Effectiveness of Yoga-based guided meditation In Improving the quality of sleep in patients with coronary artery disease: The Yoga Nidra Trial
Gautam Sharma, Praveen Murugesan, Anupama Gupta, Asmita Shukla, Nayani Makkar, Dhanlika Dhanlika, Rohan Shinkre, Akriti Shukla, Varun Chhabra, Alka Arya, Divya Singh, Sidhharthan Deepti, N Naik, Nasreen Akhtar, Achal Kumar Srivastava, Partha Haldar
American Journal of Preventive Cardiology July 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpc.2026.101738 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA randomized trial at a tertiary care hospital tested whether adding 35-minute Yoga Nidra sessions twice weekly for 12 weeks to standard care improved sleep in 144 patients with stable coronary artery disease and poor sleep quality. Compared with standard care plus sleep hygiene counseling, the Yoga Nidra group showed higher sleep efficiency (82% vs. 64%), longer total sleep time (357 vs. 298 minutes), shorter sleep latency (15 vs. 30 minutes), and less wake after sleep onset (48 vs. 67 minutes). Perceived stress, depression, and quality of life also improved. The authors conclude Yoga Nidra effectively improves sleep and related outcomes in these patients.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Open-label Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 144 |
| Population | Patients with stable coronary artery disease and poor sleep quality |
| Intervention | Yoga Nidra |
| Dose | 35-minute sessions |
| Duration | 12-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Sleep system call Coronary artery disease Sleep hygiene Sleep disorder |
| Key finding | Yoga Nidra improved actigraphy-measured sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep latency, and wake after sleep onset, along with perceived stress, depression, and quality of life in patients with coronary artery disease. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Background Poor sleep quality has emerged as a risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and is also associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality. Sleep aids, among CAD patients, lead to increased heart failure, hospitalisation, and mortality. Yoga Nidra, a form of guided meditation, has been shown to improve sleep quality and duration. The aim of the study is to evaluate the adjunctive effect of Yoga Nidra on actigraphy-measured sleep quality parameters, psychological outcomes, and health-related quality of life in patients with CAD. Methods This is a two-arm,1:1 allocation, randomised, controlled, open-label, blinded-endpoint, single-centre trial conducted in a tertiary care hospital between 22-9-2021 and 30-03-2024.144 out of 678 consecutively screened patients with stable CAD and poor sleep quality met the eligibility criteria and were enrolled. Participants were randomised to either a 35-minute, 12-week Yoga Nidra intervention group (n = 72) or a standard care group (n = 72) with sleep hygiene counselling imparted to all patients.The primary outcome was to assess actigraphy-measured sleep efficiency. Secondary outcomes included assessments of actigraphy-derived sleep parameters, ambulatory blood pressure (BP), echocardiographic diastolic function (E/E′), psychological health, and quality-of-life evaluations using validated scales. Results The Yoga Nidra group exhibited significant improvements in sleep efficiency (82% [76-86] vs. 64% [57-74]; p < 0.05), total sleep time (357 ± 99 min vs. 298 ± 83 min; p < 0.05), reduced sleep latency (15 [11-24] vs. 30 [14-70] min; p < 0.05), and lower wake after sleep onset (48 [28-67] vs. 67 [37-119] min; p < 0.05). Significant improvements were also observed in perceived stress, depression levels, and quality of life. Conclusion Yoga Nidra is effective in improving sleep quality inpatients with coronary artery disease.Stress, depression, and health-related quality of life also improved with Yoga Nidra.