Chinese Martial Art of Tai Chi Chih Helps Seniors
Sleep Better, Fight Shingles Virus
UCLA researcher continues to find benefits for senior
citizens in 20-movement exercise
Tai Chi Chih developed
in 1974 by Justin Stone, who discusses it in this YouTube video
- click
June 25, 2008 Most senior citizens have sleeping
problems and most do nothing about it. UCLA researchers say the answer
is the Westernized version of a 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art, Tai
Chi Chih. From the same study, they had earlier determined this exercise
also significantly boosts the immune systems of older adults against the
virus that leads to the painful, blistery rash known as shingles.
The researchers latest report says practicing tai
chi chih, promotes sleep quality in older adults with moderate sleep
complaints.
Those who do usually turn either to medications,
which can lead to other health problems, or behavior therapies, which
are costly and often not available close to home, say the authors in the
study to be published in the journal Sleep. It is currently available in
the journal's online edition.
In this study, 112 healthy adults ranging in age
from 59 to 86 were randomly assigned to one of two groups for a 25-week
period:
The first group practiced 20 simple tai chi chih
moves; the other participated in health education classes that included
advice on stress management, diet and sleep habits.
At the beginning of the study, participants were
asked to rate their sleep based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a
self-rated questionnaire that assesses sleep quality, duration and
disturbances over a one-month time interval.
The study found that the tai chi chih group showed
improved sleep quality and a remission of clinical impairments, such as
drowsiness during the day and inability to concentrate, compared with
those receiving health education. The tai chi chih participants showed
improvements in their own self-rating of sleep quality, sleep duration
and sleep disturbance.
About Tai Chi
Chih (Wikipedia)
Tai Chi Chih is a series of 19 movements
and 1 pose that together make up a meditative form of exercise
to which practitioners attribute physical and spiritual health
benefits. Some studies have found the practice to reduce stress
and relieve certain ailments.
Developed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in
1974 by Justin Stone, Tai Chi Chih has spread mostly through
word-of-mouth in a grassroots fashion among practicing
individuals. It is now taught and practiced in the US and
Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and other
countries.
Tai Chi Chih has visual similarities to
Tai chi chuan, but no
martial arts aspect. According to practitioners, Tai Chi
Chih focuses on circulating, developing and balancing the
chi (in the traditional Chinese concept, a kind of spiritual
energy residing in every living thing).
Click here for the T'ai Chi Chih page on Wikipedia.
Information from official site
T'ai Chi Chihฎ is a set of movements
completely focused on the development of an intrinsic energy
called Chi. It's easy to learn and usually takes about two
months (or eight classes). T'ai Chi Chih (TCC) consists of
19 stand-alone movements and one pose.
T'ai Chi Chih is not a martial art. T'ai
Chi Chih is completely non-violent.
T'ai Chi Chih does not require a
particular level of physical fitness or coordination. The very
old and very young alike can learn it. (For those with physical
limitations, movements may be done seated with some
modification.) No special clothing or equipment is required.
By whom, and where, is TCC taught? T'ai
Chi Chih may only be taught by accredited TCC teachers. They
offer classes in corporate wellness programs; at schools and
universities; at senior centers and retreat centers; through
Parks and Recreation departments; and at hospitals, churches,
and even prisons.
"Poor sleeping constitutes one of the most common
difficulties facing older adults," said lead study author Dr. Michael
Irwin, the Norman Cousins Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral
Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of
the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology.
Irwin noted that 58 percent of adults age 59 and
older report having difficulty sleeping at least a few nights each week.
However, sleep problems remain untreated in up to 85 percent of people.
And for those who do seek help, the usual remedy is a sedative.
But sedatives can cause side effects, according to
Irwin.
"It's not uncommon for older adults to experience
daytime confusion, drowsiness, falls and fractures, and adverse
interactions with other medications they may be taking," he said.
And while most health professionals generally agree
that physical exercise enhances sleep quality, given the physical
limitations of the elderly, rigorous exercise might not be an option.
That's why tai chi chih, with its gentle, slow movements, is an
attractive exercise option for the elderly population.
"It's a form of exercise virtually every elderly
person can do, and this study provides more across-the-board evidence of
its health benefits," Irwin said.
Tia Chi Gives Seniors Same Boost as Shingles
Vaccine
The sleep research piggybacked on a study published
in April 2007 by Irwin that showed tai chi chih boosted the immune
system of elderly people suffering from shingles.
The 25-week study, which involved the same group of
112 older adults ( age from 59 to 86) in the sleep study, showed that
practicing tai chi chih alone boosted immunity to a level comparable to
having received the standard vaccine against the shingles-causing
varicella zoster virus.
When tai chi chih was combined with the vaccine,
immunity reached a level normally seen in middle age.
The report appears in the April issue of the
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, currently online.
The results, said lead author Irwin, confirm a
positive, virus-specific immune response to a behavioral intervention.
The findings demonstrate that tai chi chih can produce a clinically
relevant boost in shingles immunity and add to the benefit of the
shingles vaccine in older adults.
"These are exciting findings, because the positive
results of this study also have implications for other infectious
diseases, like influenza and pneumonia," said Irwin.
"Since older adults often show blunted protective
responses to vaccines, this study suggests that tai chi is an approach
that might complement and augment the efficacy of other vaccines, such
as influenza."
The study divided individuals into two groups. Half
took tai chi chih classes three times a week for 16 weeks, while the
other half attended health education classes including advice on
stress management, diet and sleep habits for the same amount of time
and did not practice tai chi chih.
After 16 weeks, both groups received a dose of the
shingles vaccine Varivax. At the end of the 25-week period, the tai chi
chih group achieved a level of immunity two times greater than the
health education group. The tai chi chih group also showed significant
improvements in physical functioning, vitality, mental health and
reduction of bodily pain.
The research follows the success of an earlier
pilot study that showed a positive immune response from tai chi chih but
did not assess its effects when combined with the vaccine.
The varicella zoster virus is the cause of
chickenpox in kids. Children who get chickenpox generally recover, but
the virus lives on in the body, remaining dormant. As we age, Irwin
said, our weakening immune systems may allow the virus to reemerge as
shingles. Approximately one-third of adults over 60 will acquire the
infection at some point.
"It can be quite painful," Irwin said, "and can
result in impairment to a person's quality of life that is comparable to
people with congestive heart failure, type II diabetes or major
depression."
Tai chi chih is a nonmartial form of tai chi and
comprises a standardized series of 20 movements. It combines meditation,
relaxation and components of aerobic exercise and is easy to learn.
The study was supported by grants from the National
Institute of Aging and the National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine.
Editors Notes:
Michael Irwin MD
Working in the area of psychoneuroimmunology for
nearly two decades, Michael Irwin, MD, has authored more than 190
articles and chapters, including one book Human Psychoneuroimmunology.
His research is broadly based on the interactions between behavior and
immunity, with an emphasis on the consequences of major depression on
immune processes relevant to infectious disease risk as well as
inflammatory disorders.
Other studies done at UCLA have shown that tai chi
chih can help people who suffer from tension headaches and have
suggested that it may aid in decreasing high blood pressure.
The UCLA Cousin Center for Psychoneuroimmunology (http://www.cousinspni.org/index.htm)
encompasses an interdisciplinary network of scientists working to
advance the understanding of psychoneuroimmunology by linking basic and
clinical research programs and by translating findings into clinical
practice. The center is affiliated with the Semel Institute for
Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA.
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