Tai Chi helps you get your ZzZs

(Supri Suharjoto)

On August 30, IDEA, the creator of Inner IDEA, the fifth annual event devoted to mind, body and spirit wellness in Palm Springs, California September 23-26, tweeted that "Tai Chi might be the solution" for "older adults having trouble sleeping."

The research conducted at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) monitored 112 healthy adults aged 59-86 for 25 weeks and found the routine practice of Tai Chi improved "quality of sleep" plus decreased "daytime drowsiness."

For more information on Tai Chi styles and forms, go to: http://www.everyday-taichi.com/tai-chi-styles.html

Here are some video clips to try Tai Chi at home:
beYOU.tv's "Tai Chi: Exercise for Lifelong Health and Well-Being": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fz5U2uznZE
"Tai Chi 10 Form" (with English subtitles): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Z4sQNQtJM

Presently, researchers led by Michael Irwin at UCLA's Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology are studying Tai Chi's effects on insomnia in breast cancer survivors, "and will advance psychobiological models of insomnia treatment mechanisms." The study is slated to conclude on July 31, 2011. To learn more, visit: http://www.semel.ucla.edu/research/project/tai-chi-effects-chronic-insomnia-breast-cancer-survivors-immune-mechanisms

Inner IDEA, an international event devoted to integrative health and wellness for health and fitness professionals, will include 100+ interactive sessions on pilates, yoga, nia, gyrokinesis, integrated movement, meditation, nutrition and the wellness marketplace. Ticket pricing varies from $495-675 (€371-538); to register and learn more, go to: http://www.inneridea.com/conference/inner-idea-conference-2010