Yoga nidra
Yoga nidra has been studied in 1 paper since 2026: 1 trial in people; 1 in the past year. The newest paper, Jul 16, 2026: “Cultivating Flourishing through Yoga Nidra Practice in Students: A Longitudinal Randomised Waitlist-Controlled Study”.
1 paper studies it6 findingsUpdated
Part of Andrew Huberman's Toolkit for Sleep
“The YNP groupdemonstrated significantly greater improvements than the WC group across six primaryoutcomes: depression (p < .001, r = -0.35)”
None of its findings points the other way.
- 1 lab
- Human trial1
What did studies of Yoga nidra find?
6Studies of Yoga nidra measured 6 outcomes; the most studied are cognitive flexibility (1 study), sleep quality (1) and flourishing (1).
Cognitive flexibility
upin humans1
1 study
Cognitive flexibility
upin humans1
Yoga nidra improves cognitive flexibility in humans (TMTB: r = -0.32).
“YNP group alsoachieved significantly greater gains in cognitive flexibility compared to the WC group (TMTB: p = .001, r = -0.32).”
Human trialUniversity students in India; compared with waitlist controlstructured module14 weeksn = 140
PsyArXivPreprint
Sleep quality
no changein humans1
1 study
Sleep quality
no changein humans1
Yoga nidra has no effect on sleep quality in humans.
“while sleep quality significantly deteriorated in theWC group compared to baseline (p = .003), it remained same in the YNP group (p = .817)”
Human trialWithin-group comparison with baseline in university students receiving yoga nidrastructured module14 weeks
PsyArXivPreprint
Flourishing
upin humans1
1 study
Flourishing
upin humans1
Yoga nidra improves flourishing in humans (r = 0.28).
“flourishing (p = .004, r = 0.28)”
Human trialUniversity students in India; compared with waitlist controlstructured module14 weeksn = 140
PsyArXivPreprint
Perceived stress
downin humans1
1 study
Perceived stress
downin humans1
Yoga nidra decreases perceived stress in humans (r = -0.29).
“perceived stress (p = .003, r = -0.29)”
Human trialUniversity students in India; compared with waitlist controlstructured module14 weeksn = 140
PsyArXivPreprint
Anxiety
downin humans1
1 study
Anxiety
downin humans1
Yoga nidra decreases anxiety in humans (r = -0.34).
“anxiety (p < .001, r = -0.34)”
Human trialUniversity students in India; compared with waitlist controlstructured module14 weeksn = 140
PsyArXivPreprint
Depression
downin humans1
1 study
Depression
downin humans1
Yoga nidra decreases depression in humans (r = -0.35).
“The YNP groupdemonstrated significantly greater improvements than the WC group across six primaryoutcomes: depression (p < .001, r = -0.35)”
Human trialUniversity students in India; compared with waitlist controlstructured module14 weeksn = 140
PsyArXivPreprint