Tai chi is just as good for treating chronic insomnia as talking therapies, a BMJ study has suggested.
The ancient Chinese martial art, characterised by its slow, flowing movements, has become popular as a form of exercise for its physical and mental health benefits, as it combines movement with deep breathing and meditation.
It has previously been shown that exercise such as tai chi or yoga could benefit insomnia, where someone struggles falling or staying asleep to the point it affects their quality of life.
In England, current NHS guidelines are for GPs to treat people with insomnia through managing issues such as anxiety, short-term courses of sleeping pills and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for more severe cases.
Now researchers believe that tai chi in particular could be a useful alternative for doctors to consider.
Improvement in symptoms
Researchers writing in the BMJ said their study “supports the use of tai chi as an alternative approach for the long-term management of chronic insomnia in middle-aged and older adults”.
In the new study, 200 people aged 50 and older with chronic insomnia were split into two groups to either undertake tai chi or have CBT.
All of the people in the study were free of other chronic conditions that may affect sleep, were not taking part in regular aerobic or mind-body exercise, had not received previous CBT treatment and were not working shifts.
They either did tai chi or CBT for one hour twice a week, for a total of 24 sessions.
People scored their symptoms, such as difficulty falling and staying asleep, waking up too early and being unable to go back to sleep, and their impact on daily life.
The results revealed that after three months, those who had undertaken CBT had reported their symptoms had improved more than those who had been doing tai chi.
However, one year later, when the researchers followed up with the participants, they found that those who had practised tai chi had seen an improvement in their symptoms equal and greater than those who had CBT.
Tai chi and CBT were also found to have comparable benefits in areas such as quality of life, mental health and physical activity level.
Tai chi could be a more accessible and affordable option for people struggling with insomnia, given the issues people face in accessing therapy from trained professionals, the researchers said.
The authors, from the University of Hong Kong, acknowledged some people in the study may have continued tai chi after the three-month period, which may have skewed the results.
But they said: “Our findings suggest that tai chi can lead to substantial improvements in insomnia severity after a three-month intervention, while the long-term efficacy of tai chi is non-inferior to that of CBT, the gold standard treatment for chronic insomnia.”
A separate study published earlier this year looked at the impact of different exercises on insomnia and found yoga could help sufferers get two extra hours of sleep per night.
It also found walking or jogging could reduce insomnia severity, while tai chi could boost sleep quality.