Best exercise to fight insomnia

New research published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine suggests that yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging may be the most effective forms of exercise for improving sleep quality and easing symptoms of insomnia. Insomnia affects about 22 per cent of adults and is associated with an increased risk of numerous mental and physical health conditions, including dementia and cardiovascular disease.

Drug treatments for insomnia often come with side effects, while cognitive behavioural therapy, though effective, is not always accessible due to a lack of trained therapists.

To explore alternative solutions, researchers analysed 22 randomised clinical trials involving 1,348 participants and 13 different treatment strategies for insomnia. Seven of these were exercise-based interventions: yoga, Tai Chi, walking or jogging, combined aerobic and strength training, strength training alone, aerobic exercise combined with therapy and mixed aerobic routines.

Yoga emerged as one of the most effective options—significantly increasing total sleep time by nearly two hours and improving sleep efficiency by around 15 per cent. It also reduced the time spent awake after sleep onset by almost an hour and shortened sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep) by nearly 30 minutes.

Walking or jogging also showed strong benefits, reducing insomnia severity by nearly 10 points. Tai Chi practitioners saw notable improvements as well—sleeping an average of 52 minutes longer, lowering poor sleep quality scores by over four points, reducing time awake after falling asleep by more than 30 minutes and shortening sleep latency by about 25 minutes. Further analysis revealed that Tai Chi consistently outperformed existing treatments across both subjective and objective sleep measures, with sustained benefits lasting up to two years.

“The findings of this study further underscore the therapeutic potential of exercise interventions in the treatment of insomnia, suggesting that their role may extend beyond adjunctive support to serve as viable primary treatment options,” the study concluded.

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