Survey has found that 40 percent of people reported it has gone away

It is commonly brought on by whispering, gentle touches, mundane tasks

It’s often described as a pleasurable tingly feeling brought about by whispering, gentle touches, or even mundane tasks.

But, just as drug users become desensitized to their stimulus over time, YouTube videos may be killing the ‘brain orgasm’ for ASMR devotees.

While videos invoking autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) are reaching millions of views, a survey has found that thousands of people now report their sensations have diminished, reflecting a growing phenomenon known as ‘ASMR immunity.’

Scroll down for video

It’s often described as a pleasurable tingly feeling, brought about by whispering, gentle touches, or even mundane tasks. But, just as drug users become desensitized to their stimulus over time, YouTube videos may be killing the ‘brain orgasm’ for ASMR devotees

WHAT IS ASMR? Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is an enjoyable or relaxing sensation often accompanied by a 'tingly' feeling. It is most commonly triggered by whispering, but can be brought about by an array of stimuli, including gentle touches, observing mundane tasks, and hearing crinkling/tapping sounds. The phenomenon is characterized as a distinct, pleasurable tingling in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body. Researchers say it can be a response to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or cognitive stimuli. Advertisement

More than 19,000 people from over 100 countries have so far responded in the survey led by a team of ASMR researchers, including ASMR University’s Craig Richard, a physiologist at Shenandoah University.

The preliminary findings largely suggest viewers are building up a tolerance to the stimulus, with 40 percent of the respondents reporting that their experiences had, at some point, decreased or gone away, according to New Scientist.

Most respondents (95 percent) felt as though the ASMR feeling was associated with the head and brain, and 71 percent said it was felt in the area around the spinal cord.

While its nickname may suggest otherwise, the experience tied to a ‘brain orgasm’ usually isn’t sexual.

Just 10 percent of respondents in the survey indicated that ASMR was sexually arousing.

And, chances are you may have experienced it at some point in your life, whether during a deeply relaxing massage, or while watching a Bob Ross painting video.

‘ASMR is usually described as an enjoyable and relaxing sensation accompanied by brain ‘tingles’ and/or body ‘tingles’ in response to a large variety of triggers,’ the researchers explain in the survey.

‘These triggers may include whispering, being touched lightly, observing someone performing a task with their hands, and/or specific sounds like tapping or crinkling.’

It can come in the form of deep relaxation or even euphoria, but most participants said it made them feel sleepy, with 60 percent responding this way.

According to the researchers, there may be a simple solution to reverse the so-called ASMR ‘immunity’ – a tolerance break. By taking a break from ASMR videos for just one or two weeks, many have said the sensations returned

Many people turn to these videos to help them de-stress or fall asleep, with the most popular ASMR YouTuber ‘Gentle Whispering’ accruing more than 250 million views.

But, overuse now appears to be desensitizing them to the effects.

According to the researchers, however, there may be a simple solution to reverse the so-called ASMR ‘immunity’ – a tolerance break.

By taking a break from ASMR videos for just one or two weeks, many have said the sensations returned, New Scientist reports.