'Sleep Whisperer' helps people fall asleep

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Nearly one out of three Americans does not get the recommended amount of sleep. Experts say lack of sleep can actually affect your reaction time, your memory and how well you process information.

"If you don't get enough sleep, and you get in a chronic state of that, you look just like someone that has early-onset Alzheimer's," said Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Chapman says sleep helps the brain clear waste and consolidate memories. One British study found people who suffer insomnia are five times more likely to have paranoid delusions.

Millions of Americans, like nurse Corina Martinez, say they've struggled with getting a good night's rest.

"I couldn't sleep. I would just watch TV all night," said Martinez.

While sleep experts say people should stay away from computers and phones at night, Martinez says she cured her insomnia with something she found on the Internet: "The Sleep Whisperer," a YouTube phenomenon where millions of followers click on relaxation videos. Within 10 minutes of watching it, she fell asleep.

"I slept all through the night. I couldn't believe it," said Martinez.

Ilse Blansert is The Sleep Whisperer. She says her videos are made to induce an autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR.

"It's basically a fancy name for tingles that a lot of people get when they listen to certain voices or to certain sounds," Blansert said.

Some of the videos feature the sights and sounds of simple tasks, such as water being poured.

Blansert has had more than 16 million views. While ASMR hasn't been studied in a medical setting, people like Martinez say it's been a life-saver.

"I just fall asleep," Martinez said.

Chronic sleep loss can cause serious health ramifications. It can put you at risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and more.