Evidence library · Sleep

Does stretching affect sleep in menopause? What 6 studies found

Studies of stretching in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured sleep. 6 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A network meta-analysis of 31 RCTs in peri and postmenopausal women found combined exercise and flexibility exercise were most effective for improving sleep quality, with mind-body and aerobic exercise also helpful.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2025Midlife womenCited 1 timesPubMed

  2. Postmenopausal women with insomnia practiced yoga for 4 months and reported lower insomnia severity and climacteric symptoms and higher quality of life than control or stretching groups.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 16 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 124 timesPubMed

  3. A review of 31 studies found yoga, walking, exercise, and stretching improved sleep quality in menopausal women, with inconsistent effects on depression.

    Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2023Midlife womenCited 17 timesPubMed

  4. In 173 sedentary, overweight postmenopausal women, a year of moderate-intensity exercise or stretching was associated with improved self-reported sleep quality, with effects depending on exercise timing and amount.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 173 women · 52 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 101 timesPubMed

  5. A systematic review of 13 RCTs with 1,470 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women found aerobic exercise, yoga, Pilates, resistance training, stretching and relaxation improved sleep quality and psychological wellbeing.

    Reported an improvementSystematic review · 1,470 participants pooled · 2025Midlife womenCited 2 timesPubMed

  6. Two postmenopausal women with insomnia did twice-weekly stretching, strengthening and relaxation sessions for 6 months and both reported improved sleep measures on polysomnography.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 2 women · 26 weeks · 2008PostmenopausalCited 17 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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