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Chronic psychological stress, reduced attention, and low resilience are growing public health concerns. Mind-body practices such as Tai Chi have attracted interest as accessible, low-cost options that could be delivered at a population scale without reliance on medication.
This randomised controlled trial recruited adults aged 30–55 years and assigned them to either a structured Tai Chi programme or a control condition in which participants maintained their normal daily routines. The Tai Chi group attended supervised 60-minute sessions three times per week over eight weeks. Researchers measured perceived stress using a validated questionnaire, attentional performance using a computerised reaction-time task, and psychological resilience using an established self-report scale. Both groups were assessed at the start and end of the study period.
After eight weeks, the Tai Chi group showed statistically significant improvements across all three outcome areas compared with controls: lower perceived stress, faster attentional reaction times, and higher resilience scores. No meaningful changes were observed in the control group. The effect sizes reported ranged from moderate to large, suggesting that the differences between groups were practically meaningful, not merely statistically detectable.
The study had a relatively small sample size and a short follow-up period, so longer-term and larger-scale research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn about durability of effects.
Conclusion: This trial offers encouraging evidence that a structured eight-week Tai Chi intervention may meaningfully improve stress regulation, attention, and psychological resilience in middle-aged adults.
Source: Wang N, Yang Z Frontiers in public health (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42158200) · doi:10.1177/1757913916685642