For years I thought I just had to push through.
That rest was something for once the work was done. That lying on a mat, with a blanket over you and a voice guiding you through your body, was something soft. Something optional. For a long time, I offered yoga nidra as a little gift at the end of a class, and skipped it myself when I had little time.
That was a mistake. Not because yoga nidra is a miracle cure, because it isn’t. But because I was leaving out exactly what my body needed most, and on top of that, treating it as less than it is.
By now, there’s research large enough to say something meaningful about it. And that research is more honest than the promises often made around it.
In the largest study so far, yoga nidra shows a clear reduction in stress, anxiety and low mood.
What Exactly Is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga nidra is a guided meditation where you usually lie down and a voice takes your attention step by step through your body, your breath and your senses. You don’t fall asleep, but you’re not simply awake either. You float somewhere in between. In research, it’s often called non-sleep deep rest (or “yogic sleep”).
It’s the easiest form of yoga there is. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to empty your mind. You lie down, you listen, and you let your body sink.
For many people, that’s exactly why it works.
Does Yoga Nidra Actually Work Against Stress and Anxiety?
The best answer right now is: probably yes.
In December 2025, the most complete review ever conducted on this topic appeared in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Researchers from Karlstad University searched seven databases, screened 814 articles, and were left with 73 studies covering a total of 5,201 participants.
What the research says
73 studies, 5,201 participants, seven databases searched.
Compared with groups that did something else:
less stress · effect size 0.80
less anxiety · effect size 1.35
less low mood · effect size 0.69
The researchers themselves underline this: the quality of the underlying studies is low, and the effects are probably overestimated.
I find that sounds more honest than most of the promises in my field. And I also find it reassuring. You don’t need to expect a miracle to be doing something worthwhile.
How Long Do You Need to Practise Yoga Nidra to Notice Something?
Shorter than you think.
A randomised study from 2025, published in Stress and Health, divided 362 people into four groups. One group did eleven minutes of yoga nidra daily via a recording for two months. Another group did thirty minutes. There was a group that listened to ten minutes of music, and a group that did nothing.
The effects were small, with effect sizes between 0.08 and 0.16. But they were there. And in people who did it regularly, total cortisol, the stress hormone, decreased, and the daily rhythm of that hormone became healthier.
Eleven minutes. Lying down. With a recording.
The researchers emphasise exactly that point: small effects from a very cheap, very accessible habit are worthwhile. Not because it does a lot, but because you can keep it up
And Pain?
There, the picture is more cautious. The same research group published an analysis in 2025 in Complementary Medicine Research of twelve studies with 1,176 participants. Yoga nidra clearly reduced pain compared with groups that did nothing. But compared with groups that did do something else, the difference wasn’t significant.
In other words: taking rest helps. Whether yoga nidra is better at that than another form of rest, we don’t yet know.
Back to Your Body
All that research ultimately says something simple. Your body needs moments where it doesn’t have to perform. Not as a reward afterwards, but as part of how you live.
That’s exactly what the InnerPower Method aims to offer. Not a technique to fix something, but a way to return to yourself, again and again.
LAND • BREATHE • FEEL
LAND
You arrive. You feel the floor, the mat, the bed. Your weight is allowed to become heavier than you’re used to.
BREATHE
You don’t change anything about your breath. You simply notice it. Where it comes in, where it goes again.
FEEL
You look at what’s there. Restlessness, fatigue, a knot in your stomach, or nothing in particular. You don’t have to make it go away.
And then it starts over again. You don’t come home to yourself once and then you’re done. You leave and you return, over and over.
What If Lying Still Actually Makes You Restless
That happens. Regularly, even.
For some people, lying still with their eyes closed isn’t relaxing but actually tense. If your body has been on high alert for a long time, letting go of control can feel like danger. That’s not a failure, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.
If that’s true for you, keep your eyes open. Sit instead of lying down. Do three minutes instead of eleven. Keep your feet on the ground so you can feel where you are. And find someone who can assess your situation personally, because a recording can’t do that.
Rest isn’t immediately safe for everyone. It can genuinely take some time before you’re able to experience relaxation.
What the Research Doesn’t Say
It doesn’t say yoga nidra resolves anxiety or low mood. It doesn’t say it repairs your nervous system. It doesn’t say it’s a replacement for treatment.
What it does say is that regular, brief, conscious rest measurably affects how tense people feel and their stress hormone. Nothing more. And honestly, that’s already a lot.
One Small Step for Today
Tonight, set an alarm for eleven minutes. Lie down on your bed or on the floor, with something warm over you. Simply place your hands on your belly, feel your breath and let your weight sink.
Eleven minutes where you don’t have to do anything. That’s enough to start.
Want to explore rest, breath and nervous system regulation in person? Have a look at the upcoming sessions and retreats from House of InnerPower.
Stay Close to the Practice
Sign up for the House of InnerPower newsletter and receive one meaningful welcome email to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does yoga nidra actually work?
The largest study so far, with 73 studies and 5,201 participants, found a clear reduction in stress, anxiety and low mood. However, the researchers warn that the quality of the studies was low and the effects are probably overestimated.
How long do I need to practise yoga nidra?
In a study with 362 participants, just eleven minutes a day already produced measurable effects on wellbeing and cortisol, provided it was done regularly.
Is yoga nidra the same as sleeping?
No. You stay awake, but in a very deep state of rest. In research, this is called non-sleep deep rest.
What if I become restless from lying still?
That happens more often than you’d think. Sit instead of lying down, keep your eyes open, shorten the time, and seek personal guidance if it persists.
This blog shares scientific insights and practical experience and is not medical or therapeutic advice. If complaints persist, it’s a good idea to have someone assess your situation who can guide you personally.
Sources
1. Ghai, S., Odyniec, P., & Ghai, I. (2025). Effects of Yoga Nidra on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1556(1), e70149. doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70149
2. Moszeik, E.N., Rohleder, N., & Renner, K-H. (2025). The Effects of an Online Yoga Nidra Meditation on Subjective Well-Being and Diurnal Salivary Cortisol: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Stress and Health, 41(3), e70049. doi.org/10.1002/smi.70049
3. Ghai, S., & Ghai, I. (2025). Yoga Nidra and Pain: A between-, within-Group Meta-Analysis and Dose Response Meta-Regression. Complementary Medicine Research, 32(6), 495-521. doi.org/10.1159/000549416
Ilse-Marie Sobering is the founder of House of InnerPower and the creator of the InnerPower Method: LAND • ADEM • VOEL (Land, Breathe, Feel), a cyclical practice of returning to yourself again and again. She has studied yoga philosophy and Eastern philosophy for more than 25 years, and has worked professionally since 2015 as an E-RYT 500 yoga and Yoga Nidra teacher, mindfulness and breathwork coach, Ayurveda practitioner and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) practitioner. In Spain, where she lived for seven years, she taught trainings, teacher trainings and retreats at various locations in the Málaga region, including near Periana, Nerja and Frigiliana. She now works from the Netherlands, teaching trainings and speaking in the Netherlands, in Spain and online. Within the method she works with Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, breathwork, meditation, Qigong and somatic work, complemented with elements from her hypnotherapy training. She teaches teacher trainings, continuing education and company training, for people living with long-term stress and for professionals who want to deepen the way they guide others.
