Even LongHorn Steakhouse Is Getting In On The ASMR Trend Now

For people who have trouble reducing stress or falling asleep, autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) can be life-changing. Defined by the Sleep Foundation as "a relaxing sensation across the scalp or spine in response to soft sounds," ASMR started with sounds like rain falling, leaves crunching, voices whispering, or the sound of a fan. But somewhere along the way celebrities got involved, and we got ASMR videos of chef Padma Lakshmi eating tomato toast, and the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's pancake prep.

But things have changed a lot since those first, innocent ASMR videos. As explained in a press release shared with Mashed, LongHorn Steakhouse is here to provide the next logical step: Steak ASMR. Available on Spotify,  YouTube, and on the LongHorn Steakhouse website, the videos range in length from four minutes to over an hour, with a suggestion from LongHorn that the longer videos replace the hum-drum fireplace Yule Log so many families put on as background noise.

Steak and ASMR enthusiasts can listen to the glorious sounds of sizzling steak, ribeye, and LongHorn specialty Flo's Filet. Can't decide which you want to drool or relax over? A Legendary Steaks" montage video containing all the different varieties is also available for those who need all the visuals.

LongHorn Steakhouse included 10 videos to choose from, each made by Grill Masters in LongHorn's actual restaurants. But while the menu description of Flo's Filet says that it's smothered in LongHorn's signature Grill Seasoning, and the Outlaw Ribeye is covered in its smoky Char Seasoning, viewers will have to use their imagination, as they will only hear the slabs sizzling and cooking on the grill after the seasonings have been applied.

It seems like a logical step. Once KFC launched the website KFChill, which lets ASMR lovers listen to sounds of oil, chicken, gravy, and bacon frying, bubbling, crackling, and sizzling, it was only a matter of time before it caught on as a new marketing tool. Even Pepsi got into it, creating videos, such as a 22-second one that got over 7000 likes, that gave soda drinkers sounds of cans tapping on a countertop, tabs cracking open, liquid pouring into plastic tubes, and a person biting into a cold, icy Pepsi pop.

Meal kit delivery company Blue Apron also saw the popularity of ASMR videos, and they reached out to popular ASMR vlogger Gibi. She made one of her trademark whispering and tapping YouTube videos and included sounds of opening Blue Apron bags, rustling cooking utensils, and chopping and stirring vegetables. Jay Holzer, head of programming at digital food and lifestyle network Tastemade, told NPR that people are weirdly fixated on it. "Whether it grows 10 times over the next few years, who knows?"