THURSDAY, Dec. 14, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Research published online on Dec. 13 in PLOS ONE indicates that two weeks of 20-minute yoga nidra mindfulness training sessions can potentially improve sleep quality, cognitive function, learning, and memory, even among beginners. The study, led by Karuna Datta, Ph.D., from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India, involved 41 participants who maintained sleep diaries.
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Results showed significant improvements after practicing yoga nidra: sleep efficiency increased by 3.62 percent, wake after sleep onset decreased by 20 minutes, and delta wave activity during deep sleep rose by 4.19 μV². Additionally, participants demonstrated improved accuracy in tasks involving visual object learning, abstract matching, and a fractal-2-back test. Accuracy in recognizing emotions also improved for happy, fearful, and angry expressions, although it was reduced for neutral stimuli.
The authors note that this research highlights the potential of yoga nidra as a straightforward practice for enhancing public health and emphasizes the need for greater awareness of sleep issues among primary healthcare providers. They suggest that practicing yoga nidra with established guidelines could contribute to societal well-being as the pandemic impact persists.