Evidence library · Sleep

Does tai chi and qigong affect sleep in menopause? What 8 studies found

Studies of tai chi and qigong in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured sleep. 7 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. A review of 6 studies including postmenopausal women found that yoga, tai chi, resistance and aerobic exercise improved subjective sleep quality and reduced insomnia severity.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 295 participants pooled · 2022Midlife womenCited 17 timesPubMed

  3. A meta-analysis of 12 RCTs found exercise such as yoga, walking, and fitness qigong improved sleep quality in perimenopausal women, with qigong over 10 to 12 weeks most effective.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,493 participants pooled · 2023PerimenopausalCited 10 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. 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

  7. 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

  8. In 70 perimenopausal women, a 12 week daily Ping Shuai Qigong program improved climacteric symptoms and sleep quality at 6 and 12 weeks compared to a control group.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 70 women · 12 weeks · 2012PerimenopausalCited 31 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.

Other exercise types and sleep