NSDR for Ultra Runners- Can Deep Rest Improve Recovery?

The Story

🎙️ NSDR for Ultra Runners: Can Deep Rest Improve Recovery?

As ultrarunners, we spend months learning how to push through fatigue—but recovery is just as important as the training itself. In this episode, we take a deep dive into Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) and explore whether deliberately putting the body and mind into a state of deep relaxation can help an ultrarunner recover, manage stress and feel more prepared for the next training session.

NSDR is a guided relaxation practice that commonly uses slow breathing, body awareness and deep relaxation while you remain awake. It overlaps with practices such as Yoga Nidra, meditation and guided relaxation, but NSDR has increasingly been studied as a short, practical recovery strategy.

Recent research in physically active adults found that a 10-minute NSDR session was associated with improvements in perceived recovery, physical readiness, stress, fatigue and some measures of cognitive performance. A newer randomized study also found improvements in sleepiness, fatigue, stress and overall recovery, although it did not find significant improvements in physical performance.

We look at the difference between simply being physically tired and being “tired but wired”—when your body is exhausted but your mind is still switched on.

We explore how NSDR might fit into an ultrarunner's recovery toolbox:

• After long runs and hard workouts
• During high-mileage training blocks
• When you're stressed but can't fall asleep
• Before bed as a relaxation strategy
• When you don't have time for a nap
• During periods of injury or reduced training
• When mental fatigue is becoming part of the training load

We also discuss why a nap and NSDR aren't necessarily interchangeable. A nap can provide genuine sleep and may be valuable when you're sleep-deprived, while NSDR offers a way to deliberately relax without actually falling asleep. The research suggests NSDR may improve how recovered and ready you feel, but it should not be considered a replacement for adequate sleep.

Is NSDR really different from meditation?

We break down the similarities and differences between NSDR, meditation, mindfulness and Yoga Nidra—and ask whether NSDR is truly a unique intervention or a different way of applying established relaxation practices.

We also look at exhale-focused breathing and physiological sighing, including research comparing brief breathwork with mindfulness meditation for acute stress and mood. The goal isn't to find another “hack,” but to understand whether simple breathing techniques can help an athlete deliberately shift toward a calmer state.

Yoga Nidra research has also explored pain and well-being. A recent study comparing Yoga Nidra with body-scan meditation found reductions in pain intensity and pain-related anxiety with both approaches, while Yoga Nidra produced a greater immediate improvement in subjective well-being.

NSDR isn't magic. It isn't a replacement for sleep, nutrition, hydration, appropriate training or real recovery.

But it may be another simple tool an ultrarunner can put in the recovery toolbox.

The question we're asking is:

Can 10–20 minutes of intentional deep rest actually help an ultrarunner recover—or does it simply make us feel more recovered?

Let's look at what the science really says.

Josh Sain — Team Run Run Coach
Running Miles with Heart Disease CHD
📧 [email protected]

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🧠 What Is NSDR?🏃 Why Could This Matter to Ultra Runners?😴 NSDR vs. Napping🧘 NSDR vs. Meditation🌬️ Breathing & Recovery🩹 What About Pain & Recovery?⚠️ The Big Takeaway🏃‍♂️ Coaching & Contact