ASMR and meditation can both help you calm down, but they work differently. Meditation is a skill: you train your attention, usually on your breath, and the research behind it is large. ASMR is something you listen to: soft sounds and quiet voices that relax some people and give a few of them a tingling feeling. The evidence there is early and small.
You don't have to pick one. If meditation feels like homework, ASMR can be a low-effort first step. If you already meditate, ASMR is a cheap experiment. Here's what each one does, how they compare and how to combine them.
Is ASMR a form of meditation?
No, but they overlap. In meditation you actively steer your attention and bring it back when it drifts. In ASMR you mostly receive: someone else provides the sounds, and your attention follows them.
Researchers have noticed the overlap. The first peer-reviewed survey of ASMR, with 475 people who experience it, described ASMR as a "flow-like" state: focused, present and relaxed. The authors suggested it resembles mindfulness, since it involves focusing on pleasant sounds and calm scenes, and said it deserves study as a therapy in a similar way to meditation (Barratt & Davis, 2015).
A later study tested the link directly. It compared 284 people who experience ASMR with 279 people who don't, using standard mindfulness questionnaires. The ASMR group scored a little higher on attention to the present and on curiosity, and people with stronger tingles scored higher on curiosity (Fredborg et al., 2018). The differences were small, and the design can't show which causes which. Liking ASMR doesn't mean you're meditating, but people who feel it may share some of the same habits of attention.
What meditation does: the evidence
Meditation has been studied for decades. A major review for JAMA Internal Medicine screened more than 18,000 citations and kept 47 randomized trials with 3,515 participants. Mindfulness programs produced small to moderate improvements in anxiety, depression and pain, with moderate-strength evidence. Evidence for stress and quality of life was weaker, and meditation was not shown to be better than active treatments such as medication, exercise or other behavioral therapies (Goyal et al., 2014).
Those programs weren't quick. The standard eight-week course, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), typically involved about 20 to 27.5 hours of training, plus practice at home (Goyal et al., 2014).
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) sums up the newer research this way:
- Anxiety and depression: a 2018 analysis of more than 12,000 people found mindfulness approaches worked better than no treatment and about as well as evidence-based therapies (NCCIH).
- Sleep: mindfulness may improve sleep quality, with effects comparable to cognitive behavioral therapy or exercise (NCCIH).
- Safety: usually low risk, but in an analysis of more than 6,000 participants about 8% reported a negative effect, most often anxiety or depression (NCCIH).
NCCIH also cautions that much of the research is preliminary or not rigorous, so some results may be too optimistic. And Mayo Clinic notes that meditation isn't a replacement for medical care and can sometimes make certain mental health symptoms worse, so check with a professional if you're being treated for one (Mayo Clinic).
What ASMR does: the evidence
ASMR research is younger and smaller, but it has some solid lab work. In a study led by the University of Sheffield, people who experience ASMR had their heart rate drop by an average of 3.41 beats per minute while watching ASMR videos, compared with a control video. They also reported feeling calmer (Poerio et al., 2018). At the same time, their skin conductance rose slightly, a sign of mild arousal, so ASMR seems to blend calm with a bit of alertness.
The catch is that these effects showed up in people who experience ASMR. In a 2023 German study, ASMR "responders" felt more relaxed after ASMR videos than people who watched walking tour videos, but non-responders felt less relaxed (Lohaus et al., 2023).
Most people who use ASMR use it the way others use meditation. In the Barratt and Davis survey, 98% said they watched to relax, 82% to help them sleep and 70% to deal with stress (Barratt & Davis, 2015). That shows intent, not proof: the sample came from ASMR communities and everything was self-reported. For a fuller look at the research, see the benefits of ASMR.
Has anyone compared ASMR and meditation directly?
Not yet. We found no published trial that puts ASMR and meditation head to head.
The closest thing is a 2023 Stanford trial that compared five minutes a day of mindfulness meditation with five minutes of structured breathing for a month, in 108 people. Both lowered anxiety. A breathing pattern called cyclic sighing (a double inhale, then a long, slow exhale) improved mood more than meditation did (Balban et al., 2023). It's one small study, and ASMR wasn't part of it, but it suggests short, simple practices can hold their own.
ASMR vs meditation at a glance
| Meditation | ASMR | |
|---|---|---|
| Effort | Active: you train your attention | Mostly passive: you listen |
| Evidence | Large: dozens of randomized trials | Early: small lab studies and surveys |
| Who it suits | Almost anyone willing to practice | People who feel ASMR or find soft sounds relaxing |
| Cost | Free, or paid classes and apps | Free videos online |
| Learning curve | Weeks of practice; a wandering mind is normal | None, but finding your triggers takes trial and error |
| Best use | Building long-term skills for stress, anxiety and sleep | Winding down in the moment, especially before bed |
| Downsides | About 8% report a negative effect | Doesn't work for everyone; some sounds irritate people |
Pros and cons of meditation
Pros
- Strong evidence for small but real gains in anxiety, depression and pain.
- A portable skill: no phone, no headphones, no internet.
- Many styles to choose from: breath focus, body scans, walking meditation and guided imagery, among others (Mayo Clinic).
Cons
- Takes regular practice before it feels useful.
- Sitting in silence with your thoughts can feel frustrating, especially early on.
- A small share of people feel worse, at least for a while.
Pros and cons of ASMR
Pros
- No training. Press play and listen.
- Easy to fit into a bedtime routine.
- Lots of variety in sounds, voices and pace, so you can keep looking until something works.
Cons
- Evidence is early, and the calming effects show up mostly in people who feel ASMR.
- Depends on a screen and headphones, which can work against sleep if you keep browsing.
- Some triggers, like mouth sounds, annoy some people.
ASMR or meditation for anxiety?
If anxiety is a regular problem, meditation has the stronger case. Mindfulness-based approaches have performed about as well as established therapies in pooled studies, while ASMR hasn't been tested as a treatment at all. ASMR may help you calm down in the moment if it works for you; our guide to ASMR for anxiety covers what the studies show.
Neither replaces care for an anxiety disorder. If anxiety is getting in the way of work, sleep or relationships, talk to a doctor or mental health professional. If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US). It's free and confidential.
How to combine ASMR and meditation
You don't have to choose. These approaches use the strengths of both.
Use ASMR as an on-ramp if you can't sit still
Many people quit meditation because silence leaves too much room for racing thoughts. Soft sound gives your attention somewhere to land. Start with a slow, repetitive video and simply follow the sounds for five minutes. When your mind wanders, bring it back to the next tap or brush stroke. That return is the core move of meditation; you're just practicing it with help.
Browse more on the slow ASMR page.
Try a guided session in a soft-spoken voice
Guided meditation, where a voice walks you through calming images or your breath, is a standard form of meditation (Mayo Clinic). Some ASMR creators make videos in a similar spirit: calm affirmations, relaxation prompts, a quiet voice talking you down. They aren't formal meditation programs, but they can be a gentle bridge. Look in affirmations ASMR or soft-spoken ASMR.
Listen mindfully
Turn an ASMR video into a mindfulness exercise. Instead of half-listening while you scroll, put the phone face down, close your eyes and notice each sound: where it seems to come from, its texture, the pause after it. Don't judge whether you're "getting" tingles. The Fredborg team suggested that mindfulness training might strengthen the ASMR experience, though that idea hasn't been tested yet (Fredborg et al., 2018).
A simple 15-minute evening plan
- 5 minutes of breathing. Sit or lie down and breathe slowly, with long exhales.
- 10 minutes of ASMR. Pick a slow, quiet video, screen face down, low volume. Let your attention rest on the sounds.
- Lights out. If you're using this for sleep, set a timer so the audio stops on its own.
If you meditate, give ASMR a fair try
If you already have a practice, you're well placed to test ASMR, because you know how to notice what's happening without forcing it. A fair test looks like this:
- Try three or four different styles over a week: no talking, soft-spoken, and a slow trigger like brushing or page turning. Triggers are personal.
- Use it when you'd normally wind down, not as background while you work.
- Notice the effect, not the tingles. You might feel calmer even with no tingling. If you feel nothing, or some sounds irritate you, that's useful information too. Not everyone responds to ASMR.
If none of it does anything for you, stick with meditation. It has the evidence. If something clicks, you've added another tool for nights when sitting still feels impossible.
