Mental health benefits of Savasana: Best yoga pose to boost melatonin production, improve mood

Health benefits of Savasana: The Corpse Pose is not idleness, but a precise training of the nervous system, with ripples reaching the heart, lungs, and even hormones (Image: Pexels)

Resting is the body’s way to recharge itself. While several yoga poses aim to heal and rejuvenate your body, the Corpse Pose or Savasana is helpful in treatment of specific diseases such as hypertension, anxiety, asthma and depression

When you are exposed to stress, various functions of your body are affected by hypothalamus releasing a surge of hormones, including corticotropin-releasing hormone, antidiuretic hormone, and catecholamines, which disturb your bodies balance and also puts strain on your health and fitness.

A daily yoga routine can encourage significant physiological and biochemical changes in your body. Different types of yogic practices not only help in prevention, but can also aid in treatment of specific diseases such as hypertension, anxiety, asthma and depression. A study in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, reveals that yogic practices help improve cardio-respiratory performance and psychological profile.

Also read | Best yoga poses: 10 fitness benefits of doing yoga asanas daily

This suggests that yoga practices like the Corpse Pose (Savasana) help boost melatonin production, which improves mood and health.

Savasana, therefore, is not idleness, but a precise training of the nervous system, with ripples reaching the heart, lungs, and even hormones.

Health benefits of Savasana

• Lowers the pulse: In a 60-participant study, just ten minutes of Savasana brought heart rates down more sharply than ordinary rest. After four weeks of practice, the effect deepened, hinting at lasting benefit.

• Calms the breath: Breath became slower and more rhythmic in participants, not only during practice but progressively over four weeks. The pattern suggested improved regulation of the respiratory system.

• Eases blood pressure: Both systolic and diastolic blood pressurefell after each session. The gains grew stronger with daily practice, a clear distinction from simple lying still.

• Blunts stress responses: When researchers induced stress through the Cold Pressor Test, cardiovascular responses spiked. Yet, after Savasana training, these surges were notably blunted, proof that the pose tempers stress at its root.

• Reduces sympathetic activity: Guided yogic relaxation lowers sympathetic nervous activity, unlike passive supine rest. The nervous system, as per the study, was learns  a new language of calm.

• Supports the heart: Studies using the rate pressure product, a measure of cardiac strain, revealed consistent drops after Shavasana. The heart muscle was, literally, resting.

• Relieves hypertension: Research showed that hypertensive patients practising Shavasana daily recorded lower blood pressure, calmer heart rates, and even reduced dependence on medicines.

• Improves lung function in asthma: Another research found that asthma patients gained steadier breathing patterns and better parasympathetic balance after regular yoga training that included Savasana.

• Boosts melatonin level: Researchers discovered higher nighttime melatonin levels in practitioners, which correlated with sounder sleep and improved mood.

• Conscious rest versus passive lying down: Across multiple studies, Savasana stood apart from just lying down. Ordinary rest may pause the body, but Shavasana taught it to relax actively, with measurable gains in heart, breath, and state of mind.