Impact of Yoga Nidra on Menstrual Abnormalities in Females of Reproductive Age

Objectives: The aim of this study was to observe the effect of Yoga Nidra practice on hormone levels in patients who had menstrual irregularities. Design: The study was a randomized controlled trial. Settings/location: The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India. Subjects were divided randomly into 2 groups-an intervention and a control group, with 75 subjects in each group. Of these subjects, 126 completed the study protocol. Subjects: This study involved 150 subjects with menstrual irregularities; 126 of whom completed the protocol. Interventions: The intervention was the practice of Yoga Nidra. The yogic intervention duration was 35-40 minutes/day, five times/week for 6 months. An estimation of hormonal profile was done for both groups at baseline and after 6 months. Results: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (p < 0.002), follicle-stimulating hormone (p < 0.02), luteinizing hormone (p < 0.001), and prolactin (p < 0.02) were decreased significantly in the intervention group, compared with the control group. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the efficacy of Yoga Nidra on hormone profiles in patients with menstrual irregularities. Yoga Nidra practice was helpful in patients with hormone imbalances, such as dysmenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, menorrhagia, metrorrhagia, and hypomenorrhea.