Tai Chi vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — Which Is More Effective for Chronic Insomnia Treatment?
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Chronic insomnia affects millions worldwide and raises risks for cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and cognitive decline. Effective nondrug treatments are essential for restoring sleep and protecting long-term health
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the leading behavioral treatment for chronic insomnia. It uses structured therapy to change sleep-disrupting thoughts and habits
- A study directly compared tai chi with CBT-I for chronic insomnia, using the same treatment length, standardized instruction, and identical measures to evaluate sleep outcomes
- CBT-I led to faster improvements early on, while tai chi reached similar results by 12 months and showed higher rates of continued practice after the formal intervention ended
- Both approaches improved sleep duration, reduced nighttime awakenings, and eased anxiety and depression, offering different but sustainable options for managing chronic insomnia without medication
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | What if you could calm years of sleepless nights without a single pill and choose between two proven paths that both work? |
| 0:07.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. |
| 0:15.0 | No reading required. Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:20.0 | Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:24.3 | Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. |
| 0:30.8 | I'm Ethan Foster, and today we're breaking down how cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and THE stack up in real people over real timelines, so you can decide which approach fits your life. |
| 0:38.9 | I'm a longtime health host focused on clear, actionable guidance. |
| 0:43.4 | I'm a Lara Sky. |
| 0:46.0 | Chronic insomnia means trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early at least |
| 0:51.9 | three nights a week for more than three months. |
| 0:55.8 | It affects more than 16% of people worldwide and raises risks for anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and |
| 1:02.2 | cognitive decline. You're not just tired. You're facing daytime impairment that seeps into memory, |
| 1:08.7 | mood, and performance. CBTI is the leading behavioral therapy because it targets what keeps you awake rather than chasing sleep directly. |
| 1:17.6 | Standard care runs six to eight weekly sessions, in person or online, with a structured agenda. |
| 1:23.6 | You review sleep data, apply strategies, and adjust based on progress. |
| 1:29.5 | The focus is the perpetuating factors, habits and thoughts that maintain insomnia long after |
| 1:34.9 | the original trigger fades. |
| 1:37.2 | The method rests on four core components. |
| 1:40.2 | Sleep restriction therapy narrows time in bed to roughly match your actual sleep, rebuilding |
| 1:45.2 | sleep drive so you conk out faster and sleep more efficiently. |
| 1:49.2 | You adjust the sleep window weekly using diaries. |
| 1:52.4 | If efficiency rises above 90%, expand by 15 minutes. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 24 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Briana Mercola, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Briana Mercola and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.