Yoga, tai chi, jogging and walking could be the best forms of exercise to help tackle the sleep disorder insomnia, a study suggests.
These workouts are “well-suited” to be recommended to patients due to their low cost and minimal side-effects, researchers said.
People with insomnia regularly have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or wake several times during the night.
It can cause people to have difficulty concentrating or to be tired and irritable during the day.
To explore the effectiveness of different workouts on sleep quality and insomnia, researchers in China analysed 22 trials.
The review included 1,348 patients and 13 different measures to boost sleep, including seven exercises: yoga, tai chi; walking or jogging; aerobic plus strength exercise; strength training alone; aerobic exercise combined with therapy; and mixed aerobic exercises.
The study found that yoga, in particular, resulted in an increase in sleep time of almost two hours, and could also cut the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep by nearly an hour.
Walking or jogging could reduce insomnia severity, while tai chi could boost sleep quality.
According to researchers, yoga’s focus on body awareness and controlled breathing could help with symptoms of anxiety and depression to help people get a good night’s sleep.
Tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that involves slow, flowing movements, “emphasises breath control and physical relaxation”, they added, and could boost emotional regulation.
Elsewhere, the study suggests walking or jogging could reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, while boosting melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles.
Researchers said: “The findings of this study further underscore the therapeutic potential of exercise interventions in the treatment of insomnia.
“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 programmes.”
Researchers stressed there were some “methodological limitations” to some of the trials included in the analysis.
However, they said the study, published in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine, “provides comprehensive comparative evidence supporting the efficacy of exercise interventions in improving sleep outcomes among individuals with insomnia”.
They also called for large-scale, high-quality trials to confirm and extend their findings.
Other non-exercise-based approaches in the trials included the likes of cognitive behavourial therapy (CBT), acupuncture, massage and lifestyle changes.
A number of trials found CBT is “more effective and has a longer-lasting impact on insomnia than medication”, researchers said.
However, they highlighted a number of “barriers” to CBT, including a lack of trained professionals.
