Tai Chi Qigong and matched exercise show similar sleep outcomes in older male cancer survivors
A randomized trial in 113 older male cancer survivors found modest short-term sleep improvements without statistically significant differences between interventions.
In a three-arm randomized controlled trial published in Brain medicine :, researchers evaluated the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong against an exercise intensity-matched program and usual care on sleep quality in older male cancer survivors doi.org
Brain medicine :doi.orgOpen source ↗. The study enrolled 113 men aged 55 years and older with a mean age of 69.1 years, conducted across sites in New Brunswick and Albuquerque. Participants were assigned to usual care or one of two 12-week group programs delivered twice weekly, with progress tracked using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index through 12 months.
Between-arm and within-arm outcomes
At three months post-intervention, linear contrasts revealed no statistically significant differences in sleep quality between the study arms. However, the intensity-matched exercise cohort demonstrated statistically significant within-arm improvements from baseline at the 6-week midpoint (p = 0.004), one week post-intervention (p = 0.048), and three months post-intervention (p = 0.011). The Tai Chi and Qigong arm exhibited nonsignificant trends toward within-arm improvement across identical intervals. At the three-month mark, the exercise cohort also demonstrated a statistically significant increase in sleep efficiency compared to the Tai Chi and Qigong group (p = 0.04).
Long-term follow-up and trial parameters
By 12 months of follow-up, statistically significant effects had subsided across all arms. At this annual endpoint, 62% of participants in the Tai Chi and Qigong arm reached clinical remission of sleep disturbance with an index score of 5 or lower, compared to 47% in the exercise arm and 43% under usual care, though between-arm variance remained non-significant (p > 0.05).
Attendance rates were closely matched between groups, reaching 78.4% for Tai Chi and Qigong and 76.8% for the exercise cohort doi.org
Brain medicine :doi.orgOpen source ↗. The authors noted that observed score shifts remained below the three-point threshold required for clinically meaningful changes, concluding that both movement regimens produced modest short-term improvements without demonstrating superiority over one another.
