Dance programs improved sleep-quality scores in pooled trials
The overall sleep-quality result favored dance, but only participants' subjective sleep quality remained statistically significant when individual sleep domains were adjusted for multiple comparisons.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Dance interventions produced a small-to-moderate improvement in overall sleep-quality scores compared with controls. The clearest individual-domain result concerned how participants rated their sleep. These findings support further study of dance and sleep, but the abstract does not establish that every aspect of sleep improved or identify a reliably superior dance schedule.
The abstract does not describe participant characteristics, control activities or overall follow-up duration. Suggested advantages of particular dance schedules came from exploratory subgroup patterns, which do not establish an optimal program.
What researchers found
Overall sleep quality
Dance versus controls; pooled assessment timeframe is not reported. SMD is a standardized mean difference, not a percentage change.
How the effect was measured
The researchers combined results using a standardized scale so that different sleep measures could contribute. The pooled effect describes differences in sleep-quality scores; it does not state how many extra minutes participants slept.
The narrower result
After adjustment for testing multiple sleep domains, only subjective sleep quality remained statistically significant. Restricting the analysis to studies using the same sleep questionnaire reduced the estimated overall effect, highlighting the role of measurement choices.
The original publication
The effectiveness of dance interventions on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Li Z, Song W, Long Y et al.
Front Public Health · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41883826
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.