From walking to yoga: the best exercises to end insomnia

Yoga, tai chi, walking or jogging may be the best exercises to improve sleep quality and relieve insomnia , suggests a new study published in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine .

The findings support the use of exercise as a primary treatment strategy for poor sleep patterns. Characterized by difficulty falling and staying asleep, and early awakenings, insomnia has a prevalence ranging from 4% to 22% , according to the researchers. It is associated with an increased risk of various mental and physical conditions , including dementia and cardiovascular disease.

Drug treatments for insomnia are not without side effects, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) , although effective, is not always available due to a shortage of trained therapists , the authors of the publication explain.

So far, an emerging body of research suggests that exercise is beneficial , but current guidelines don't specify which types of exercise might be most beneficial. Because of that, researchers set out to fill this knowledge gap , in order to "inform clinical practice and help patients" choose the most appropriate exercise to manage their insomnia .

To do this, they reviewed databases for relevant randomized clinical trials published up to April 2025 and included 22 in a network meta-analysis, a statistical technique used to simultaneously compare multiple interventions .

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The trials included 1,348 participants and 13 different therapeutic approaches to relieve insomnia, seven of which were exercise-based: yoga; tai chi; walking or jogging; aerobic exercise with strengthening; strength training alone; aerobic exercise combined with therapy; and combined aerobic exercise. These programs lasted between 4 and 26 weeks.

Other approaches included CBT, sleep hygiene, Ayurveda, acupuncture or massage , and existing treatment such as usual care and/or lifestyle changes, whose durations ranged from 6 to 26 weeks .

Validated scoring systems for sleep quality and insomnia severity (PSQI and ISI45), as well as subjective and objective measures of total sleep time, sleep efficiency (percentage of time asleep in bed), number of awakenings after bedtime, and time taken to fall asleep (sleep latency) were used to assess sleep patterns.

Compared with existing treatments, CBT is likely to produce a significant increase in total sleep time. It may also improve sleep efficiency and shorten wake time after falling asleep, as well as sleep latency, with sustained improvements, the findings suggest.

Yoga likely increases total sleep time by nearly two hours and can improve sleep efficiency by nearly 15%. It can also reduce the time spent awake after falling asleep by nearly an hour and shorten sleep latency by about half an hour. "With its focus on body awareness, controlled breathing, and attention training , yoga may alter brain activity, thereby alleviating the anxiety and depressive symptoms that often interfere with a good night's sleep," the authors suggest.

On the other hand, walking or jogging can significantly reduce the severity of insomnia by almost 10 points, while tai chi can reduce poor sleep quality by more than 4 points, increase total sleep time by more than 50 minutes , and reduce wake time after falling asleep by more than half an hour. It can also shorten sleep latency by about 25 minutes.

Further analysis revealed that tai chi performed significantly better on all subjectively and objectively assessed outcomes than existing treatments for up to 2 years.

However, they conclude: "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. Although current clinical guidelines make only limited mention of exercise , this study provides relatively comprehensive comparative evidence that can inform the development of more specific and practical clinical recommendations."