Yoga, tai chi, walking, and jogging are the best exercises for insomnia.

Yoga, tai chi, walking, and jogging are the best exercise-based remedies for insomnia, according to a comparative analysis published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine and conducted by Peking University.

Characterized by difficulty falling and staying asleep and early morning awakenings, the prevalence of insomnia ranges from 4 to 22%. It is associated with an increased risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease. Pharmacological treatments are not without side effects, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), although effective, is not accessible to everyone due to a shortage of qualified therapists, explain the researchers who analyzed data from randomized clinical trials published up to April 2025 for a network meta-analysis, a clinical trial comparing different therapies.

The studies involved 1,348 participants and 13 different therapeutic approaches to alleviating insomnia, seven of which were exercise-based: yoga, tai chi, walking or jogging, aerobic exercise plus strength training, strength training alone, aerobic exercise combined with therapy, and mixed aerobic exercise. These programs ranged in duration from 4 to 26 weeks. Other approaches included CBT, sleep hygiene, Ayurveda, acupuncture/massage, no treatment, and treatments such as usual care and/or lifestyle changes. Some exercise-based interventions have been found to be effective. Yoga significantly increases total sleep time by almost 2 hours and can improve sleep efficiency by almost 15%. It can also reduce the time spent awake after falling asleep by almost an hour and reduce sleep latency by about half an hour.

Walking or jogging can significantly reduce insomnia severity by nearly 10 points, while tai chi can reduce poor sleep quality scores by more than 4 points, increase total sleep time by more than 50 minutes, and reduce time spent awake after falling asleep by more than half an hour. It can also reduce sleep latency by about 25 minutes.