTube content in the last decade. However, concerns have arisen regarding its pattern of use, mostly through digital devices in bed, which can increase sleep latency and worsen symptoms in individuals with insomnia. Due to the limited literature on the subject, it is important to characterize ASMR users in terms of socio-descriptive and sleep-related data. The aim was to describe the profile of individuals who use ASMR content for sleep-related complaints, and its association with insomnia symptoms. Methods This was an exploratory cross-sectional survey. Individuals aged 18 or older who consumed ASMR content were recruited through social media and invited to fill out an online survey, including the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and questions about their ASMR usage habits. The usage was categorized to allow qui-square analyses. Data was presented as absolute frequency (n) and percentage. Results Of the 464 participants, 81.9% were female, with a mean age of 26.2±6.8 years; most were highly educated (50.6%), self-declared white (72.2%), and single (81.5%). In the ISI, 258 participants (55.6%) were classified as having severe insomnia, 144 (31%) as moderate, 58 (12.5%) as mild, and only 4 (0.8%) showed no clinically significant insomnia. In the PSQI, 68 participants (14.6%) had good sleep quality and 396 (85.3%) had poor sleep quality. Statistically significant associations were observed between feeling ASMR and poor sleep quality (p=0.034) and between higher prevalence of insomnia and consuming ASMR as videos (p=0.044). No associations were found between ASMR usage and perceived insomnia symptoms improvement. Conclusion ASMR users presented a negative sleep profile (including a high prevalence of severe insomnia) and ASMR usage was not associated with improvements in insomnia symptoms. Support (if any) This study was supported by the Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP). VAK receives grant from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). ST is a grant recipient from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).
Kakazu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.