Liu, Haoyu, Liu, Siling, Xiong, Lu et al. · Medicine · 2023 · DOI
This review examined whether traditional Chinese exercises like Tai Chi and Qigong can help improve sleep quality. Researchers analyzed 20 studies and found that these exercises did help people sleep better, especially those with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue-like illness, and insomnia. However, the benefit wasn't seen in all groups studied, such as stroke patients or college students.
Sleep disturbance is a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS, and this review provides evidence that traditional Chinese exercises, particularly Tai Chi, may improve sleep quality in patients with chronic fatigue-like illness. Understanding non-pharmacological interventions that could help ME/CFS patients sleep better is valuable, though the heterogeneity noted warrants cautious interpretation for this specific population.
This study does not establish causation or mechanism—it only reviews whether associations exist between TCE and sleep improvement. The findings cannot be generalized to all patient populations, as benefits were inconsistent across different conditions. Additionally, the large heterogeneity between studies means results should be interpreted cautiously and may not reliably predict individual patient outcomes.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Liu, Haoyu, Liu, Siling, Xiong, Lu, & Luo, Bingquan (2023). Effects of traditional Chinese exercise on sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000035767
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-liu-2023-effects-traditional,
author = {Liu, Haoyu and Liu, Siling and Xiong, Lu and Luo, Bingquan},
title = {Effects of traditional Chinese exercise on sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.},
journal = {Medicine},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1097/MD.0000000000035767},
note = {PubMed: 37933009},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/liu-2023-effects-traditional},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/liu-2023-effects-traditional
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