Insomnia: Using Tai Chi to KO
Written by Lance Jimenez
Edited by Sameeha Salman
Jan 23rd 2022
Edited by Sameeha Salman
Jan 23rd 2022
Imagine you are lying in bed, cozy and ready to sleep. You close your eyes and slowly, five minutes pass. Then fifteen minutes pass. You shift in your bed to get into a comfortable position. Still, you can not fall asleep. If this is a common experience and affects your wakeful life, you may be showing symptoms of insomnia. So what even is the difference between having a normal difficulty sleeping and actual insomnia? Difficulty sleeping can be diagnosed as insomnia when lack of sleep occurs three or more times per week for over a month and if this difficulty consistently affects daily life (Roth, 2007). Elderly people are particularly affected by this, with an estimated 30-48% of people over 60 years old showing insomnia symptoms (Patel et al., 2018). But how can insomnia be combatted? A study published by JAMA Network Open suggests tai chi can be effective to reduce or lessen insomnia.
This study used a mix of self-reports and measurements of the subjects’ sleep patterns. Previous studies on the effect of tai chi on insomnia relied only on self-reports, where subjects would be asked to report about their insomnia before and after treatment, and these results were compared. However, self-reports may not always accurately reflect whether physical change actually occurs (Siu et al., 2021). To complement self-reports, this study collected data with wrist actigraphs, a tool that measures sleep duration, awakenings, and sleep efficiency. Combined, researchers analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data to more clearly determine if tai chi had affected those with insomnia.
In their study, elderly individuals with insomnia were randomly assigned to 12 weeks on an exercise plan, 12 weeks on a tai chi plan, or 12 weeks with no intervention (Siu et al., 2021). They found that those who did exercise or tai chi had increased sleep efficiency, so the ratio of time asleep to time in bed was higher. Those doing tai chi or exercise also had fewer awakenings after sleeping, and less time awake after first falling asleep. They also found that the tai chi and exercise groups were more likely to be diagnosed with a reduction of insomnia symptoms. Additionally, in the two groups, subjects were observed to take less insomnia medication compared to the control group (Siu et al., 2021).
The American College of Physicians suggest cognitive behavioral therapy as the most effective treatment to insomnia (Qaseem et al., 2016), but the high cost of such treatment is a barrier for affected individuals who cannot afford it. Meanwhile, exercise can be free and tai chi is a non-strenuous form of exercise. This financial and physical accessibility, especially for the elderly, makes tai chi a treatment to consider for those afflicted with insomnia. So if you are tossing, turning and can’t fall asleep, following a tai chi video may be the way to go!
Works Cited
Patel, D., Steinberg, J., & Patel, P. (2018). Insomnia in the Elderly: A Review. Journal of clinical sleep medicine: JCSM: official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 14(6), 1017–1024. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7172
Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., Denberg, T. D., & Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians (2016). Management of Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Annals of internal medicine, 165(2), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-2175
Roth T. (2007). Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences. Journal of clinical sleep medicine: JCSM: official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 3(5 Suppl), S7–S10.
Siu, P. M., Yu, A. P., Tam, B. T., Chin, E. C., Yu, D. S., Chung, K. F., Hui, S. S., Woo, J., Fong, D. Y., Lee, P. H., Wei, G. X., & Irwin, M. R. (2021). Effects of Tai Chi or Exercise on Sleep in Older Adults With Insomnia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA network open, 4(2), e2037199. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37199