Research Article Qigong Exercise Alleviates Fatigue, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms, Improves Sleep Quality, and Shortens Sleep Latency in Persons with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Like Illness

Copyright © 2014 Jessie S. M. Chan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objectives. To evaluate the effectiveness of BaduanjinQigong exercise on sleep, fatigue, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome- (CFS-) like illness and to determine the dose-response relationship.Methods. One hundred fifty participants with CFS-like illness (mean age = 39.0, SD = 7.9) were randomly assigned to Qigong and waitlist. Sixteen 1.5-hour Qigong lessons were arranged over 9 consecutive weeks. Pittsburgh SleepQuality Index (PSQI), Chalder Fatigue Scale (ChFS), andHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were assessed at baseline, immediate posttreatment, and 3-month posttreatment.The amount of Qigong self-practice was assessed by self-report.Results. Repeatedmeasures analyses of covariance showed amarginally nonsignificant