ASMR and Anxiety Research

The research on ASMR and anxiety is small and early. A few studies report lower anxiety scores or physical signs of calm in people who experience ASMR, but none shows that ASMR treats an anxiety disorder. If you want to try it, use a familiar video before bed or at a calm moment, not only at the peak of anxiety, and see a doctor if anxiety affects your daily life.

What the research says

A PubMed search in October 2026 for the full phrase autonomous sensory meridian response together with anxiety in the title or abstract returned 16 records, out of 103 that mention the phrase. These are the studies we read:

• Eid and colleagues (2022): 36 people who experience ASMR and 28 who do not watched an ASMR video. The ASMR group had higher neuroticism, trait anxiety and pre-video state anxiety, and their state anxiety was lower after the video, while the other group showed no change. The authors said it supports using ASMR videos for acute state anxiety, and that group differences in personality and anxiety explained the result.
• Lee and colleagues (2022): a double-blind randomized trial in 76 adults with stress, comparing ASMR with binaural beats and music for three weeks. Anxiety, stress, depression and insomnia scores improved in both groups. With no group doing nothing, it cannot show how either compares with no intervention.
• Tanna and colleagues (2025): a randomized trial of 78 children having dental injections. Blood pressure during the injection was lower with ASMR and with muscle relaxation than with standard behaviour guidance.
• Jiang and colleagues (2025): an exploratory brain imaging study in trait-anxious people using near-infrared imaging, reporting lower activity in some frontal areas in the ASMR video group than in the non-ASMR group.
• Sakurai and colleagues (2023): a brain scan study whose title says the relaxation effect depends on personal preference.
• Woods and Turner-Cobb (2023): interviews with eight students who used ASMR to fall asleep or to be distracted when anxious.

What is missing

• No study that we found has tested ASMR for panic attacks or in people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
• Several studies recruited people who already experience ASMR, so the findings may not apply to people who do not.
• Heart rate or blood pressure changes show calm in the moment but do not by themselves show reduced anxiety.
• Most studies are small and short, and some have no group doing nothing.

Explanations for why soft sounds might help anxiety are common ideas, not tested findings. ASMR is not a treatment; talk to a doctor if symptoms persist.

If you want to try it

• Pick predictable and slow: whispered or soft-spoken guided relaxation, steady tapping, brushing, page turning and rain. Some listeners find scratching and crunching raise alertness.
• Personal attention videos: doctor roleplay, a cranial nerve exam or a hair appointment. Some people find a caring voice settling, but we found no study isolating this effect.
• Timing: try it at a calm time or before bed, not only during a panic. A familiar video is easier to drop into when you are tense.
• Headphones: binaural recordings are made for them. Keep the volume where you hear detail without strain.
• Avoid: misophonia triggers such as mouth sounds, and sudden changes during panic.

Do not use it to avoid

If you are anxious about something real that needs action, using ASMR every time can become avoidance. Use it to calm down enough to think, then deal with the problem.

Do other things while it plays and you may lose the point. Protect the window afterwards by not checking news or email straight away.

ASMR and meditation

Meditation asks for practice and attention. ASMR needs little skill the first time.

Evidence for mindfulness meditation in anxiety is longer-standing. Many people use both: meditation in the morning, ASMR at night or in hard moments.

Social anxiety and sleep anxiety

• Social anxiety: roleplay videos are written to be positive, which some people find a comfort. This is not exposure therapy, and we found no evidence it reduces social anxiety.
• Sleep anxiety: the worry about sleeping can keep you alert. Some people find that listening, with no goal of sleeping, helps. Choose very slow content with no sharp transitions, and unintelligible whispering or soft-spoken audio so you are not following words.

Build a habit

Pick one creator and try several of their videos before sampling more. Use a consistent time of day. Keep a short log for a month with how anxious you felt before, after and which video.

Do not pressure yourself to feel tingles. Relaxation without them still counts.