Evidence library · Mood

Does tai chi and qigong affect mood in menopause? What 11 studies found

Studies of tai chi and qigong in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured mood. 10 reported an improvement and 1 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A meta-analysis of 11 trials found mind-body exercises like tai chi, yoga, and qigong improved bone density, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue in peri- and postmenopausal women.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,005 participants pooled · 2024Midlife womenCited 40 timesPubMed

  2. An umbrella review and meta-analysis of yoga trials in peri- and postmenopausal women found yoga reduced hot flushes and psychological symptoms compared with controls, with quality of life rarely reported.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 927 participants pooled · 2017Midlife womenCited 21 timesPubMed

  3. A meta-analysis of 26 RCTs in postmenopausal women found exercise reduced depression, with mind-body exercise ranked most effective, and also improved anxiety.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,170 participants pooled · 2024PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed

  4. A meta-analysis of 18 trials in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women found mind-body therapies such as yoga and qigong improved sleep quality, depression and anxiety compared with usual care.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,572 participants pooled · 2025Midlife womenCited 7 timesPubMed

  5. A systematic review of 18 trials found that yoga, tai chi, meditation and relaxation practices often improved overall menopausal symptoms, hot flushes, mood, sleep and musculoskeletal pain.

    Reported an improvementSystematic review · 882 participants pooled · 2010Midlife womenCited 58 timesPubMed

  6. A meta-analysis of 12 trials with 1,050 women found exercise and mind-body exercise improved menopausal symptoms, quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms compared with controls.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,050 participants pooled · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

  7. A meta-analysis of 12 RCTs with 1023 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women found Traditional Chinese Exercise reduced menopausal symptoms and depression and improved spine bone density, but not quality of life.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,023 participants pooled · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

  8. Postmenopausal fatigued breast cancer survivors did 12 weeks of Qigong or Tai Chi Easy versus sham Qigong; fatigue decreased more with active practice but depression and sleep did not differ.

    No difference foundRandomised trial · 87 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 119 timesPubMed

  9. Postmenopausal Spanish women did a 12 week BaDuanJin Qigong program; the group showed significant improvements in sleep quality, anxiety and depression compared with no intervention.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 125 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 33 timesPubMed

  10. Perimenopausal women with depression did simplified Tai Chi training; the Tai Chi group showed significantly lower depression scores afterward compared with before, linked to changes in kynurenine metabolites.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 72 women · 2025PerimenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed

  11. Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors with joint pain from aromatase inhibitors did group tai chi twice weekly for 8 weeks and reported improved anxiety, depression, fatigue and emotional wellbeing, with no significant change in pain or balance.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 12 women · 8 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

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