I used to be one of those people who thought ASMR—and anyone who listened to it—was weird.

For those unfamiliar with the term, ASMR is an acronym for "autonomous sensory meridian response." Basically, it's an enjoyable reaction your body has to certain sounds and stimuli. By "enjoyable reaction" I don't mean anything sexual, I promise. Instead, the videos are meant to relax you and give you a nice, tingly feeling.

I didn't understand the purpose of ASMR until I started looking into it out of genuine curiosity (after my unwarranted judgment—we all do it!). It's a popular style of video on YouTube with countless channels dedicated solely to producing ASMR content. Seriously, I filtered YouTube just for ASMR channels (people who produce ASMR content) and got over three million results.

Once I found a channel that vibed with me, I was in. I don't get (or haven't yet gotten) tingles from any of the videos I've watched, but I can say that I do become instantly relaxed when listening to them. In fact, I'm listening to one as I write!

Certain sounds work for me that other people don't enjoy as much. I love the sound of vacuum cleaners as well as slow, repetitive movements, like someone brushing and playing with another person's hair. I find that I don't enjoy whispering videos a lot of the time, though whispering makes up 75 percent of people's ASMR triggers (i.e. the tingles) as reported in the first formal study of ASMR.

They can sometimes get me dangerously close to sleep, which is not good when I need to be focused at school, so I definitely have to be aware of exactly how the video is affecting me. A happy medium for me is contentment and relaxation but not sleepiness.

I don't listen to ASMR videos when I'm going to bed, though a lot of people rely on them to get to sleep each night. One of my favorite videos is below, and it's literally a person brushing their friend's hair. There's no talking in this one, which I like; just soft sounds that melt me into a relaxed goo-person.

If there's anything I've learned from discovering that I enjoy ASMR videos, it's don't knock something until you try it. This has always been a true lesson, but since ASMR is a relatively new thing on the internet, I didn't realize what a harmless and positive resource it can be for so many people for many different reasons.

If you have trouble sleeping, need to focus, or just want something to help you relax after (or during) a stressful day, search for ASMR videos on YouTube! You might find that they really help you out and you'll get hooked, just like me.