The effect of lavender aromatherapy on autonomic nervous system in midlife women with insomnia
- PMID: 21869900
- PMCID: PMC3159017
- DOI: 10.1155/2012/740813
The effect of lavender aromatherapy on autonomic nervous system in midlife women with insomnia
Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the effects of 12 weeks of lavender aromatherapy on self-reported sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) in the midlife women with insomnia. Sixty-seven women aged 45-55 years, with a CPSQI (Chinese version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) greater than 5, were recruited from communities in Taiwan. The experimental group (n = 34) received lavender inhalation, 20 min each time, twice per week, for 12 weeks, with a total of 24 times. The control group (n = 33) received health education program for sleep hygiene with no intervention. The study of HRV was analyzed by time- and frequency-domain methods. Significant decrease in mean heart rate (HR) and increases in SDNN (standard deviation of the normal-to-normal (NN) intervals), RMSDD (square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals), and HF (high frequency) of spectral powers analysis after lavender inhalation were observed in the 4th and 12th weeks of aromatherapy. The total CPSQI score of study subjects was significantly decreased in the experimental group (P < 0.001), while no significant difference was observed across the same time period (P = 0.776) in the control group. Resting HR and HRV measurements at baseline 1 month and 3 months after allocation showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups. The study demonstrated that lavender inhalation may have a persistent short-term effect on HRV with an increase in parasympathetic modulation. Women receiving aromatherapy experienced a significant improvement in sleep quality after intervention. However, lavender aromatherapy does not appear to confer benefit on HRV in the long-term followup.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3159017/bin/ECAM2012-740813.001.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3159017/bin/ECAM2012-740813.002.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3159017/bin/ECAM2012-740813.003.gif)
Similar articles
-
Does lavender aromatherapy alleviate premenstrual emotional symptoms?: a randomized crossover trial.Biopsychosoc Med. 2013 May 31;7:12. doi: 10.1186/1751-0759-7-12. eCollection 2013. Biopsychosoc Med. 2013. PMID: 23724853 Free PMC article.
-
Does Japanese Citrus Fruit Yuzu (Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka) Fragrance Have Lavender-Like Therapeutic Effects That Alleviate Premenstrual Emotional Symptoms? A Single-Blind Randomized Crossover Study.J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Jun;23(6):461-470. doi: 10.1089/acm.2016.0328. Epub 2017 May 8. J Altern Complement Med. 2017. PMID: 28481623 Clinical Trial.
-
Transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupoints changes body composition and heart rate variability in postmenopausal women with obesity.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:862121. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nep145. Epub 2011 Feb 20. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011. PMID: 19773390 Free PMC article.
-
[Effect of Aromatherapy on Menopausal Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Sleep Quality in Women].Hu Li Za Zhi. 2020 Feb;67(1):44-54. doi: 10.6224/JN.202002_67(1).07. Hu Li Za Zhi. 2020. PMID: 31960396 Clinical Trial. Chinese.
-
Autonomic dysfunction in posttraumatic stress disorder indexed by heart rate variability: a meta-analysis.Psychol Med. 2020 Sep;50(12):1937-1948. doi: 10.1017/S003329172000207X. Epub 2020 Aug 28. Psychol Med. 2020. PMID: 32854795 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Development of Transdermal Oleogel Containing Olmesartan Medoxomil: Statistical Optimization and Pharmacological Evaluation.Pharmaceutics. 2023 Mar 28;15(4):1083. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15041083. Pharmaceutics. 2023. PMID: 37111569 Free PMC article.
-
Relaxing Effects of Breathing Pseudotsuga menziesii and Lavandula angustifolia Essential Oils on Psychophysiological Status in Older Adults.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 18;19(22):15251. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192215251. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022. PMID: 36429972 Free PMC article.
-
Non-contact neuromodulation of the human autonomic nervous system function via different odors: Sex, menstrual cycle, and odor dose- and duration-specific effects.Front Neurosci. 2022 Oct 12;16:950282. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.950282. eCollection 2022. Front Neurosci. 2022. PMID: 36312014 Free PMC article.
-
A Workcation Improves Cardiac Parasympathetic Function during Sleep to Decrease Arterial Stiffness in Workers.Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Oct 15;10(10):2037. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10102037. Healthcare (Basel). 2022. PMID: 36292483 Free PMC article.
-
Visualizing Research Trends and Identifying Hotspots of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Nursing Technology for Insomnia: A 18-Years Bibliometric Analysis of Web of Science Core Collection.Front Neurol. 2022 Mar 31;13:816031. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.816031. eCollection 2022. Front Neurol. 2022. PMID: 35432182 Free PMC article.
References
-
- NIH State-of-the-Science Panel. National Institutes of Health state-of-the-science conference statement: management of menopause-related symptoms. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2005;142(12):1003–1013. - PubMed
-
- Cheng MH, Hsu CY, Wang SJ, Lee SJ, Wang PH, Fuh JL. The relationship of self-reported sleep disturbance, mood, and menopause in a community study. Menopause. 2008;15(5):958–962. - PubMed
-
- Tsao LI. Relieving discomforts: the help-seeking experiences of Chinese perimenopausal women in Taiwan. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2002;39(6):580–588. - PubMed
-
- Hsu HC, Lin MH. Exploring quality of sleep and its related factors among menopausal women. The Journal of Nursing Research. 2005;13(2):153–164. - PubMed
-
- Hsu HC, Chen NH, Jou HJ, An C, Tsao LI. Sleep disturbance experiences among perimenopausal women in Taiwan. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2009;18(15):2116–2124. - PubMed
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials
Miscellaneous