NSDR: the tool for ultimate health

NSDR, an incredible health protocol to improve your overall well-being. Maybe you have heard about, maybe you haven’t. It is a term that popped up on social media but still many of us do not know what it is and what it can do for you. Today I tell you all about it and how NSDR positively impacted my life.

What is NSDR

Non-Sleep Deep Rest, also known as Yoga Nidra, is developed by Andrew Huberman. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor in the department of Neurobiology, Psychiatry and Behavioural Studies at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab Podcast. Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep in Sanskrit and is a centuries-old practice.

Yoga Nidra is when the body is in a relax state but the mind is still awake and consicious. You’re in a state of consiciousness that sits between being awake and falling asleep.

By entering the consicious state and relaxing the brain, your brain waves decrease in frequency. Even the quantity of thoughts can slow, from 35 to 1-3 per minute. Your body also slows the production of stress hormones.

Huberman uses the term Yoga Nidra to refer to naps, hypnosis and meditation. These are all conected to the idea of people entering the consiciousness state and relaxing their brain.

Non-Sleep Deep Rest gives the brain a sign to go into states of deep rest, which then can bring on amazing resuslts. For example it enhances the brain neuroplasticity and stress. The rewiring of the neural connections happens during sleep and states like Yoga Nidra. Whilst you sleep there are repititions of neural activity at extremely high speeds. This is exactly why we learn when we sleep. Duing sleep and sleep-like states we are rehearsing and rewiring. Something like a skill or learning materials that once were hard then become easier and reflexive. By adding NSDR into your daily life you can enhance the neuroplasticity by about 50 percent. This results in learning faster, improved information retaining and better work-performance.

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Benefits NSDR

Yoga Nidra is an amazing tool with many benefits.

Huberman reports in his article that 2 studies on humans have shown that shallow naps and/or NSDR can improve the rate and dept of learning. To incorporate this: do a short NSDR session within 1 hour of completing a learning block.

Yoga Nidra Benefits:

• Boosts energy level
• Improves the rate and dept of learning
• Enhances neuroplasticity
• Improves sleep quality
• Reduces stress
• Improves focus
• Enhances mental clarity

I started doing a Non-Sleep Deep Rest session after my daily afternoon walk. When I get back from my walk I feel like. So I make myself ginger and nettle tea and while that is cooling down I put on my favourite audio and lay down. All you need to have is just yourself and a Yoga Nidra meditation.

After my daily practice I feel rejuivinated and energetic. It almost feels like I got 7.5 hours of sleep and I’m ready for the new day. Expect it is just afternoon but with high energy levels. This is a simple tool that I will keep on using because I’m seeing great results.

My favourite Non-Sleep Deep Rest audio is this one on Youtube. It is relatively short, only 8 minutes, so this one is just my go-to. Even when I feel like I do not have time to spare I free up some time and afterwards I’m always happy I did do it!

For who?

NSDR is for everyone. Truly anyone can benefit from this simple tool. Besides it being so simple there is zero cost attached to it. You can just find an audio on Youtube. There are so many tracks to choose from so everyone can find something to their likings.

Google CEO, Sundar Pinchai even practices NSDR. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal he got asked how he unwinds at the end of the day. He told that he finds it difficult to meditate and said: ”I can go to YouTube, find an NSDR video. They’re available in 10, 20 or 30 minutes so I do that occasionally.”

Frequently Asked Questions

How to do NSDR?

To do NSDR simply find a Non-Sleep Deep Rest audio. Then lay or sit down and get completely comfortable. All you need is yourself, a quiet space to fully relax and a Yoga Nidra audio.

When should I do NSDR?

The perfect time for NSDR can be totally different for everyone. But I think that anyone could benefit from doing a short Non-Sleep Deep Rest session in the afternoon. This can boost your energy levels and prevents having an afternoon dip.

Conclusion

In conclusion NSDR is an incredible practice. It can be the anwser for your health and wellness. Among the benefits are: improving of sleep qualtiy and boosting of energy levels. So why hesitate?

Written by

Lyn

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