Yoga Nidra sleep trials suggest benefits, with substantial uncertainty
A small review reported improvements in sleep measures, but differences between trials and weaknesses in reporting limit confidence.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Most included trials reported improvements in measures such as time to fall asleep, total sleep time and sleep efficiency with Yoga Nidra. Yet the studies used different programs and measures, and most had moderate to high risk of bias. The abstract cannot establish a dependable size of benefit or superiority over a particular comparator.
Adverse events and safety were poorly reported across the studies. This abstract-based summary therefore cannot establish safety, and it provides no pooled effect estimate to describe the average sleep benefit.
What was studied
Yoga Nidra was described as a guided meditation practice. The review considered randomized trials assessing sleep and related psychological outcomes across several populations, so its findings do not refer to a single type of sleeper.
Why confidence is limited
The authors identified problems with blinding and incomplete outcome reporting. Those limitations, alongside differences in intervention duration and methods, mean favorable findings should be read as preliminary rather than a settled clinical conclusion.
The original publication
Efficacy of Yoga Nidra in Managing Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Dutta A, Mooventhan A, Nivethitha L et al.
J Integr Complement Med · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41144325
- Record checked
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