Som blends the best of both ancient tradition and modern science. Its program was developed through collaboration with an ashram in India that teaches the traditional, authentic practice of yoga nidra, alongside a careful review of more than 50 scientific papers examining yoga nidra, NSDR, and related methods. Insights from both tradition and research were synthesized into a single, coherent protocol—designed to be simple to use, grounded in evidence, and effective in everyday life.

At a practical level, Som guides you into deep physical and mental relaxation using gentle attention to the body, breath, and sensory awareness. Over time, you’ll also learn to work with visualization and other techniques that help release tension, calm the nervous system, and improve emotional regulation and focus.

The techniques themselves are not especially complex—but they are skills. Like learning to ride a bike or play an instrument, they require gradual exposure and repetition. At first the experience may feel unfamiliar or slightly awkward. With practice, it becomes natural and reliable.

There are thousands of YouTube videos, soundscapes, meditation apps, and wellness tools that claim to reduce stress, improve sleep, or boost performance.

Som is different in two key ways.

First, deliberate simplicity and a clear roadmap. Instead of overwhelming you with endless content, feeds, or choices, Som gives you a step-by-step progression. You don’t need to decide what to do, compare sessions, or manage options—just open the app and press play. The experience is designed to reduce cognitive load, not add to it.

Som starts with fundamentals and builds gradually, helping your nervous system learn how to downshift more easily and consistently over time. This structured progression is what allows the practice to feel effortless later on, rather than hit-or-miss or dependent on perfect conditions.

The goal isn’t to “force relaxation,” but to train your system to recognize and access it on demand.

Som’s second key difference is its unique practice feature. Practice sessions in Som are personalized, on-demand deep rest without guesswork.

Practice sessions automatically generate a fresh, coherent deep rest experience using only the skills you’ve already learned, tailored to the time you have and how you want to practice. Every session is different, but always familiar, effective, and easy to drop into.

There isn’t a catch, but there is a requirement: consistency.

Using Som is less like taking a pill and more like training a skill. Just as one workout won’t make you fit, a single NSDR session isn’t meant to instantly resolve long-standing stress, fatigue, or sleep issues. The benefits come from repetition—teaching your nervous system how to reliably enter deeply restorative states.

Som is designed to make that repetition easy. By removing friction and decision fatigue, it helps you build a sustainable practice that fits into real life.

Practiced regularly, Som supports better recovery, lower baseline stress, improved focus, and more reliable, high-quality sleep over time.

Som is compatible with all spiritual or contemplative traditions, but it does not require any spiritual belief, worldview, or interest.

The guidance is clear, precise, and free of mysticism, jargon, or symbolic language. There are no mantras, doctrines, or metaphysical claims—just practical instructions based on how the nervous system responds to rest and attention.

If you are spiritually inclined, some concepts may feel familiar. If you’re skeptical, analytical, or turned off by “spiritual” practices altogether, Som is designed to feel comfortable, grounded, and accessible.

You don’t need to believe anything. You just need to practice.

Research on yoga nidra, NSDR, and closely related practices is still relatively young, especially compared to more established clinical interventions. That said, the quality and volume of evidence has grown substantially in recent years.

Across a wide range of peer-reviewed studies—including randomized controlled trials and clinical populations—these practices have been associated with improvements in chronic insomnia and sleep quality, reductions in stress and physiological stress markers, improvements in mood and mental health, and enhanced learning, creativity, and cognitive flexibility. Results vary by individual and study design, but the overall pattern is consistent: structured deep rest produces measurable, meaningful benefits.

For those interested in the details, we’ve compiled and summarized over 30 representative studies on our Science page.

Any time you use a free product, you are usually the product: your attention, your data, or both.

Som was built to be calm, trustworthy, and focused on what actually works. There are no ads, no sponsorships, and no content designed to chase clicks or trends. It isn’t driven by influencer culture, personal brands, or engagement hacks.

Som is also developed independently. While the term NSDR is commonly attributed to Andrew Huberman, Som is not affiliated with him in any way. It stands on its own foundation of traditional practice, careful study, and direct user experience.

The pricing is intentionally modest and accessible. Compared to alternatives like coaching programs or clinical interventions—which often cost hundreds or thousands of dollars—Som provides a clear, self-guided roadmap at a fraction of the cost, with no long-term commitments or upfront fees.

For about the price of a cup of coffee each month, you get a reliable system for improving recovery, reducing stress, and supporting better sleep over time. And if it ever stops feeling valuable, you can cancel anytime—no friction, no pressure.