The effect of Baduanjin on the insomnia of older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Baduanjin is a traditional Chinese regimen involving flowing movements, breath control, and strengthening to benefit health and well-being. We investigated the effectiveness of Baduanjin for older adults with insomnia. Methods: We assessed eight databases for methodological quality according to the Cochrane Handbook for Evaluation of Interventions, and analyzed by Stata 16.0 software. Results: Participants (N = 789) of ten studies were included. The meta-analysis showed that Baduanjin was effective for older adults with insomnia as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)[WMD =-2.20, 95 %CI (-2.87, -1.74), P = 0.000], and 12 weeks or more of treatment effect was superior to <12 weeks. Moreover, there were significant differences in all dimensions of the PSQI between experimental and control groups. Conclusions: Baduanjin is a complementary therapy option for older adults with insomnia. However, high-quality research is still needed to investigate the optimal exercise intensity, duration and frequency for older adults with insomnia.