Effects of Health Qigong Program on Sleep Quality in Older Adults with Sleep Disturbance

Background/Objectives: Sleep disturbance is common in older adults and is associated with impaired daily functioning and poorer health-related outcomes. This study examined whether a 12-week Health Qigong program could improve subjective and objective sleep quality in older adults with self-reported sleep disturbance. Methods: Sixty adults aged 55 years or older who reported poor sleep and had Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index total scores above 5 were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a control group (30 participants per group; 10 men and 20 women in each group). Both groups received health education and lifestyle guidance, and the intervention group completed supervised Health Qigong sessions twice weekly. Sleep quality was assessed before and after the intervention using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and wrist actigraphy. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. In adjusted post-intervention comparisons, the intervention group showed lower Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, higher sleep efficiency, less wake after sleep onset, fewer awakenings, shorter average awake time, and longer total sleep time than the control group. The adjusted group difference for sleep onset latency was not significant. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that Health Qigong may be a feasible community-based practice for improving sleep quality in older adults with self-reported sleep disturbance. The overall pattern was more consistent with improvement in sleep continuity than in sleep onset latency, although this interpretation should remain cautious because no direct contrast between sleep maintenance and sleep initiation was tested.