The Effect of Qigong on Menopausal Symptoms and Quality of Sleep for Perimenopausal Women: A Preliminary Observational Study

Abstract

Ping Shuai Qigong improved climacteric symptoms and sleep quality in perimenopausal women at 6 weeks and 12 weeks. The longer a person practiced this form of meditative exercise, the greater the improvement in sleeping quality and climacteric symptoms.

Slow-paced respiration therapy to treat symptoms in pulmonary arterial hypertension

“…These results are similar to a study of an 8-week yoga intervention for insomnia 34 and Qigong, an ancient Chinese practice, which includes slow, rhythmic breathing in healthy individuals. 35 Qigong was also found to improve sleep in perimenopausal women 36 and women with fibromyalgia. 37,38,39 Similar to these studies, we also found a decrease in depressive symptoms and self-reported sleep duration (PSQI).…”

Improving sleep quality interventions among menopausal women with sleep disturbances in Taiwan: a preliminary study

“…Elavsky and McAuley concluded that interventions through low-intensity exercises may be unable to effectively reduce the sleep disturbances experienced by women. Conversely, other research has shown that higher intensity exercises and extended intervention durations can help improve the sleep quality of menopausal women (Mansikkamäki et al, 2012;Yeh & Chang, 2012). Mansikkamäki et al (2012) found significant differences in the sleep quality of women who engaged in high-intensity exercises (i.e., aerobic training or speed walking) for 6 months than in those who did not engage in any exercise.…”

Efficacy of mind–body therapies and exercise‐based interventions on menopausal‐related outcomes among Asian perimenopause women: A systematic review, meta‐analysis, and synthesis without a meta‐analysis

“…Among the 23 included studies, six studies were conducted in Iran (Abedi, Nikkhah, & Najar, ; Asghari, Mirghafourvand, Mohammad‐Alizadeh‐Charandabi, Malakouti, & Nedjat, ; Bakhtiari et al, ; Darsareh, Taavoni, Joolaee, & Haghani, ; Kazemzadeh, Nikjou, Rostamnegad, & Norouzi, ; Taavoni, Darsareh, Joolaee, & Haghani, ), five studies were conducted in India (Chattha, Nagarathna, Padmalatha, & Nagendra, ; Jayabharathi & Judie, ; Joshi, Khandwe, Bapat, & Deshmukh, ; Sujithra, ; Vora & Dangi, ), three in Turkey (Angin, Erden, & Can, ; Basat, Esmaeilzadeh, & Eskiyurt, ; Teoman et al, ), three in China (Gao, Zhang, Qi, & Petridis, ; Hu et al, ; Zhang et al, ), three in Japan (Iioka & Komatsu, ; Kai, Nagamatsu, Kitabatake, & Sensui, ; Ueda, ), one in South Korea (Hur, Yang, & Lee, ), one in Thailand (Ngowsiri, Tanmahasamut, & Sukonthasab, ), and one in Taiwan (Yeh & Chang, ).…”

“…Nine studies examined exercise‐based interventions that comprised one of the following exercise: aerobic (Asghari et al, ; Zhang et al, ), strengthening/high impact (Basat et al, ; Teoman et al, ), walking (Abedi et al, ), Pilates (Angin et al, ), square dance (Gao et al, ), stretching (Kai et al, ), or Rusie Dutton Thai (Ngowsiri et al, ). Five studies (Bakhtiari et al, ; Darsareh et al, ; Hur et al, ; Kazemzadeh et al, ; Taavoni et al, ) tested the effectiveness of aromatherapy, four studies had yoga as their interventions (Chattha et al, ; Jayabharathi & Judie, ; Joshi et al, ; Vora & Dangi, ), three studies involved multi‐modal interventions (education and exercise‐based) (Hu et al, ; Iioka & Komatsu, ; Ueda, ), one study involved autogenic relaxation (Sujithra, ), and one study involved qigong as their intervention (Yeh & Chang, ). One study (Basat et al, ) had two intervention groups: strengthening exercise and high‐impact exercise.…”