Improving sleep quality of professionals through yan xin qigong practice

Background Qigong is the foundation and an important component of Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as traditional Chinese technologies for promoting and preserving health and wellness. The regulation of Qigong is under official administration by the Chinese government. Yan Xin Qigong integrates advanced traditional Chinese Qigong with modern scientific exploration and was recommended to the general public by the Chinese government agencies in 1998. It was introduced to North America in early 1990s. This study investigates the effect of practicing Yan Xin Qigong on improving sleep quality among practitioners in their working age. Methods We use a dataset collected from Yan Xin Qigong practitioners in North America. Individuals included in the sample were between 18 and 65 years old when the survey was conducted in 2001. Outcome variables include a dichotomous variable indicating improved self-reported sleep quality after practicing Yan Xin Qigong, and a continuous variable indicating the time it took to fall into sleep. Independent variables include the length of practicing Yan Xin Qigong and practitioners' socio-demographic characteristics. Descriptive and regression analyses are used to examine the relationship between Yan Xin Qigong practice and practitioners' sleep quality. Logit model and generalized linear model are adopted in regression analyses. Results The results shows that sleep quality was improved after practicing Yan Xin Qigong and the length of practice has a significant and positive effect on improving sleep quality among the sampled practitioners. Conclusions Yan Xin Qigong can be an effective practice to improve the sleep quality of professionals.