Good news for people looking for a more holistic approach to treat insomnia, over taking a pill: Yoga, jogging, walking, and Tai Chi rival pills for combating insomnia. These natural remedies may be some of the best for helping to improve sleep, according to a large systematic review and network meta-analysis comparing various treatments published in the online journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remains effective, the comparative pooled data findings support the use of exercise, especially Tai Chi, as a primary treatment for poor sleep patterns. Exercise-based approaches promoted significant improvements in total sleep time, efficiency, and reduced how long people stay awake after falling asleep.
Investigating approaches to combat insomnia
Trials involved in this study consisted of 1348 participants and 13 different treatment approaches to ease insomnia lasting for 4 to 26 weeks, 7 of which were exercise-based: Tai Chi, yoga, walking or jogging, mixed aerobic exercises, mixed aerobic exercises combined with therapy, aerobic exercise plus strength training, and strength training alone. Other approaches included CBT, Ayurveda, acupuncture/massage, sleep hygiene, and existing usual care for the duration ranging from 6 to 26 weeks.
The study utilized validated scoring systems for sleep quality and insomnia severity, as well as subjective and objective measures of total sleep time, efficiency, number of sleep disruptions, and the time it took to fall asleep to assess participant sleep patterns.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
The analysis revealed that when compared with participants’ existing treatments, CBT was likely to promote a large increase in total sleep time, improved sleep efficiency, shortened time awake after falling asleep, fewer sleep disruptions, and sustained improvements based on subjective sleep diary data.
Exercise-based interventions
Yoga was found likely to promote a large increase in the total sleep time by close to two hours, and sleep efficiency by nearly 15%. Yoga also helped to reduce the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep by close to an hour, and decreased sleep disruptions by close to half an hour.
Jogging or walking promoted a large reduction in insomnia severity by nearly 10 points. Tai Chi reduced poor sleep quality scores by over 4 points, increased total sleep time by more than 50 minutes, reduced time spent awake after falling asleep by more than half an hour, and decreased sleep disruptions by close to 25 minutes. Tai Chi was found to perform significantly better on all subjective and objective assessed outcomes than existing treatments for up to two years.
Conclusions
Despite the noted limitations of the study, the researchers suggested that: “The findings of this study further underscore the therapeutic potential of exercise interventions in the treatment of insomnia, suggesting that their role may extend beyond adjunctive support to serve as viable primary treatment options.”
“Although current clinical guidelines make only limited mention of exercise, this study provides relatively comprehensive comparative evidence that may inform the development of more specific and actionable clinical recommendations.”
“Given the advantages of exercise modalities such as yoga, Tai Chi, and walking or jogging — including low cost, minimal side effects, and high accessibility — these interventions are well-suited for integration into primary care and community health programs.”
“This study provides comprehensive comparative evidence supporting the efficacy of exercise interventions in improving sleep outcomes among individuals with insomnia. Among the various modalities examined, yoga, Tai Chi, and walking or jogging appear to be particularly effective. Nevertheless, caution should be applied when interpreting these findings because of methodological limitations, including the low quality of evidence for certain interventions, lack of participant blinding, and inconsistencies in intervention reporting. To confirm and extend these findings, future research should prioritise large-scale, high-quality RCTs with standardised intervention protocols,” concluded the researchers.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
