Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle interventions significantly improved insomnia compared with usual care or no intervention (MD -4.28; 95% CI -5.38 to -3.18; p<0.0001).
Systematic Review (n=1,730)
Do Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle interventions improve insomnia in adults?
Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle interventions may provide significant improvements in insomnia compared to usual care or no intervention, though evidence is limited by high heterogeneity.
Effect estimate: MD -4.28 (95% CI -5.38 to -3.18)
p-value: p=<0.0001
Abstract Introduction The treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle (TCM-L) intervention for insomnia has not yet been thoroughly studied. This study aimed to systematically review and synthesize the existing evidence on the effects of TCM-L intervention for insomnia in adults. Methods A comprehensive search of 11 databases included all records available from inception to September 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effect of TCM-L interventions for insomnia were included. The risk of bias was assessed using version 2 of the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials, and the quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Meta-analyses were conducted using R (version 4. 3. 2). Results A total of 14 RCTs involving 1, 730 participants were included in this review. Results showed that, compared with usual care or no intervention (k = 11, MD = −4. 28, 95% CI −5. 38, −3. 18, p 0. 0001, I2 = 96. 1%), TCM-L interventions demonstrated significantly greater improvements. For comparisons with lifestyle modifications (k = 1, MD = −1. 62, 95% CI −2. 04, −1. 20; p 0. 0001), TCM health education (k = 1, MD = −2. 05, 95% CI −3. 01, −1. 09; p 0. 0001), and CBT-I (k = 1, MD = −2. 05, 95% CI −2. 60, −1. 50; p 0. 0001), only data from single studies were reported due to the lack of multiple eligible studies for meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses supported the finding that the TCM-L intervention is more effective at improving insomnia among participants recruited from hospitals (k = 8, MD = −4. 97, 95% CI −6. 08, −3. 86, I2 = 94. 6%) than from the community (k = 3, MD = −2. 56, 95% CI −4. 11, −1. 00, I2 = 96. 1%). Sensitivity analysis using the leave-one-out method confirmed the statistical robustness of our findings. There was no evidence of publication bias. Conclusion Our findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the potential benefits of TCM-L interventions for relieving insomnia. Larger, high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these results. Support (if any) The Chinese Medicine Development Fund supported this project, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 24B2/045AR1).
Wu et al. (Fri,) conducted a systematic review in Insomnia (n=1,730). Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle (TCM-L) intervention vs. Usual care or no intervention was evaluated on Insomnia improvement (MD -4.28, 95% CI -5.38 to -3.18, p=<0.0001). Traditional Chinese Medicine-based lifestyle interventions significantly improved insomnia compared with usual care or no intervention (MD -4.28; 95% CI -5.38 to -3.18; p<0.0001).