Livestream host helps people fight insomnia

Xiu Weiya helps people with insomnia fall asleep every night by livestreaming sleep-inducing sounds online.

The idea to host her own livestream occurred to Xiu when she learned about the concept of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), where positive feelings are triggered by specific acoustic, visual and digital media stimuli.

The term ASMR was coined in 2010 in the introduction to a Facebook group by Jennifer Allen, a cybersecurity professional residing in New York.

After the video "10 triggers to help you sleep" became an instant hit on YouTube in 2016, domestic livestreaming platforms sought to bring this new livestreaming technique to China. Xiu decided to have a try at the beginning of this year.

She uses various tools to create different sleep-inducing sounds. For example, she uses the rainstick, an African musical instrument, to simulate the sound of rain.

In this way, Xiu helps many people suffering from insomnia fall asleep at night. Her livestream has received positive responses from the audience.

Xiu livestreams from 10 pm to 2 am every night. She does this because she wants to help and accompany those who find it hard to sleep.

"It feels good when you are with them," said Xiu, "I am encouraged when I learn that my broadcast brings help to those in need."