The effectiveness of dance interventions on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Sleep health is increasingly recognized as central to physical and mental wellbeing, yet sleep disturbances are common and may be worsened by modern lifestyles. The WHO recognizes dance as a feasible form of physical activity, but evidence for sleep benefits is limited. This meta-analysis quantified the overall and domain-specific effects of dance interventions on sleep quality.

A systematic search strategy integrating Medical Subject Headings terms and free-text keywords was employed to identify empirical studies investigating the effects of dance interventions on sleep quality across four major English-language databases. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. A meta-analysis was conducted with R 4.5.1 and Stata 18.0, pooling standardized mean differences (SMDs) under a random-effects model. Domain-specific, sensitivity, and subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed, and publication bias was examined using Begg's and Egger's tests.

10 RCTs (711 participants) were included. Compared with controls, dance significantly improved sleep quality (SMD = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.14-0.82), representing a small-to-moderate effect. At the domain level, only subjective sleep quality remained significant after Holm multiple adjustment, with an effect size of SMD = 0.47. In the sensitivity analysis restricted to studies using the PSQI only, the effect size was attenuated (SMD = 0.355), while heterogeneity decreased substantially (I ² = 21.7%). No publication bias was detected, and the sensitivity and meta-regression analyses supported the robustness of the findings.

Sleep is an important determinant of individual physical and mental health. Dance interventions, as a nonpharmacological approach, produce a statistically significant overall improvement in sleep quality, with a small-to-approaching-moderate effect that is supported by consistent findings across sensitivity and meta-regression analyses, and with a particularly pronounced improvement in the subjective sleep quality domain. Exploratory subgroup patterns suggested that a group-based aerobic dance program conducted three times per week, 60 min per session, over 12-16 weeks may be associated with greater benefits compared with lower-frequency or shorter-duration dance interventions. In practice, priority should be given to using homogeneous instruments and to standardized reporting of prescription components and adherence, in order to enhance the translational value of the public health evidence.

PROSPERO, CRD420251104782, available from https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251104782.