You’re trying to catch ZZZ’s, but, really, they’re running circles around you.
Luckily, new research highlights four exercises that can significantly ease insomnia and improve sleep quality — no gym membership required.
Among them: An ancient Chinese practice that’s just as much a workout for your brain as it is for your body.
Americans aren’t exactly great at sleeping.
The National Institutes of Health recommends seven to nine hours of shut-eye a night for adults to stay healthy and sharp, but studies indicate that over a third regularly come up short.
For many, tossing and turning is more than just a bad night. A 2024 survey found that 12% of US adults suffer from chronic insomnia, a disorder marked by ongoing trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early.
Standard treatments range from lifestyle tweaks and therapy to medication. Researchers in China and Bangladesh wanted to see if breaking a sweat could also deliver sweet dreams.
They analyzed 22 clinical trials, involving 1,348 participants, that assessed a total of seven exercise-based approaches to easing insomnia. Among them, yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging stood out with the strongest evidence for better sleep.
Yoga packed the biggest punch, adding nearly two extra hours of shut-eye a night. It also slashed time spent tossing and turning by almost an hour and helped people fall asleep 30 minutes faster.
Tai Chi — a calming combination of gentle movement, breathwork and meditation — boosted sleep by over 50 minutes, shaved off more than 30 minutes of wakefulness and helped users drift off 25 minutes faster.
Impressively, the benefits of the Chinese martial art kicked in within three months — and lasted for at least two years.
Walking and jogging also outpaced other workouts, such as strength training or mixed aerobics, when it came to easing insomnia symptoms.
“Given the advantages of exercise modalities such as yoga, Tai Chi and walking or jogging — including low cost, minimal side effects and high accessibility — these interventions are well-suited for integration into primary care and community health programs,” the study authors concluded in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
They pointed to some science-backed reasons why these gentle workouts may help beat insomnia.
Yoga and Tai Chi, with their focus on mindfulness, breathing and relaxation, can ease anxiety and depression, calm an overstimulated nervous system and quiet the mental chatter that wrecks sleep.
Walking and jogging, on the other hand, burn off energy, improve emotional balance, lower cortisol —the body’s stress hormone — and boost melatonin production, all critical to restful sleep.
Zhijun Bu, lead author of the study and a scientist at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, suggested that the best form of exercise for fighting insomnia depends on your specific sleep issues.
“For those who struggle with insufficient total sleep time or difficulty falling asleep, yoga and Tai Chi may be more suitable,” he told Everyday Health.
Bu recommended practicing yoga two to six times a week or Tai Chi two to three times weekly, for 45 to 60 minutes each session.
For people who often feel tired, have trouble focusing or suffer low mood during the day, he advised walking or jogging three to five times per week for 30 to 75 minutes per session.
These findings offer a promising new tool for millions of Americans struggling to get enough sleep — a crucial factor in maintaining physical and mental health.
Lack of sleep has been linked to a wide range of chronic health problems, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Chronic sleep issues are also strongly tied to depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. Over time, insufficient rest can impair cognitive functions like concentration, memory and decision-making.
