Tai Chi trial finds lower stress in college students without depression
A supervised program improved stress, sleep and some fitness measures compared with usual activities, but the abstract does not show how large the differences were.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Students assigned to Tai Chi had better perceived stress, sleep quality and lower-body muscular endurance than controls at the end of the program. The results concern students selected for high stress without depression. They do not establish that Tai Chi prevents future mental illness, even though the authors frame the program as preventive.
The abstract reports statistical significance without effect sizes or confidence intervals. It also provides no later follow-up, so the size and durability of the improvements cannot be judged here.
What researchers found
Perceived stress
Perceived Stress Scale scores favored Tai Chi over usual activities after 16 weeks; the abstract gives no numerical effect estimate.
Who the study tested
Participants were selected using stress and depression questionnaires, then randomly allocated to the program or usual activities. This is a specific student subgroup, which limits how broadly the results can be applied.
What changed alongside stress
The Tai Chi group also performed better on a squat test and measures of physical anxiety symptoms and social functioning. These are several distinct outcomes; improvement across them does not quantify an overall health benefit.
The original publication
Tai Chi as a preventive intervention for improving mental and physical health in non-depressed college students with high perceived stress.
Sun J, Yao K, Zhao R et al.
Front Public Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41312245
- Record checked
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