Effects of various exercise interventions in insomnia patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

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Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

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Paper Summary

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Yoga, Tai Chi, or a Brisk Walk: Which Exercise is Best for Insomnia?

This network meta-analysis of 22 trials suggests that yoga, Tai Chi, and walking/jogging may be effective exercise interventions for improving sleep in individuals with insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remained the most effective intervention. While this study adds important comparative data, some included trials had a high risk of bias which might impact the reliability of the result.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified.

Identified Weaknesses

Risk of Bias

Most of the included studies had a high or some concern of bias, thus the results might be not reliable.

Small number of studies

Most interventions were supported by limited number of studies. For example, Aerobic exercise combined with therapy had only two included studies.

Lack of blinding

Due to the nature of exercise interventions, blinding of participants and researchers was generally not feasible, leading to a considerable proportion of the included studies being rated as having “some concerns” or “high risk” in terms of bias.

Lack of quantitative metrics for exercise interventions

The absence of standardized, quantifiable metrics for intervention dose hindered further exploration of the dose-response relationship between exercise interventions and treatment outcomes.

Inconsistency

Inconsistency existed in some outcome measures.

Rating Explanation

This is a well-conducted meta-analysis that combines the data of 22 randomized controlled trials to give a comparison of various exercise interventions for insomnia. While the quality of individual studies and the number of participants are not high, the overall methodological quality of the meta-analysis is solid, providing valuable insights for research and clinical practice. Some limitations like lack of blinding, small number of studies for certain interventions and heterogeneity are unavoidable but properly addressed in the discussion part.

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