Learn how spending 20 minutes practicing non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) can help you push through the afternoon slump.
A case of mid-afternoon fatigue often requires a quick fix. But the usual solutions — a second cup of coffee, energy drink, or snack — aren’t the only pick-me-ups that will revitalize you enough to conquer the rest of your workday and upcoming training session.
Enter: Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), a beginner-friendly meditative practice that restores and re-energizes the body and mind in just 20 minutes or less, says Hilary Jackendoff, a yoga nidra and meditation teacher in Los Angeles.
Non-Sleep Deep Rest, Explained
Coined by Andrew Huberman, M.D., the term non-sleep deep rest is relatively new, but it has deep roots, says Jackendoff. “Huberman developed this notion of non-sleep deep rest based on yoga nidra,” also known as yogic sleep, she explains. “One of the ways that NSDR differs from yoga nidra is that the intention-setting component, a tool called sankalpa, is removed. He removed that spiritual and personal growth, self-transformation element of the practice to focus just on the physiological process of relaxation and rest.”
A non-sleep deep rest practice that’s based in yoga nidra will involve lying on the floor comfortably in savasana and listening to a guided meditation. Throughout your session, you’ll practice focused breathing, particularly extended exhalations, which helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system and allows you to let go of your stress and worries, says Jackendoff. You’ll also do a body scan, during which you’ll bring your attention to different parts of yourself, such as your toes, fingers, and even the inside of your mouth, and gently soften those areas, she says. “It really trains you to know what it feels like to actually experience deep, physical relaxation,” she adds.
NSDR is often more accessible than other types of meditation, as the fast pace of the instructions tends to settle your mind quickly. “There isn't very much time for the mind to wander, so it hacks the cognitive process and keeps you quite engaged with the instructions in a way that allows you to bypass cognitive functioning and drop into this really beautiful state of deep rest,” says Jackendoff.
The Benefits of Non-Sleep Deep Rest
During a non-sleep deep rest session, you’ll float in this space between wakefulness and sleep, says Jackendoff. You’re likely to access delta brain waves — the slowest type of waves that are associated with the deepest levels of relaxation and restorative sleep — but you still have a sense of awareness, she explains. Thanks to the delta brain waves, “it can feel as though you slept for two to four hours, depending on how your nervous system receives the practice,” she notes. “It can certainly help you to feel rested and cognitively functional during the day.”
Specifically, research suggests practicing yoga nidra can help ease anxiety and depression, improve measures of well-being and general health, and boost feelings of vitality. One small study on wrestlers found that a 45-minute daily yoga nidra practice improved the athletes’ focus, attention, and, in turn, performance.
Essentially, non-sleep deep rest is a revitalizing power nap that involves no sleep at all. And it could help you push through your 2 p.m. slump, which Jackendoff sees as the perfect time to practice NSDR. “This is the lowest point in the day for most people in terms of their circadian rhythm,” she notes. “It’s when you're white-knuckling it.” A quick 20-minute NSDR session, however, could “hack your energy” and give you the mental and physical boost you need without the help of coffee, she adds.
Additionally, non-sleep deep rest can reduce muscular tension and act as a stress management tool, as it encourages the release of dopamine in the brain, says Jackendoff. “NSDR also strengthens the mind-body connection,” she notes. “You come out of a practice feeling more present in your body, more connected to yourself, feeling more at home in your body.”
You’ll likely experience the benefits of NSDR in a single, one-off session, but you’ll see the biggest improvements by practicing it several times a week or daily, says Jackendoff. “Over time, it's going to quite dramatically change your brain, change your mind-body relationship, and [stimulate] your prefrontal cortex [the brain region that’s responsible for decision-making and problem-solving] in the same way that other meditative practices do,” she explains.
How to Practice Non-Sleep Deep Rest
While Jackendoff recommends a mid-day NSDR session to beat mid-day fatigue, there’s no wrong time to practice, she says. You can do a session in the morning for a boost of energy or after your workday ends; a 5 p.m. NSDR practice, for instance, can serve as a transition point between your work life and your personal life, she adds. “Some people practice before bed to help them wind down, access the parasympathetic nervous system, and release rumination before they move into sleep,” says Jackendoff.
To practice non-sleep deep rest, first find a quiet, calming space and set up a comfortable spot on the floor with a cushy mat, a rolled blanket to rest your head on, and a pillow to support your legs, suggests Jackendoff. Then, play an audio recording of an instructor guiding you through the NSDR session, such as these 10-minute and 20-minute sessions available on YouTube, which Huberman recommends.
As you follow along with the guide’s cues, know that you might lose track of the instructions or fall asleep — but don’t beat yourself up over it, says Jackendoff. “Be patient with yourself as you begin this non-sleep deep rest practice,” she says. “If you're someone who is typically in an overstimulated, hypervigilant state in your daily life, it's going to take some time for your nervous system to learn how to downregulate and for you to learn how to truly unwind and know what rest feels like.”