ASMR Triggers: The Complete List and How to Find Yours

An ASMR trigger is anything that sets off the tingly, deeply relaxing feeling known as ASMR. The most commonly reported triggers are whispering, soft speaking, close personal attention, crisp sounds such as tapping, and slow, careful hand movements.

Triggers are personal. The same sound can give one person tingles and leave another bored, or even irritated. This guide lists every major type, grouped the way they are on Tingly Room, with what each one is and who it might suit, then shows you how to find your own.

If you're new to ASMR itself, start with what ASMR is and how it feels.

What are the most common ASMR triggers?

Two surveys give a good picture of what works for most people who experience ASMR.

In the first large survey, of 475 adults, the most common triggers were whispering (75%), personal attention (69%), crisp sounds such as metallic foil or tapping fingernails (64%) and slow movements (53%). About a third (34%) were also triggered by watching someone do a repetitive task (Barratt & Davis, 2015).

A 2018 University of Sheffield study asked 813 people who experience ASMR about 13 triggers, and people chose about 7 of them on average (Poerio et al., 2018):

Both studies recruited people who already know they experience ASMR, so treat these numbers as a guide to what's popular, not a prediction of what will work for you.

A third study grouped triggers by how people's preferences cluster. Asking people with ASMR to rate 14 triggers, researchers found five families: watching (painting, drawing, cooking, opening a package), touching (hair, makeup), repetitive sounds (tapping, scratching), simulations (dentist, haircut) and mouth sounds (chewing, whispering) (Fredborg et al., 2017). If you like one trigger in a family, the others are worth trying next.

Sound triggers

Sounds are the heart of most ASMR videos. Creators record them close to sensitive microphones, so small noises sound rich and near.

• Tapping: fingernails or fingertips on wood, glass, plastic or metal. A classic crisp sound; good if you like sharp, rhythmic textures.
• Scratching: nails dragged lightly across textured surfaces. Slightly sharper than tapping, for people who like texture.
• Brushing: soft brushes swept over objects or the microphone. Gentle and steady, and an easy pick for bedtime.
• Mic brushing and mic scratching: brushes or nails directly on the microphone or its cover. Very close and enveloping.
• Fluffy mic and mic cupping: rubbing a furry windscreen, or cupping hands around the mic. Muffled, warm sounds that feel cozy.
• Crinkles and paper sounds: plastic wrappers, foil, tissue paper, page turning. Crisp and bright, for fans of "crunchy" textures.
• Typing: keyboards, often mechanical ones. Steady and even, a good match for focus or study.
• Liquid sounds: pouring, stirring, bubbling, swishing water. Soft and flowing.
• Fabric sounds: clothing, blankets and towels being handled. Quiet and soothing.
• Hand sounds: hands rubbed together, finger flutters, lotion. Close and simple.
• Gloves: latex or nitrile gloves stretched and snapped. Often part of medical or spa roleplays.
• Cutting: scissors, soap carving, kinetic sand. Satisfying, clean sounds.
• Slime, foam and sticky sounds: squishing, popping and peeling textures. Loved by some, too intense for others.
• Everyday objects: combs, jars, cards, makeup. A mix of textures in one video.
• Breathing and trigger words: soft breaths or repeated words with crisp consonants, such as "tingles" or "sleep." Very close and personal.
• Mouth sounds: clicks, kisses, eating sounds. The most divisive trigger (more on this below).
• Rain, nature, room ambience and white noise: background soundscapes, sometimes layered under other triggers. Good if you want calm without tingles.
• Buzzing: low hums such as electric clippers in haircut roleplays.

Voice triggers

The voice changes how a video feels even when the trigger stays the same. Soft speaking (74%) and whispering (70%) were among the most reported triggers in the Sheffield study (Poerio et al., 2018).

• Whispering: the classic ASMR voice. Ideal if close, breathy sounds give you tingles.
• Soft-spoken: a quiet, gentle speaking voice. Good if whispering feels too intimate or too breathy.
• No talking: triggers only. A good fit for sleep, studying, or anyone who finds voices distracting.
• Inaudible: whispers with no clear words. You get the texture of a voice without having to follow anything.
• Natural voice: normal speaking volume, often in explainers or "talk and stories" videos.

Visual triggers

Many people get tingles from watching, not just listening. Slow movements were reported by 53% in Barratt and Davis's survey, and visual hand movements by 48% in the Sheffield study.

• Hand movements: slow, flowing gestures toward the camera. Try them with the sound low to see if visuals work for you.
• Light triggers: soft lights moved around the screen, often paired with "follow the light" instructions.
• Camera touching: the creator reaches toward the lens as if touching your face.
• Plucking: gentle pinching and pulling gestures toward the lens, as if lifting something away from your face.
• Careful tasks: watching someone fold, sort, paint or fill out a form slowly and precisely. Half the Sheffield participants (51%) reported this one.

Personal attention and roleplay scenarios

Personal attention means the creator talks to you directly and acts as if caring for you: brushing your hair, checking on you, doing your skincare. It ranked second (69%) in Barratt and Davis's survey.

Roleplays put that attention inside a familiar scene. Common scenarios include:

• Hair play: brushing, braiding, scalp massage. "Getting your hair played with or brushed" was reported by 73% in the Sheffield study.
• Salon and spa: haircuts, facials, massages. Haircuts were reported by 56%.
• Face attention: touching, measuring, tracing the face. Interaction with the face or head was reported by 55%.
• Ear care: ear cleaning and ear massage, often recorded so the sound moves from one ear to the other.
• Medical exam: eye exams, cranial nerve exams, dentist visits. Slow, methodical and full of instructions.
• Skincare and makeup: a creator doing your makeup or skincare routine step by step.
• Caretaker: a friend, sibling or partner looking after you when you're sick or stressed.
• Affirmations and comfort: kind, reassuring words, often for difficult days.

Pace

Pace is often overlooked, yet it can make or break a video.

• Slow and gentle: steady, predictable triggers. Barratt and Davis found slow movements among the top four triggers, and slow videos are a natural pick for bedtime.
• Medium: a natural rhythm, neither sleepy nor busy.
• Fast and aggressive: quick tapping and scratching. Good if slow videos bore you or you've stopped feeling tingles from them.
• Unpredictable: random, chaotic triggers. Worth a try if predictable triggers stop working for you.

Triggers that divide people

Mouth sounds and eating sounds were the least reported triggers in the Sheffield study (30% and 20%). For some people they are worse than neutral.

Misophonia is a decreased tolerance to specific sounds, such as chewing, lip smacking, breathing, tapping or typing, that can bring on anger, disgust or anxiety (Cleveland Clinic). People who experience ASMR scored higher on a misophonia questionnaire than controls in one study of 132 adults (Janik McErlean & Banissy, 2018), and the same eating sound may trigger ASMR in one setting and misophonia in another (Poerio, Ueda & Kondo, 2022).

If a sound makes you tense, skip it. On Tingly Room you can filter by the triggers you want and simply leave out the ones you don't.

How to find your ASMR triggers

Most people find their triggers by trial and error. A little structure makes it faster.

1. Start with the big four

Begin with the triggers reported most often: whispering, personal attention, a crisp sound such as tapping, and slow hand movements. One short video of each is enough for a first test.

2. Test one trigger at a time

Trigger-assortment videos are fun, but they make it hard to tell what worked. Pick videos built around a single trigger, like a tapping-only or brushing-only video, so you know what caused the tingles.

3. Keep the trigger, change the voice

If tapping with whispering does nothing, try tapping with no talking, then with a soft-spoken voice. Voice is often the missing piece.

4. Then change the pace

Try the same trigger slow and gentle, then fast. Some people only feel tingles when triggers are quick or unpredictable.

5. Use headphones and a calm moment

Many people in Barratt and Davis's survey preferred headphones for depth of sound, and 81% said bedtime was their favorite time to watch (Barratt & Davis, 2015).

6. Notice calm, not just tingles

Half of Barratt and Davis's respondents (50%) said their mood improved even when they felt no tingles. A video that relaxes you is still doing its job.

7. Rotate your favorites

Barratt and Davis noted that some people become used to videos they've already watched, and some respond only to new material. If a favorite stops working, switch triggers for a while.

Tingly Room makes this kind of testing easy. On the video finder, pick one trigger (say, tapping), then add a voice such as no talking or a pace such as slow and gentle and see what's left. The explore feed mixes triggers so you can discover new ones by swiping.

Still not feeling anything? Not everyone experiences ASMR tingles, and that's okay. Our guide on why you might not feel ASMR explains why and what else to try. If you mainly want to sleep, see how to use ASMR to fall asleep.

A note on sleep and stress

ASMR may help some people relax, but it is not a treatment for insomnia or anxiety. See a doctor if you've had trouble sleeping for months or poor sleep is making it hard to cope (NHS), or if worry won't go away and is affecting your daily activities (ODPHP).

If you are in crisis, call or text 988 in the US to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7 (NY State Office of Mental Health).

Sources

1. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state, PeerJ, 2015
2. More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology, PLOS ONE, 2018
3. An Examination of Personality Traits Associated with Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), Frontiers in Psychology, 2017
4. Misophonia: What It Is, Triggers, Symptoms & Treatment, Cleveland Clinic, 2023
5. Increased misophonia in self-reported Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, PeerJ, 2018
6. Similar but different: High prevalence of synesthesia in autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), Frontiers in Psychology, 2022
7. Insomnia, NHS
8. Talk with Your Doctor About Anxiety, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (MyHealthfinder)
9. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, New York State Office of Mental Health