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Sleep disturbances are extremely common after stroke and can seriously impair recovery and quality of life. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined whether traditional Chinese exercises — including Tai Chi, Baduanjin, and Liuzijue — could improve sleep quality and reduce psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression in people who have survived a stroke.
Researchers searched nine major databases, covering all studies published up to April 2026, and identified nine randomised controlled trials involving a total of 690 participants. The pooled results showed that traditional Chinese exercises produced significantly greater improvements in sleep quality compared to control groups, with low variability between studies. These benefits held up whether the exercises were compared against active treatments or standard conventional care. In addition, traditional Chinese exercises significantly reduced both anxiety and depression symptoms, with very little variability across studies for anxiety outcomes.
The certainty of the evidence was rated as moderate for sleep quality and low for anxiety and depression, reflecting limitations in study methodology across the included trials. The authors acknowledge that the number of included studies was small and call for larger, more rigorously designed trials to confirm these findings. Despite these limitations, the results suggest that traditional Chinese exercises represent a safe and accessible non-pharmacological option to support post-stroke rehabilitation.
Conclusion: Traditional Chinese exercises appear to be beneficial adjunct therapies for improving sleep quality and easing anxiety and depression in post-stroke survivors, though higher-quality evidence is still needed.
Source: Cao Y, Qiu L, Hu X and colleagues. Complementary therapies in medicine (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42336253) · doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103401