I Tried the ‘NSDR’ Relaxation Technique for 6 Weeks—Can Finding Time to Do Nothing Really Boost Our Energy?

Resting while awake? Honestly, not my strongest skill. I don’t mean scrolling Instagram, watching Netflix while your mind is crafting tomorrow’s to-do list, or spending Sunday blitzing through everything I didn’t manage during the week. I mean properly switching off. No productivity, no little side quest. Nothing to show for it.

I realised quite how bad I’d got when someone asked when I’d last taken a whole day just to rest. A whole day? I drew a blank. Like so many women I know, I’ve become convinced that every spare minute needs to earn its keep. Whether it’s an overachiever habit or the curse of a generation hell-bent on optimising absolutely everything, sitting still without feeling vaguely guilty is harder than it should be.

My apparently very reasonable conditions for resting: inbox zero, washing done, life in order. Only then may I lay down. Except, well, you know how that goes. So, in the spirit of finding balance, I had a difficult discussion with myself (and my psychic)... I need a way to switch off that didn’t mean relinquishing all my control to consumerism, buying another supplement, mastering an elaborate routine or adding yet another habit to my already overbooked day. Enter NSDR, or non-sleep deep rest: a practice that promises meaningful rest in just ten minutes. The gist? Lay down, close your eyes, follow a guided relaxation. No sleeping, no striving, no gold star required.

For six weeks, I tried ten minutes of NSDR a day, tracking my energy, mood, concentration and sleep, while speaking with experts to separate the science from the wellness waffle. Could ten minutes really help me feel less knackered? And could I finally switch off without mentally adding relax properly to my to-do list?

Can Finding Time to Do Nothing Really Boost Our Energy? I Tried the ‘NSDR’ Relaxation Technique for 6 Weeks to Find Out

What is NSDR, and how much of it is backed by science?

Before I committed to six weeks of lying around with my eyes closed (a daunting task for any restless Type A), I wanted to know whether NSDR was genuinely doing something for my brain, or whether I was essentially taking an elaborate nap minus the score points on my Oura ring.

First things first, explains neuroscientist and Brainwave founder Anne-Sophie Fluri: “NSDR is a label rather than a separate technique. Popularised by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, it describes older practices such as yoga nidra, where you lie down, follow a guided focus on your body and breath, and stay awake while letting go of effort.” As Fluri points out, almost all scientific literature focuses on yoga nidra, with very little research looking specifically at NSDR. So, if you're scratching your head wondering why you haven’t come across NSDR before, then the lack of research under that name is probably why.

But why can doing nothing feel so difficult? Neuroscientist Farah Qureshi explains that “when we stop focusing on a task, the default mode network in the brain becomes more active” - a network involved in processing memories and experiences. Perhaps this helps explain why a quiet moment with our own thoughts can feel anything but relaxing. In a 2014 study, participants were so reluctant to do it that they preferred giving themselves a mild electric shock. Suddenly, my inability to sit still felt a little less ridiculous.

And while sitting still might not come naturally to all of us, there are potential benefits to giving it a go. Qureshi points to a 2002 study that found a rise in dopamine release during yoga nidra (although it involved just eight experienced practitioners). There’s also research suggesting that a little time spent doing absolutely nothing could help our brains consolidate new skills, giving them a chance to bed in what we’ve just learnt.

So, the science is promising, but yoga nidra and NSDR aren’t interchangeable, and neither is a magical dopamine reset or a substitute for sleep. Still, there are reasons to think deliberate rest could help us feel a little less frazzled. The question is how to fit it into everyday life - especially if, like me, sitting still for ten minutes feels like a challenge in itself.

5 ways to practise NSDR in everyday life

Where do we start when switching off doesn’t exactly come naturally? I asked the neuroscientists for their go-to NSDR techniques, from guided yoga nidra to purposeful slow breathing, and used their advice to shape my six-week experiment. As Fluri stresses, “there’s no single scientifically proven protocol, so the aim was to find something simple enough to stick to and easy to squeeze into everyday life.” No overhauled routine, no wellness homework, no new habit to feel guilty about not keeping up with. Promise.

1. Try a guided Yoga Nidra session

If you’re new to NSDR, start here. Yoga Nidra is the practice most of the research focuses on: you lie down, close your eyes and follow a voice guiding your attention through your body and breath. Fluri suggests starting with a recording of around 10 minutes, building up to 30 if it suits you. “The idea is to let the recording do the work, rather than turning relaxation into another task to get right.”

2. Breathe out a little longer

Both experts recommend slow breathing, particularly with a longer exhale, to help shift the body towards a calmer state. Qureshi recommends trying five minutes of cyclic sighing: inhale through your nose, take a second, shorter inhale, then exhale slowly. In a 2023 Stanford study, even just five minutes a day improved mood over a month, with greater improvements than mindfulness meditation. “It’s a simple standalone practice, or a gentle way to ease into yoga nidra when your mind is still racing,” says Qureshi.

3. Do a morning body scan

Rather than reaching for your phone the moment you wake up, try spending a few minutes noticing how your body actually feels. Fluri recommends a body scan: “Moving your attention slowly from one part of the body to another is central to yoga nidra, and gives a busy mind something gentle to focus on.” Fluri also sees it as a way to develop interoception: the ability to notice your body’s internal signals, from tension to tiredness. No wearable required; just a little curiosity about how you’re feeling before the day takes over.

4. Give your brain ten quiet minutes after focused work

This might just be the easiest habit to sneak into a busy day, and maybe one for the corporate baddies of the world to take note of. As Qureshi suggests above, there is solid evidence suggesting that resting quietly after learning something new can help the brain retain those memories, making a short, screen-free pause after a meeting, reading session or demanding task worth trying.

5. Make it work with your routine

There’s no magic hour for NSDR, but Qureshi recommends choosing a regular time, whether that’s first thing in the morning, before bed or somewhere in the middle of the day. “The brain responds well to routine,” she explains, “so consistency is a more useful goal than chasing the ideal moment. Find somewhere quiet, sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and follow a guided recording so you don’t have to decide what to do next.”

I planned to experiment with these approaches over six weeks and see which, if any, made a noticeable difference, because knowing that rest should be good for me and actually managing to switch off two very different things.

Six weeks, 10 minutes a day: I put NSDR to the test.

Recently I found myself giggling with our Senior Health and Sustainability Editor, Ally Head, about just how spectacularly bad I am at doing nothing. A facial where I’m left alone under a red light for 20 minutes? Lovely in theory. In practice, my brain has worked through every email I need to respond to, replied to all of my 38 unopened WhatsApps (sorry to everyone waiting for a response), and telepathically asked my partner what he’s cooking for dinner, all before the therapist has even left the room. Being alone with my own racing mind isn’t exactly my happy place. Which, I figured, made me the perfect candidate for NSDR.

I’m also in the process of buying a house, and it turns out the rumours are true: it really is up there with the most stressful things you’ll ever do. If my solicitor happens to be reading this, rest assured I’m trying to find my calm.

Across the six weeks, I tried to work all of the NSDR techniques into my routine, from morning body scans to ten-minute yoga nidra sessions. I also experimented with where I practised. Living by the beach, I was curious to see whether taking my ten-minute rest outside, with the sea in front of me (and my Pomeranian in tow), would feel any different to lying down at home. Some days, I kept it simple and stayed put; on others, I took myself out for a little change of scenery.

And the best bit? I could always find ten minutes. Between emails, house admin and the general business of being a person, I could always find ten minutes to lie down, close my eyes and give my brain the breather it hadn’t quite realised it needed.

Qureshi assures me that repeating the practices daily can help my brain adapt. “Six weeks is a really good start”, she says, although research suggests longer-lasting changes may take eight weeks or more. “Building a habit takes around two months on average, too, with plenty of variation between people.”

I’ve found myself turning to those ten minutes when the house-buying admin starts mounting, my inbox feels vaguely threatening, or my brain has approximately 29 tabs open and no idea which one to deal with first. Does NSDR make the stress disappear? Sadly, no. My solicitor still thinks I'm a basket case. But taking a few minutes to lie down and stop feeding the mental to-do list does seem to give me a little breathing room…quite literally.

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