Ten Minutes in the Middle of the Day
I've been practising yoga nidra a while now and often find myself feeling relaxed, so I can regain my focus on my work for the day. It has become the most useful ten minutes in my routine, and it happens at lunchtime rather than at bedtime. This post is an invitation to anyone curious about what yoga nidra actually is, why a short guided rest in the middle of a working day is worth considering, and what the research has found about practising it regularly.
Yoga Nidra is a guided practice inviting you to rest. A person lies down, fully clothed, and a voice walks their attention slowly through the body and the breath. There is nothing to concentrate on, nothing to get right, and no way of doing it badly. For anyone who finds meditation hard, this is a different proposition entirely.
The benefits of regular Yoga Nidra
Three benefits stand out for people who practise it regularly.
1. Take the afternoon back
The post-lunch slump can swallow a couple of hours. Ten minutes lying (or sitting) down resets something, and most people return to their desk sharper than a third coffee would manage.
One study found that after two weeks of regular practice, complete beginners responded faster on cognitive tasks without losing any accuracy. Work psychologists have also found that properly switching off from work, rather than simply pausing it, is what restores people. Scrolling doesn't count. Lying down and handing over the thinking does.
2. Put the day down before it piles up
Stress accumulates gradually across a working day until it arrives all at once in the evening.
A well-designed trial asked 362 people to practise a short recording daily for two months. Those who did reported better wellbeing than the group who did nothing, and researchers measured a genuine shift in their daily stress hormone pattern. The striking detail: just over ten minutes performed as well as thirty. A midday reset is enough, though I'd still like to press a full hour reset button sometimes.
3. The surprise that arrives at bedtime
This one lands hours later. Resting deliberately in the afternoon appears to leave the evening less wired.
A larger study of more than 770 people found a short daily practice linked to lower stress and better sleep quality after a month. The honest caveat researchers give themselves is worth repeating: the effects in the best trials are real but modest. Nobody should be promised a transformed life in a fortnight.
Where to start
Ten minutes, at the same point each day. Somewhere quiet, something soft under the knees, phone face down. Two weeks is a fair trial before judging it, which is roughly when the research begins detecting changes.
No experience is needed, no flexibility, and no special kit. The only real requirement is a willingness to lie (or sit) down in the middle of the day, which is honestly the hardest part.
Want to join our next yoga nidra workshop?
Something longer is in the works: a yoga nidra and restore workshop with slow supported postures, a longer guided rest, and nothing to achieve. Dates are being finalised, and the newsletter hears first. Places will be limited.
References
Ghai S, Odyniec P, Ghai I. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41327816/
Moszeik EN, Rohleder N, Renner KH. Stress and Health, 2025;41(3):e70049. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40373021/
Moszeik EN, von Oertzen T, Renner KH. Current Psychology, 2022;41(8):5272–5286.
Datta K, Bhutambare A, Mamatha VL, et al. PLOS ONE, 2023.
Steed LB, Swider BW, Keem S, Liu JT. Journal of Management, 2021.